Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah.

49 (B)Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
(C)both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
My mouth shall speak (D)wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
I will incline my ear to (E)a proverb;
    I will solve my (F)riddle to the music of the lyre.

(G)Why should I fear in (H)times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
those who (I)trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly no man (J)can ransom another,
    or (K)give to God (L)the price of his life,
for (M)the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
that he should live on forever
    and (N)never see the pit.

10 For he sees (O)that even the wise die;
    (P)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and (Q)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their (R)graves are their homes forever,[a]
    their dwelling places (S)to all generations,
    though they (T)called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp (U)will not remain;
    (V)he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the path of those who have (W)foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.[b] Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright (X)shall rule over them in the morning.
    (Y)Their form shall be consumed (Z)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will (AA)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will (AB)receive me. Selah

16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
17 (AC)For when he dies he will (AD)carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself (AE)blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will (AF)go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again (AG)see light.
20 (AH)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of (AI)Asaph.

50 (AJ)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
    speaks and summons the earth
    (AK)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, (AL)the perfection of beauty,
    (AM)God shines forth.

Our God comes; he (AN)does not keep silence;[c]
    before him is a devouring (AO)fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
(AP)He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
“Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made (AQ)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
(AR)The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for (AS)God himself is judge! Selah

(AT)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    (AU)I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices (AV)do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
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 (AW)I 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,
    (AX)for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
14 (AY)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[d]
    and (AZ)perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and (BA)call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will (BB)deliver you, and you shall (BC)glorify me.”

16 But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
17 (BD)For you hate discipline,
    (BE)and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, (BF)you are pleased with him,
    (BG)and you keep company with adulterers.

19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    (BH)and 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 (BI)have been silent;
    you thought that I[e] was one like yourself.
But now I (BJ)rebuke you and (BK)lay the charge before you.

22 “Mark this, then, you who (BL)forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be (BM)none to deliver!
23 The one who (BN)offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who (BO)orders his way rightly
    I will show the (BP)salvation of God!”

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when (BQ)Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51 (BR)Have mercy on me,[f] O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your (BS)abundant mercy
    (BT)blot out my transgressions.
(BU)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and (BV)cleanse me from my sin!

(BW)For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
(BX)Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil (BY)in your sight,
(BZ)so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, (CA)I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in (CB)the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me (CC)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    (CD)wash me, and I shall be (CE)whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
    (CF)let the bones (CG)that you have broken rejoice.
(CH)Hide your face from my sins,
    and (CI)blot out all my iniquities.
10 (CJ)Create in me a (CK)clean heart, O God,
    and (CL)renew a right[g] spirit within me.
11 (CM)Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not (CN)your 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 (CO)return to you.
14 Deliver me from (CP)bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O (CQ)God of my salvation,
    and (CR)my tongue will sing aloud of your (CS)righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 (CT)For 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 (CU)a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 (CV)Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    (CW)build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in (CX)right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and (CY)whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

To the choirmaster. A Maskil[h] of David, when (CZ)Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
    The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
Your (DA)tongue plots destruction,
    like (DB)a sharp razor, you (DC)worker of deceit.
You love evil more than good,
    and (DD)lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
You love all words that devour,
    O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever;
    he will snatch and (DE)tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from (DF)the land of the living. Selah
The righteous shall (DG)see and fear,
    and shall (DH)laugh at him, saying,
“See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
but (DI)trusted in the abundance of his riches
    and sought refuge in his own destruction!”[i]

But I am like (DJ)a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, (DK)for it is good,
    in the presence of the (DL)godly.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever
  2. Psalm 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts
  3. Psalm 50:3 Or May our God come, and not keep silence
  4. Psalm 50:14 Or Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God
  5. Psalm 50:21 Or that the I am
  6. Psalm 51:1 Or Be gracious to me
  7. Psalm 51:10 Or steadfast
  8. Psalm 52:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  9. Psalm 52:7 Or in his work of destruction

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