Psalm 46 to Psalm 50
Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection!
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’
11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 47
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.
8 God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
Psalm 48
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.
3 God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.
4 When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together,
5 they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labour.
7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.
8 As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God:
God makes her secure for ever.
9 Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.
10 Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, go round her, count her towers,
13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels,
that you may tell of them to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.
Psalm 49
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high, rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me –
6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them –
8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough –
9 so that they should live on for ever and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses for ever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendour of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
their splendour will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed –
and people praise you when you prosper –
19 they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.
Psalm 50
A psalm of Asaph
1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 ‘Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.’
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.
7 ‘Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God.
8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 ‘Sacrifice thank-offerings to God, fulfil your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me.’
16 But to the wicked person, God says:
‘What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly[c] like you.
But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you.
22 ‘Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23 those who sacrifice thank-offerings honour me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation.’
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