Psalm 50

Words: William Whittingham, from  The Scottish Psalter of 1635
Note: This version of Psalm 50 was also used in the Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter of 1562.

 1  The mighty God, th' Eternal hath thus spoke,
    And all the world. He will call and provoke!
    E'en from the east, and so forth to the west:
    Out of Zion, which place he liketh best,
    God will appear, in beauty most excellent,
    God will come before that long time be spent:

 2  Devouring fire shall go before his face, 
    A tempest great shall round about him trace.
    Then shall he call the earth and heavens bright,
    To judge his folk with equity and right.
    Saying, Go to, and now my saints assemble;
    My pact they keep, their gifts do not dissemble.

 3  The heav'ns they shall declare his righteousness
    For God is Judge of all things more and less
    Hear, my people, for I will now reveal;
    List, Isreal, I'll from thee nought conceal:
    Thy God, the Lord and I, and will not blame thee
    For not giving all sorts of off'rings to me:

 4  I have no need to take of thee at all
    Goats of thy fold, or calves out of thy stall.
    For all the beasts are mine within the woods,
    On thousand hills cattle are mine own goods;
    I know for mine all birds that are on mountains,
    All beasts mine are which haunt the fields and fountains.

 5  Were I hungry I would not thee it tell;
    For all is mine that in the world doth dwell.
    Eat I the flesh of great bulls or bullocks!
    Or drink the blood of goats or of the flocks.
    Offer to God praise and hearty thanksgiving,
    And pay thy vows unto God ever living.

 6  Call upon me when troubled thou shalt be;
    Then will I help, and thou shalt honor me.
    To the wicked thus saith th' eternal God,
    Why dost thou preach my words and laws abroad,
    Seeing thou hast them with thy mouth abused,
    And hat'st to be by discipline reduced!

 7  My words, I say, thou dost reject and hate:
    If that thou seest a thief, as with thy mate,
    Thou runn'st with him, and so your prey seek out;
    And art all one with the adult'rous rout.
    Thou giv'st thyself to backbite and to slander,
    And how thy tongue deceiveth, is a wonder.

 8  Thou sitt'st musing thy brother how to blame,
    And how to put thy mother's son to shame.
    These things thou didst, and while I held my tongue,
    Thou didst me judge, because I stayed so long,
    Like to thyself; yet though I kept long silence,
    Once shalt thou feel of thy wrongs just recompence.

 9  Consider this, ye that forget the Lord,
    And fear not when he threat'neth with his word,
    Lest without help I spoil you as a prey:
    But he that thanks offers, praiseth alway,
    Saith the Lord God, and he that walketh this trace,
    I will him teach God's saving health t'embrace.        

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Page last modified on: 07/29/2004