Psalm 50 is a courtroom scene: “The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he hath called the earth.” God does not want empty sacrifices but thankful hearts and honest lives: “Offer to God the sacrifice of praise… And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 49. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 50 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
A psalm for Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he hath called the earth. From the rising of the sun, to the going down thereof:
Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.
God shall come manifestly: our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall burn before him: and a mighty tempest shall be round about him.
He shall call heaven from above, and the earth, to judge his people.
Gather ye together his saints to him: who set his covenant before sacrifices.
And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge.
Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: I am God, thy God.
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices: and thy burnt offerings are always in my sight.
I will not take calves out of thy house: nor he goats out of thy flocks.
For all the beasts of the woods are mine: the cattle on the hills, and the oxen.
I know all the fowls of the air: and with me is the beauty of the field.
If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? or shall I drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: and pay thy vows to the most High.
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth?
Seeing thou hast hated discipline: and hast cast my words behind thee.
If thou didst see a thief thou didst run with him: and with adulterers thou hast been a partaker.
Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed deceits.
Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, and didst lay a scandal against thy mother’s son:
These things hast thou done, and I was silent. Thou thoughtest unjustly that I should be like to thee: but I will reprove thee, and set before thy face.
Understand these things, you that forget God; lest he snatch you away, and there be none to deliver you.
The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will shew him the salvation of God.
Psalm 50 or Psalm 49?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 49 is Psalm 50 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Deus deorum, Dominus, locutus est. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- God comes to judge: “Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty. God shall come manifestly.”
- God needs nothing: every beast of the forest is already his.
- The sacrifice God wants: praise, thanksgiving and faithfulness. For Christians, the perfect “sacrifice of praise” is the Eucharist (Hebrews 13:15).
- “Call upon me in the day of trouble”: a promise for every time of need.
- Religion without hypocrisy: God rebukes those who recite his law but live in sin.
How the Church uses Psalm 50
- At Mass on the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A): “To the upright I will show the saving power of God.”
- In the old Roman Missal, “Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty: God shall come manifestly” was sung on the Second Sunday of Advent. See Advent.
- In the Liturgy of the Hours.
A prayer with Psalm 50
Written for this page:
Lord, you need nothing from me, yet you ask for my praise.
I offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and give you my heart.
In the day of trouble I call upon you; deliver me, and I will glorify you.
Keep me from empty words, and let my life honor you. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Where is “Call upon me in the day of trouble”?
Psalm 50:15 (49:15 in the Douay-Rheims).
What is the “sacrifice of praise”?
Thanksgiving offered to God from the heart; Christians offer it above all in the Eucharist (Hebrews 13:15).
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 49 (50); Hebrews 13:15, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.