The Psalms

[A Psalm of Asaph.] The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.

May our God come and not keep silence; Fire devours before Him, And it is very tempestuous around Him.

He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people:

"Gather My godly ones to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."

And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. [Selah].

"Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God.

"I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.

"I shall take no young bull out of your house, Nor male goats out of your folds.

"For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.

"I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine.

"If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all it contains.

"Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of male goats?

"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High;

But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to tell of My statutes, And to take My covenant in your mouth?

"For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you.

"When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers.

"You let your mouth loose in evil, And your tongue frames deceit.

"You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.

"These things you have done, and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you, and state [the case] in order before your eyes.

"Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear [you] in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

"He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders [his] way [aright] I shall show the salvation of God."