Psalm 50-52

New King James Version

God the Righteous Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

50 The ^(A)Mighty One, God the Lord,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
^(B)God will shine forth.
³Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
^(C)A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

⁴^(D)He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
⁵“Gather ^(E)My saints together to Me,
^(F)Those who have ^[a]made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
⁶Let the ^(G)heavens declare His righteousness,
For ^(H)God Himself is Judge. Selah

⁷“Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
^(I)I am God, your God!
⁸^(J)I will not ^[b]rebuke you ^(K)for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
⁹^(L)I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
¹⁰For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

¹²“If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
^(M)For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
¹³^(N)Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
¹⁴^(O)Offer to God thanksgiving,
And ^(P)pay your vows to the Most High.
¹⁵^(Q)Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
¹⁷^(R)Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
¹⁸When you saw a thief, you ^(S)consented^[c] with him,
And have been a ^(T)partaker with adulterers.
¹⁹You give your mouth to evil,
And ^(U)your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹These things you have done, and I kept silent;
^(V)You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And ^(W)set them in order before your eyes.

²²“Now consider this, you who ^(X)forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
²³Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And ^(Y)to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”

A Prayer of Repentance

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David ^(Z)when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
^(AA)Blot out my transgressions.
²^(AB)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

³For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
⁴^(AC)Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil ^(AD)in Your sight—
^(AE)That You may be found just ^[d]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

⁵^(AF)Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

⁷^(AG)Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be ^(AH)whiter than snow.
⁸Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken ^(AI)may rejoice.
⁹Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰^(AJ)Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your ^(AK)Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your ^(AL)generous Spirit.
¹³Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

¹⁴Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
¹⁶For ^(AM)You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
¹⁷^(AN)The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹Then You shall be pleased with ^(AO)the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A ^[e]Contemplation of David ^(AP)when Doeg the Edomite went and ^(AQ)told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?
The goodness of God endures continually.
²Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
³You love evil more than good,
Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah
⁴You love all devouring words,
You deceitful tongue.

⁵God shall likewise destroy you forever;
He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
⁶The righteous also shall see and fear,
And shall laugh at him, saying,
⁷“Here is the man who did not make God his strength,
But trusted in the abundance of his riches,
And strengthened himself in his ^[f]wickedness.”

⁸But I am ^(AR)like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
⁹I will praise You forever,
Because You have done it;
And in the presence of Your saints
I will wait on Your name, for it ^[g]is good.