The Living Bible (182 page)

Psalm
50

The mighty God, the Lord, has summoned all mankind from east to west!

    
²
 God’s glory-light shines from the beautiful Temple
*
on Mount Zion.
³
 He comes with the noise of thunder,
*
surrounded by devastating fire; a great storm rages round about him.
⁴
 He has come to judge his people. To heaven and earth he shouts,
⁵
 “Gather together my own people who by their sacrifice upon my altar have promised to obey me.”
*
⁶
 God will judge them with complete fairness, for all heaven declares that he is just.

    
⁷
 O my people, listen! For I am your God. Listen! Here are my charges against you:
⁸
 I have no complaint about the sacrifices you bring to my altar, for you bring them regularly.
⁹
 But it isn’t sacrificial bullocks and goats that I really want from you.
^10-11
 For all the animals of field and forest are mine! The cattle on a thousand hills! And all the birds upon the mountains!
¹²
 If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you—for all the world is mine and everything in it.
¹³
 No, I don’t need your sacrifices of flesh and blood.
^14-15
 What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled.
I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.

    
¹⁶
 But God says to evil men: Recite my laws no longer and stop claiming my promises,
¹⁷
 for you have refused my discipline, disregarding my laws.
¹⁸
 You see a thief and help him, and spend your time with evil and immoral men.
¹⁹
 You curse and lie, and vile language streams from your mouths.
²⁰
 You slander your own brother.
²¹
 I remained silent—you thought I didn’t care—but now your time of punishment has come, and I list all the above charges against you.
²²
 This is the last chance for all of you who have forgotten God, before I tear you apart—and no one can help you then.

    
²³
 But true praise is a worthy sacrifice; this really honors me. Those who walk my paths will receive salvation from the Lord.

Psalm
51

Written after Nathan the prophet had come to inform David of God’s judgment against him because of his adultery with Bathsheba, and his murder of Uriah, her husband.

O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions.
²
 Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again.
³
 For I admit my shameful deed—it haunts me day and night.
⁴
 It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just.
⁵
 But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
⁶
 You deserve honesty from the heart; yes, utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, give me this wisdom.

    
⁷
 Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood
*
and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸
 And after you have punished me, give me back my joy again.
⁹
 Don’t keep looking at my sins—erase them from your sight.
¹⁰
 Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.
¹¹
 Don’t toss me aside, banished forever from your presence. Don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²
 Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
¹³
 Then I will teach your ways to other sinners, and they—guilty like me—will repent and return to you.
^14-15
 Don’t sentence me to death. O my God, you alone can rescue me. Then I will sing of your forgiveness,
*
for my lips will be unsealed—oh, how I will praise you.

    
¹⁶
 You don’t want penance;
*
if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t interested in offerings burned before you on the altar.
¹⁷
 It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore.

    
¹⁸
 And Lord, don’t punish Israel for my sins—help your people and protect Jerusalem.
*

    
¹⁹
 And when my heart is right,
*
then you will rejoice in the good that I do
*
and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar.

Psalm
52

Written by David to protest against his enemy Doeg (1 Samuel 22), who later slaughtered eighty-five priests and their families.

You call yourself a
hero,
do you? You
boast
about this evil deed of yours against God’s people.
²
 You are sharp as a tack in plotting your evil tricks.
³
 How you love wickedness—far more than good! And lying more than truth!
⁴
 You love to slander—you love to say anything that will do harm, O man with the lying tongue.

    
⁵
 But God will strike you down, pull you from your home, and drag you away from the land of the living.
⁶
 The followers of God will see it happen. They will watch in awe. Then they will laugh and say,
⁷
 “See what happens to those who despise God and trust in their wealth, and become ever more bold in their wickedness.”
*

    
⁸
 But I am like a sheltered olive tree protected by the Lord himself. I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
⁹
 O Lord, I will praise you forever and ever for your punishment.
*
And I will wait for your mercies—for everyone knows what a merciful God you are.

Psalm
53

Only a fool would say to himself, “There is no God.” And why does he say it?
*
Because of his wicked heart, his dark and evil deeds. His life is corroded with sin.

    
²
 God looks down from heaven, searching among all mankind to see if there is a single one who does right and really seeks for God.
³
 But all have turned their backs on him; they are filthy with sin—corrupt and rotten through and through. Not one is good, not one!
⁴
 How can this be? Can’t they understand anything? For they devour my people like bread and refuse to come to God.
⁵
 But soon unheard-of terror will fall on them. God will scatter the bones of these, your enemies. They are doomed, for God has rejected them.

    
⁶
 Oh, that God would come from Zion now and save Israel! Only when the Lord himself restores them can they ever be really happy again.

Psalm
54

Written by David at the time the men of Ziph tried to betray him to Saul.

Come with great power,
*
O God, and save me! Defend me with your might!
²
 Oh, listen to my prayer.
³
 For violent men have risen against me—ruthless men who care nothing for God are seeking my life.

    
⁴
 But God is my helper. He is a friend of mine!
*
⁵
 He will cause the evil deeds of my enemies to boomerang upon them. Do as you promised and put an end to these wicked men, O God.
⁶
 Gladly I bring my sacrifices to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.

    
⁷
 God has rescued me from all my trouble, and triumphed over my enemies.