excerpts from Psalm 50

1The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.

3Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.

5“Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

7“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.

11I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.

12“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”