PSALM 49

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 aHear this, all peoples;

Give ear, all binhabitants of the world,

2 Both alow and high,

Rich and poor together.

3 My mouth will aspeak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart will be bunderstanding.

4 I will incline my ear to aa proverb;

bI will 1express my criddle on the harp.

5 Why should I afear in days of adversity,

When the iniquity of my 1foes surrounds me,

6 Even those who atrust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

7 No man can by any means aredeem his brother

Or give to God a bransom for him—

8 For athe redemption of 1his soul is costly,

And he should cease trying forever—

9 That he should alive on eternally,

That he should not 1bundergo decay.

10 For he sees that even awise men die;

The bstupid and the senseless alike perish

And cleave their wealth to others.

11 Their 1ainner thought is that their houses bare forever

And their dwelling places to all generations;

They have ccalled their lands after their own names.

12 But aman in his 1pomp will not endure;

He is like the 2beasts that 3perish.

13 This is the away of those who are foolish,

And of those after them who bapprove their words.

1Selah.

14 As sheep they are appointed afor 1Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;

And the bupright shall rule over them in the morning,

And their form shall be for 1Sheol cto consume

2So that they have no habitation.

15 But God will aredeem my soul from the 1power of 2Sheol,

For bHe will receive me.

Selah.

16 Do not be afraid awhen a man becomes rich,

When the 1glory of his house is increased;

17 For when he dies he will acarry nothing away;

His 1glory will not descend after him.

18 Though while he lives he acongratulates 1himself—

And though men praise you when you do well for yourself—

19 1He shall ago to the generation of his fathers;

They will never see bthe light.

20 aMan in his 1pomp, yet without understanding,

Is blike the 2beasts that 3perish.

PSALM 50

God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of †Asaph.

1 aThe Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,

And summoned the earth bfrom the rising of the sun to its setting.

2 Out of Zion, athe perfection of beauty,

God bhas shone forth.

3 May our God acome and not keep silence;

bFire devours before Him,

And it is very ctempestuous around Him.

4 He asummons the heavens above,

And the earth, to judge His people:

5 “Gather My agodly ones to Me,

Those who have made a bcovenant with Me by csacrifice.”

6 And the aheavens declare His righteousness,

For bGod Himself is judge.

1Selah.

7 “aHear, O My people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify 1against you;

I am God, byour God.

8 “I do anot reprove you for your sacrifices,

And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.

9 “I shall take no ayoung bull out of your house

Nor male goats out of your folds.

10 “For aevery beast of the forest is Mine,

The cattle on a thousand hills.

11 “I know every abird of the mountains,

And everything that moves in the field is 1Mine.

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

For the aworld is Mine, and 1all it contains.

13 “Shall I eat the flesh of 1abulls

Or drink the blood of male goats?

14 “Offer to God aa sacrifice of thanksgiving

And bpay your vows to the Most High;

15 aCall upon Me in the day of trouble;

I shall brescue you, and you will chonor Me.”

16 But to the wicked God says,

“What right have you to tell of My statutes

And to take aMy covenant in your mouth?

17 “For you ahate discipline,

And you bcast My words behind you.

18 “When you see a thief, you 1aare pleased with him,

And 2you bassociate with adulterers.

19 “You 1alet your mouth loose in evil

And your btongue frames deceit.

20 “You sit and aspeak against your brother;

You slander your own mother’s son.

21 “These things you have done and aI kept silence;

You thought that I was just like you;

I will breprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.

22 “Now consider this, you who aforget God,

Or I will btear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.

23 “He who aoffers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;

And to him who 1borders his way aright

I shall cshow the salvation of God.”

PSALM 51

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when †Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 aBe gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of bYour compassion cblot out my transgressions.

2 aWash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And bcleanse me from my sin.

3 For 1I aknow my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me.

4 aAgainst You, You only, I have sinned

And done what is bevil in Your sight,

So that cYou 1are justified 2when You speak

And 3blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was abrought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire atruth in the 1innermost being,

And in the hidden part You will bmake me know wisdom.

7 1Purify me awith hyssop, and I shall be clean;

2Wash me, and I shall be bwhiter than snow.

8 1Make me to hear ajoy and gladness,

Let the bbones which You have broken rejoice.

9 aHide Your face from my sins

And blot out all my iniquities.

10 aCreate 1in me a bclean heart, O God,

And renew 2a csteadfast spirit within me.

11 aDo not cast me away from Your presence

And do not take Your bHoly Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the ajoy of Your salvation

And sustain me with a bwilling spirit.

13 Then I will ateach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners will 1be bconverted to You.

14 Deliver me from abloodguiltiness, O God, bthe God of my salvation;

Then my ctongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

15 O Lord, 1aopen my lips,

That my mouth may bdeclare Your praise.

16 For You ado not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;

You are not pleased with burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a abroken spirit;

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

18 aBy Your favor do good to Zion;

1bBuild the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then You will delight in 1arighteous sacrifices,

In bburnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then 2young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

PSALM 52

Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the choir director. A †Maskil of David, •when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

1 Why do you aboast in evil, O mighty man?

The blovingkindness of God endures all day long.

2 Your tongue devises adestruction,

Like a bsharp razor, cO worker of deceit.

3 You alove evil more than good,

bFalsehood more than speaking what is right.

1Selah.

4 You love all words that devour,

O adeceitful tongue.

5 1But God will break you down forever;

He will snatch you up and atear you away from your tent,

And buproot you from the cland of the living.

Selah.

6 The righteous will asee and fear,

And will blaugh at him, saying,

7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,

But atrusted in the abundance of his riches

And bwas strong in 1his evil desire.”

8 But as for me, I am like a agreen olive tree in the house of God;

I btrust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

9 I will agive You thanks forever, because You have done it,

And I will wait on Your name, bfor it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

PSALM 53

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director; according to †Mahalath. A •Maskil of David.

1 aThe fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”

They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;

bThere is no one who does good.

2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there is aanyone who 1understands,

Who bseeks after God.

3 aEvery one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Have the workers of wickedness ano knowledge,

Who eat up My people as though they ate bread

And have not called upon God?

5 There they were in great 1fear awhere no 1fear had been;

For God bscattered the bones of 2him who encamped against you;

You cput them to shame, because dGod had rejected them.

6 Oh, that athe salvation of Israel 1would come out of Zion!

When God 2restores His captive people,

3Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.