God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
A Psalm of
Asaph
1 The mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,
And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting [from east to west].
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God has shone forth.
3 May our God come and not keep silent;
Fire devours before Him,
And around Him a mighty tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is judge. Selah.
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
8 “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices;
Your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 “I will accept no young bull from your house
Nor male goat from your folds.
10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 “I know every bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field isMine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
For the world and all it contains are Mine.
13 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 “Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving
And pay your vows to the Most High;
15 Call on Me in the day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you shall honorandglorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite My statutes
Or to take My covenant on your lips?
17 “For you hate instructionanddiscipline
And cast My words behind you [discarding them].
18 “When you see a thief, you are pleased with himandcondone his behavior,
And you associate with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth to evil
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 “These things you have done and I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you.
Now I will reprimandanddenounce you and statethe casein order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to rescue [you].
23 “He who offers a sacrifice of praiseandthanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way rightly [who follows the way that I show him],
I shall show the salvation of God.”