Chronological
A song of Asaph.
The Acceptable Sacrifice
50 God, the Lord,[a] has spoken.
He has summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting place.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God has shined forth.
3 Our God has appeared and he has not been silent;
a devouring fire blazed before him,
and a mighty storm swirled around him.
4 He summoned the heavens above
and the earth below,[b]
to sit in judgment on his people.
5 “Assemble before me, my saints,
who have entered into my covenant by sacrifice.”
6 The heavens revealed his justice,
for God is himself the judge.
7 “Listen, my people,
for I am making a pronouncement:
Israel, I, God, your God, am testifying against you.
8 I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices;
indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me.
9 I will no longer accept a sacrificial[c] bull from your household;
nor goats from your pens.
10 Indeed, every animal of the forest is mine,
even the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds in the mountains;
indeed, everything that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
for the world is mine along with everything in it.
13 Why should I eat the flesh of oxen
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a thanksgiving praise;
pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of distress;
I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.”
16 As for the wicked, God says,
“How dare you recite my statutes
or speak about my covenant with your lips!
17 You hate instruction
and toss my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you befriend him,
and you keep company with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth free reign for evil,
and your tongue devises deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you did, and I kept silent,
because you assumed that I was like you.
But now I am going to rebuke you,
and I will set forth my case before your very own eyes.”
22 Consider this, you who have forgotten God—
Otherwise, I will tear you in pieces
and there will be no deliverer:
23 Whoever offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me,
and I will reveal the salvation of God
to whomever continues in my way.”[d]
To the Director: Upon machalath.[a] A Davidic instruction.[b]
The Fool and God’s Response
53 Fools say to themselves “There is no God.”
They are corrupt and commit iniquity;
not one of them practices what is good.
2 God looks down from the heavens upon humanity[c]
to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.
3 All of them[d] have fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
no one does what is good, not even one.
4 Will those who do evil ever learn?
They devour my people like they devour bread,
and never call on God.
5 There the Israelis[e] were seized with terror,
when there was nothing to fear.
For God scattered the bones of those who laid siege against you[f]—
you put them to shame,[g]
for God rejected them.
6 Would that Israel’s deliverance come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.[h]
To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of[a] “Lily of The Covenant,” for teaching about his battle with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, when Joab returned and attacked 12,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley.[b]
A Prayer for God’s Help against Adversaries
60 God, you have cast us off;
you have breached our defenses
and you have become enraged.
Return to us!
2 You made the earth quake;
you broke it open.
Repair its fractures,
because it has shifted.
3 You made your people go through hard times;
you had us drink wine that makes us stagger.
4 But you have given a banner to those who fear you,
so they may display it in honor of truth.[c]
5 So your loved ones may be delivered,
save us by your power[d]
and answer us quickly!
6 Then God spoke in his holiness,
“I will rejoice—
I will divide Shechem;
I will portion out the Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead belongs to me,
and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet,
and Judah my scepter.
8 Moab is my wash basin;
over Edom I will throw my shoes;
over Philistia I will celebrate my triumph.”
9 Who will lead me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Aren’t you the one, God, who has cast us off?
Didn’t you refuse, God, to accompany our armies?
To the Director: To the tune of[a] “Do not Destroy!”
A psalm of Asaph. A song.
Praise to God for Justice
75 We praise you, God!
We praise you[b]—your presence[c] draws near—
as we declare your wonderful deeds.
2 “At the time that I choose
I will judge the righteous.[d]
3 While the earth and all its inhabitants melt away,
it is I who keep its pillars firm.”
4 I will say to the proud, “Don’t brag,”
and to the wicked,
“Don’t vaunt your strength.[e]
5 Don’t use your strength to fight heaven[f]
or speak from stubborn arrogance.”[g]
6 For exaltation comes not from the east,
the west, or the wilderness,
7 since God is the judge.
This one he will debase or that one he will exalt.
8 For there is a cup in the hand of the Lord,
foaming with well-mixed wine
that he will pour out, leaving only the dregs,
from which all the wicked of the earth will drink.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.