Psalm 48 - 50

« Psalm 47 | Psalms 48-50 | Psalm 51 »

The City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised,

In the city of our God, His holy mountain.

Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,

Is Mount Zion in the far north,

The city of the great King.

God, in her palaces,

Has made Himself known as a stronghold.

For, behold, the kings assembled themselves,

They passed by together.

They saw it, then they were astonished;

They were dismayed, they fled in alarm.

Panic seized them there,

Anguish, as of a woman in childbirth.

With the east wind

You break the ships of Tarshish.

As we have heard, so have we seen

In the city of Yahweh of hosts, in the city of our God;

God will establish her forever. Selah.

We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God,

In the midst of Your temple.

As is Your name, O God,

So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;

Your right hand is full of righteousness.

Let Mount Zion be glad,

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice

Because of Your judgments.

Walk about Zion and go around her;

Count her towers;

Consider her ramparts;

Go through her palaces,

That you may recount it to the next generation.

For this is God,

Our God forever and ever;

He will guide us over death.

Why Should I Fear in Days of Evil?

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

Hear this, all peoples;

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

Both low and high,

Rich and poor together.

My mouth will speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heart will be discernment.

I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will express my riddle on the harp.

Why should I fear in days of evil,

When the iniquity of my supplanters surrounds me,

Even those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

Truly, no man can redeem his brother;

He cannot give to God a ransom for him—

For the redemption price for their soul is costly,

And it ceases forever—

That he should live on eternally,

That he should not see corruption.

For he sees that even wise men die;

The fool and the senseless alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.

Their inner thought is that their houses are forever

And their dwelling places from generation to generation;

They have called their lands after their own names.

But man in his honor will not endure;

He is like the animals that perish.

This is the way of those who are foolish,

And of those after them who are pleased with their words. Selah.

As sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

Death will shepherd them;

And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning,

And their form shall be for Sheol to consume,

Far away from his habitation.

But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,

For He will receive me. Selah.

Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich,

When the glory of his house increases;

For when he dies he will not take any of it;

His glory will not descend after him.

For while he lives he blesses his soul—

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

But his soul shall go to the generation of his fathers;

They will eternally not see light.

Man in his honor, but who does not understand,

Is like the animals that perish.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,

And called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God has shone forth.

May our God come and not be silent;

Fire devours before Him,

And a storm whirls around Him.

He calls the heavens above,

And the earth, to render justice to His people:

“Gather My holy ones to Me,

Those who have cut a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

And the heavens declare His righteousness,

For God Himself is judge. Selah.

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you;

I am God, your God.

I do not reprove you for your sacrifices,

And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.

I shall take no young bull out of your house

Nor male goats out of your folds.

For every beast of the forest is Mine,

The cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird of the mountains,

And everything that moves in the field is Mine.

If I were hungry I would not tell you,

For the world is Mine, as well as its fullness.

Shall I eat the flesh of bulls

Or drink the blood of male goats?

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving

And pay your vows to the Most High;

Call upon Me in the day of distress;

I shall rescue you, and you will glorify Me.”

But to the wicked God says,

“What right have you to recount My statutes

And to take My covenant in your mouth?

For you hate discipline,

And you cast My words behind you.

When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,

And you associate with adulterers.

You let your mouth loose in evil

And you harness your tongue for deceit.

You sit and speak against your brother;

You slander your own mother’s son.

These things you have done and I kept silent;

You thought that I was just like you;

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

“Now consider this, you who forget God,

Lest I tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.

He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me;

And he who orders his way,

I shall show the salvation of God.”

« Psalm 47 | Psalms 48-50 | Psalm 51 »