God Himself Is Judge

50 A Psalm of nAsaph.

1  oThe Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

pfrom the rising of the sun to its setting.

2  Out of Zion, qthe perfection of beauty,

rGod shines forth.

3  Our God comes; he sdoes not keep silence;1

before him is a devouring tfire,

around him a mighty tempest.

4  uHe calls to the heavens above

and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5  “Gather to me my faithful ones,

who made va covenant with me by sacrifice!”

6  wThe heavens declare his righteousness,

for xGod himself is judge! Selah

7  y“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

zI am God, your God.

8  Not for your sacrifices ado I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

9  I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.

10  For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11  bI know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

12  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

cfor the world and its fullness are mine.

13  Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14  dOffer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,2

and eperform your vows to the Most High,

15  and fcall upon me in the day of trouble;

I will gdeliver you, and you shall hglorify me.”

16  But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?

17  iFor you hate discipline,

jand you cast my words behind you.

18  If you see a thief, kyou are pleased with him,

land you keep company with adulterers.

19  “You give your mouth free rein for evil,

mand your tongue frames deceit.

20  You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

21  These things you have done, and I nhave been silent;

you thought that I3 was one like yourself.

But now I orebuke you and play the charge before you.

22  “Mark this, then, you who qforget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be rnone to deliver!

23  The one who soffers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who torders his way rightly

I will show the usalvation of God!”

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

51 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when vNathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1  wHave mercy on me,1 O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your xabundant mercy

yblot out my transgressions.

2  zWash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and acleanse me from my sin!

3  bFor I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

4  cAgainst you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil din your sight,

eso that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

5  Behold, fI was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6  Behold, you delight in truth in gthe inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7  Purge me hwith hyssop, and I shall be clean;

zwash me, and I shall be iwhiter than snow.

8  Let me hear joy and gladness;

jlet the bones kthat you have broken rejoice.

9  lHide your face from my sins,

and yblot out all my iniquities.

10  mCreate in me a nclean heart, O God,

and orenew a right2 spirit within me.

11  pCast me not away from your presence,

and take not qyour Holy Spirit from me.

12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will rreturn to you.

14  Deliver me from sbloodguiltiness, O God,

O tGod of my salvation,

and umy tongue will sing aloud of your vrighteousness.

15  O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16  wFor you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are xa broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18  yDo good to Zion in your good pleasure;

zbuild up the walls of Jerusalem;

19  then will you delight in aright sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and bwhole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

52 To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of David, when cDoeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

1  Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

2  Your dtongue plots destruction,

like ea sharp razor, you fworker of deceit.

3  You love evil more than good,

and glying more than speaking what is right. Selah

4  You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

5  But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and htear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from ithe land of the living. Selah

6  The righteous shall jsee and fear,

and shall klaugh at him, saying,

7  “See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but ltrusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!”2

8  But I am like ma green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever.

9  I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, nfor it is good,

in the presence of the ogodly.