Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 50

God as Judge
A psalm of Asaph.

50:1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks;
he summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God appears in radiance.
3 Our God is coming; he will not be silent!
Devouring fire precedes him,
and a storm rages around him.
4 On high, he summons heaven and earth
in order to judge his people:
5 “Gather my faithful ones to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God is the Judge.Selah

7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before me.
9 I will not take a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird of the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”

16 But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite my statutes
and to take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate instruction
and fling my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.

22 “Understand this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart,
and there will be no one to rescue you.
23 Whoever offers a thanksgiving sacrifice honors me,
and whoever orders his conduct,
I will show him the salvation of God.”

CSB

Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 49

Misplaced Trust in Wealth
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

49:1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who inhabit the world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
3 My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation brings understanding.
4 I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.
7 Yet these cannot redeem a person
or pay his ransom to God—
8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly,
one should forever stop trying—
9 so that he may live forever
and not see the Pit.

10 For one can see that the wise die;
the foolish and stupid also pass away.
Then they leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their permanent homes,
their dwellings from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.
12 But despite his assets, mankind will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.

13 This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.Selah
14 Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,
and their form will waste away in Sheol,
far from their lofty abode.
15 But God will redeem me
from the power of Sheol,
for he will take me.Selah

16 Do not be afraid when a person gets rich,
when the wealth of his house increases.
17 For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth will not follow him down.
18 Though he blesses himself during his lifetime—
and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself—
19 he will go to the generation of his ancestors;
they will never see the light.
20 Mankind, with his assets
but without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.

CSB