New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 Hear this, all peoples;

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2 Both low and high,

Rich and poor together.

3 My mouth will speak wisdom,

And the meditation of my heartwill beunderstanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will express my riddle on the harp.

5 Why should I fear in days of adversity,

When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me,

6 Even those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

7 No man can by any means redeemhisbrother

Or give to God a ransom for him-

8 For the redemption of his soul is costly,

And he should ceasetryingforever-

9 That he should live on eternally,

# That he should notundergo decay.

10 For he seesthat evenwise men die;

The stupid and the senseless alike perish

And leave their wealth to others.

11 Theirinner thought isthattheir houses are forever

Andtheir dwelling places to all generations;

They have called their lands after their own names.

12 But man inhispomp will not endure;

He is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the way of those who are foolish,

And of those after them who approve their words. Selah.

14 As sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;

And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,

And their form shall be for Sheol to consume

So that they have no habitation.

15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,

For He will receive me. Selah.

16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich,

# When theglory of his house is increased;

17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;

# Hisglory will not descend after him.

18 Though while he lives he congratulates himself-

And thoughmenpraise you when you do well for yourself-

19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;

They will never see the light.

20 Man inhispomp, yet without understanding,

Is like the beasts that perish.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/49-6b804dcba38aa4588118912242b77430.mp3?version_id=100—

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.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God has shone forth.

3 May our God come and not keep silence;

Fire devours before Him,

And it is very tempestuous around Him.

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,

And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.

9 “I shall take no young bull out of your house

Nor male goats out of your folds.

10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine,

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 is Mine, and all it contains.

13 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls

Or drink the blood of male goats?

14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving

And pay your vows to the Most High;

15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;

I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

16 But to the wicked God says,

“What right have you to tell of My statutes

And to take My covenant in your mouth?

17 “For you hate discipline,

And you cast My words behind you.

18 “When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,

And you associate with adulterers.

19 “You let your mouth loose in 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 silence;

You thought that I was just like you;

I will reprove you and statethe casein order before your eyes.

22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,

Or I will tearyouin pieces, and there will be none to deliver.

23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;

And to him who ordershiswayaright

I shall show the salvation of God.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/50-52b48002f3385a3172f64083700db532.mp3?version_id=100—

A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

And my sin is ever before me.

4 Against You, You only, I have sinned

And done what is evil in Your sight,

# So that Youare justified when You speak

And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,

And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,

Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.

9 Hide Your face from my sins

And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

And sustain me with a willing spirit.

13 ThenI will teach transgressors Your ways,

# And sinners willbe converted to You.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;

Thenmy tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

That my mouth may declare Your praise.

16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;

You are not pleased with burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

18 By Your favor do good to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,

In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/51-bceadd3b6fbfb6bbd3515d8d9611a99f.mp3?version_id=100—

Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the choir director. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

1 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The lovingkindness of Godenduresall day long.

2 Your tongue devises destruction,

Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.

3 You love evil more than good,

Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.

4 You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

5 But God will break you down forever;

He will snatch you up and tear you away fromyourtent,

And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.

6 The righteous will see and fear,

And will laugh at him,saying,

7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches

Andwas strong in hisevildesire.”

8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have doneit,

And I will wait on Your name, forit isgood, in the presence of Your godly ones.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/52-197c5610a69cc7facd3b6b03d05a3b56.mp3?version_id=100—

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director; according to #Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”

They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;

There is no one who does good.

2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there is anyone who understands,

Who seeks after God.

3 Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge,

Who eat up My peopleas thoughthey ate bread

And have not called upon God?

5 There they were in great fearwhereno fear had been;

For God scattered the bones of him who encamped against you;

You putthemto shame, because God had rejected them.

6 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

When God restores His captive people,

Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/53-d520b59274de747cd78ef24ec71cbd11.mp3?version_id=100—

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”

1 Save me, O God, by Your name,

# Andvindicate me by Your power.

2 Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.

3 For strangers have risen against me

And violent men have sought my life;

They have not set God before them. Selah.

4 Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

5 He will recompense the evil to my foes;

Destroy them in Your faithfulness.

6 Willingly I will sacrifice to You;

I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

7 For He has delivered me from all trouble,

And my eye has lookedwith satisfactionupon my enemies.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/54-4965ed1c5e6a2ca48cc73e220fa18505.mp3?version_id=100—

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God;

And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.

