Psalms 50; Psalms 53; Psalms 60; Psalms 75

1 The Almighty God, the Lord, speaks; he calls to the whole earth from east to west.

2 God shines from Zion, the city perfect in its beauty.

3 Our God is coming, but not in silence; a raging fire is in front of him, a furious storm around him.

4 He calls heaven and earth as witnesses to see him judge his people.

5 He says, "Gather my faithful people to me, those who made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice."

6 The heavens proclaim that God is righteous, that he himself is judge.

7 "Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel. I am God, your God.

8 I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices and the burnt offerings you always bring me.

9 And yet I do not need bulls from your farms or goats from your flocks;

10 all the animals in the forest are mine and the cattle on thousands of hills.

11 All the wild birds are mine and all living things in the fields.

12 "If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food, for the world and everything in it is mine.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

14 Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God, and give the Almighty all that you promised.

15 Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me."

16 But God says to the wicked, "Why should you recite my commandments? Why should you talk about my covenant?

17 You refuse to let me correct you; you reject my commands.

18 You become the friend of every thief you see, and you associate with adulterers.

19 "You are always ready to speak evil; you never hesitate to tell lies.

20 You are ready to accuse your own relatives and to find fault with them.

21 You have done all this, and I have said nothing, so you thought that I am like you. But now I reprimand you and make the matter plain to you.

22 "Listen to this, you that ignore me, or I will destroy you, and there will be no one to save you.

23 Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honors me, and I will surely save all who obey me."

1 Fools say to themselves, "There is no God." They are all corrupt, and they have done terrible things; there is no one who does what is right.

2 God looks down from heaven at people to see if there are any who are wise, any who worship him.

3 But they have all turned away; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.

4 "Don't they know?" God asks. "Are these evildoers ignorant? They live by robbing my people, and they never pray to me."

5 But then they will become terrified, as they have never been before, for God will scatter the bones of the enemies of his people. God has rejected them, and so Israel will totally defeat them.

6 How I pray that victory will come to Israel from Zion. How happy the people of Israel will be when God makes them prosperous again!

1 You have rejected us, God, and defeated us; you have been angry with us - but now turn back to us.

2 You have made the land tremble, and you have cut it open; now heal its wounds, because it is falling apart.

3 You have made your people suffer greatly; we stagger around as though we were drunk.

4 You have warned those who have reverence for you, so that they might escape destruction.

5 Save us by your might; answer our prayer, so that the people you love may be rescued.

6 From his sanctuary God has said, "In triumph I will divide Shechem and distribute Sukkoth Valley to my people.

7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh too; Ephraim is my helmet and Judah my royal scepter.

8 But I will use Moab as my washbowl, and I will throw my sandals on Edom, as a sign that I own it. Did the Philistines think they would shout in triumph over me?"

9 Who, O God, will take me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

10 Have you really rejected us? Aren't you going to march out with our armies?

11 Help us against the enemy; human help is worthless.

12 With God on our side we will win; he will defeat our enemies.

1 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you! We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done.

2 "I have set a time for judgment," says God, "and I will judge with fairness.

3 Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm.

4 I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;

5 I tell them to stop their boasting."

6 Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south;

7 it is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others.

8 The Lord holds a cup in his hand, filled with the strong wine of his anger. He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it; they drink it down to the last drop.

9 But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob or singing praises to him.

10 He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the righteous will be increased.