2 Give heed to me and answer me;

# I am restless in my complaint andam surely distracted,

3 Because of the voice of the enemy,

Because of the pressure of the wicked;

For they bring down trouble upon me

And in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4 My heart is in anguish within me,

And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

5 Fear and trembling come upon me,

And horror has overwhelmed me.

6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

# I would fly away andbe at rest.

7 “Behold, I would wander far away,

I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah.

8 “I would hasten to my place of refuge

From the stormy windandtempest.”

9 Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,

For I have seen violence and strife in the city.

10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,

And iniquity and mischief are in her midst.

11 Destruction is in her midst;

Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets.

12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me,

Then I could bearit;

Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me,

Then I could hide myself from him.

13 But it is you, a man my equal,

My companion and my familiar friend;

14 We who had sweetfellowship together

Walked in the house of God in the throng.

15 Let death come deceitfully upon them;

Let them go down alive to Sheol,

For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

16 As for me, I shall call upon God,

And the Lordwill save me.

17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur,

And He will hear my voice.

18 He will redeem my soul in peace from the battlewhich isagainst me,

For they are manywho strivewith me.

19 God will hear and answer them-

Even the one who sits enthroned from of old- Selah.

With whom there is no change,

And who do not fear God.

20 He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;

# He hasviolated his covenant.

21 His speech was smoother than butter,

But his heart was war;

His words were softer than oil,

Yet they were drawn swords.

22 Cast your burden upon the Lordand He will sustain you;

He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction;

Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days.

But I will trust in You.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/55-ed1255371eb09a803edb0d41b4f20d5d.mp3?version_id=100—

Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.

For the choir director; according to Jonath elem rehokim. A Mikhtam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me;

Fighting all day long he oppresses me.

2 My foes have trampled upon me all day long,

For they are many who fight proudly against me.

3 When I am afraid,

I will put my trust in You.

4 In God, whose word I praise,

In God I have put my trust;

I shall not be afraid.

What canmereman do to me?

5 All day long theydistort my words;

All their thoughts are against me for evil.

6 Theyattack, they lurk,

They watch my steps,

As they have waitedto takemy life.

7 Because of wickedness, cast them forth,

In anger put down the peoples, O God!

8 You have taken account of my wanderings;

Put my tears in Your bottle.

Aretheynot in Your book?

9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;

# This I know,that God is for me.

10 In God,whoseword I praise,

In the Lord,whoseword I praise,

11 In God I have put mytrust, I shall not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

12 Your vows arebindingupon me, O God;

I will render thank offerings to You.

13 For You have delivered my soul from death,

Indeed my feet from stumbling,

So that I may walk before God

In the light of the living.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/56-6350c2d392640d942126fd9e0a9fe1b2.mp3?version_id=100—

Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.

For the choir director; set to #Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.

1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,

For my soul takes refuge in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge

Until destruction passes by.

2 I will cry to God Most High,

To God who accomplishesall thingsfor me.

3 He will send from heaven and save me;

He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah.

God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.

4 My soul is among lions;

I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,

Eventhe sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows

And their tongue a sharp sword.

5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

LetYour glorybeabove all the earth.

6 They haveprepared a net for my steps;

My soul is bowed down;

They dug a pit before me;

Theythemselveshave fallen into the midst of it. Selah.

7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!

8 Awake, my glory!

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

9 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to You among the nations.

10 For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens

And Your truth to the clouds.

11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

LetYour glorybeabove all the earth.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/57-e44205cf0061700a96c537813ec0774e.mp3?version_id=100—

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David.

1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, Ogods?

# Do you judgeuprightly, O sons of men?

2 No, in heart you work unrighteousness;

On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;

These who speak lies go astray from birth.

4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent;

Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,

5 So that it does not hear the voice of charmers,

Ora skillful caster of spells.

6 O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth;

Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.

7 Let them flow away like water that runs off;

Whenhe aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.

8 Let them beas a snail which melts away as it goes along,

Likethe miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.

9 Before your pots can feelthe fire ofthorns

He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.

10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11 And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;

Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/PSA/58-f22a12ac9ceeccd953ed1db5dea09cb2.mp3?version_id=100—