Psalm 73–83

BOOK III

(Psalms 73–89)

Psalm 73

GOD’S WAYS VINDICATED

A psalm of Asaph.a

1 God is indeed good to Israel,

to the pure in heart.b

2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my steps nearly went astray.c

3 For I envied the arrogant;

I saw the prosperity of the wicked.d

4 They have an easy time until they die,C

and their bodies are well fed.D,e

5 They are not in trouble like others;

they are not afflicted like most people.f

6 Therefore, pride is their necklace,

and violence covers them like a garment.g

7 Their eyes bulge out from fatness;

the imaginations of their hearts run wild.h

8 They mock, and they speak maliciously;

they arrogantly threaten oppression.i

9 They set their mouths against heaven,

and their tongues strut across the earth.j

10 Therefore his people turn to themA

and drink in their overflowing words.B,k

11 The wicked say, “How can God know?

Does the Most High know everything?”l

12 Look at them—the wicked!

They are always at ease,

and they increase their wealth.m

13 Did I purify my heart

and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?n

14 For I am afflicted all day long

and punished every morning.o

15 If I had decided to say these things aloud,

I would have betrayed your people.C,p

16 When I tried to understand all this,

it seemed hopelessD,q

17 until I entered God’s sanctuary.

Then I understood their destiny.r

18 Indeed, you put them in slippery places;

you make them fall into ruin.s

19 How suddenly they become a desolation!

They come to an end, swept away by terrors.t

20 Like one waking from a dream,

Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.u

21 When I became embittered

and my innermost beingE was wounded,v

22 I was stupid and didn’t understand;

I was an unthinking animal toward you.w

23 Yet I am always with you;

you hold my right hand.x

24 You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me up in glory.F,y

25 Who do I have in heaven but you?

And I desire nothing on earth but you.z

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strengthG of my heart,

my portion forever.aa

27 Those far from you will certainly perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.ab

28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good.

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

so I can tell about all you do.ac

Psalm 74

PRAYER FOR ISRAEL

A Maskil of Asaph.ad

1 Why have you rejected us forever, God?

Why does your anger burn

against the sheep of your pasture?ae

2 Remember your congregation,

which you purchased long ago

and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.af

Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.ag

3 Make your wayA to the perpetual ruins,

to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.a

4 Your adversaries roared in the meeting place

where you met with us.B

They set up their emblems as signs.b

5 It was like men in a thicket of trees,

wielding axes,c

6 then smashing all the carvings

with hatchets and picks.d

7 They set your sanctuary on fire;

they utterlyC desecrated

the dwelling place of your name.e

8 They said in their hearts,

“Let’s oppress them relentlessly.”

They burned every place throughout the land

where God met with us.D,f

9 There are no signs for us to see.

There is no longer a prophet.

And none of us knows how long this will last.g

10 God, how long will the enemy mock?

Will the foe insult your name forever?h

11 Why do you hold back your hand?

Stretch outE your right hand and destroy them!i

12 God my King is from ancient times,

performing saving acts on the earth.j

13 You divided the sea with your strength;

you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the water;k

14 you crushed the heads of Leviathan;

you fed him to the creatures of the desert.l

15 You opened up springs and streams;m

you dried up ever-flowing rivers.n

16 The day is yours, also the night;

you established the moon and the sun.o

17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made summer and winter.p

18 Remember this: the enemy has mocked the Lord,

and a foolish people has insulted your name.q

19 Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;F

do not forget the lives of your poor people forever.r

20 Consider the covenant,s

for the dark places of the land are full of violence.t

21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;

let the poor and needy praise your name.u

22 Rise up, God, champion your cause!v

Remember the insults

that fools bring against you all day long.w

23 Do not forget the clamor of your adversaries,

the tumult of your opponents that goes up constantly.x

Psalm 75

GOD JUDGES THE WICKED

For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph.y A song.

1 We give thanks to you, God;

we give thanks to you, for your name is near.*

People tell about your wondrous works.z

2 “When I choose a time,

I will judge fairly.aa

3 When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,

I am the one who steadies its pillars.ab

Selah

4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.ac

5 Do not lift up your horn against heavenA

or speak arrogantly.’ ”ad

6 Exaltation does not come

from the east, the west, or the desert,

7 for God is the Judge:

He brings down one and exalts another.ae

8 For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand,

full of wine blended with spices, and he pours from it.

All the wicked of the earth will drink,

draining it to the dregs.af

9 As for me, I will tell about him forever;

I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.a

10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,b

but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”c

Psalm 76

GOD, THE POWERFUL JUDGE

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph.d A song.

1 God is known in Judah;

his name is great in Israel.e

2 His tent is in Salem,

his dwelling place in Zion.f

3 There he shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,

the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.g

Selah

4 You are resplendent and majestic

coming down from the mountains of prey.h

5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;

they have slipped into their final sleep.

None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.i

6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob,

both chariot and horse lay still.j

7 And you—you are to be feared.A

When you are angry,

who can stand before you?k

8 From heaven you pronounced judgment.

The earth feared and grew quietl

9 when God rose up to judge

and to save all the lowly of the earth.m

Selah

10 Even human wrath will praise you;

you will clothe yourself

with the wrath that remains.B,n

11 Make and keep your vows

to the Lord your God;o

let all who are around him bring tribute

to the awe-inspiring one.C,p

12 He humbles the spirit of leaders;

he is feared by the kings of the earth.q

Psalm 77

CONFIDENCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS

For the choir director: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph.r A psalm.

1 I cry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.s

2 I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.

My hands were continually lifted up

all night long;

I refused to be comforted.t

3 I think of God; I groan;

I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.u

Selah

4 You have kept me from closing my eyes;

I am troubled and cannot speak.v

5 I consider days of old,

years long past.w

6 At night I remember my music;

I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.x

7 “Will the Lord reject forever

and never again show favor?y

8 Has his faithful love ceased forever?

Is his promise at an end for all generations?z

9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”aa

Selah

10 So I say, “I am grieved

that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”B,ab

11 I will remember the Lord’s works;

yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.ac

12 I will reflect on all you have done

and meditate on your actions.ad

13 God, your way is holy.

What god is great like God?ae

14 You are the God who works wonders;

you revealed your strength among the peoples.af

15 With power you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.ag

Selah

16 The water saw you, God.

The water saw you; it trembled.

Even the depths shook.ah

17 The clouds poured down water.

The storm clouds thundered;

your arrows flashed back and forth.a

18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

lightning lit up the world.b

The earth shook and quaked.c

19 Your way went through the sea

and your path through the vast water,

but your footprints were unseen.d

20 You led your people like a flocke

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.f

Psalm 78

LESSONS FROM ISRAEL’S PAST

A Maskil of Asaph.g

1 My people, hear my instruction;

listen to the words from my mouth.h

2 I will declare wise sayings;

I will speak mysteries from the pasti—

3 things we have heard and known

and that our ancestors have passed down to us.j

4 We will not hide them from their children,

but will tell a future generation

the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,

his might, and the wondrous works

he has performed.k

5 He established a testimony in Jacob

and set up a law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

to teach to their childrenl

6 so that a future generation—

children yet to be born—might know.

They were to rise and tell their childrenm

7 so that they might put their confidence in God

and not forget God’s works,

but keep his commands.n

8 Then they would not be like their ancestors,

a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation whose heart was not loyal

and whose spirit was not faithful to God.o

9 The Ephraimite archers turned back

on the day of battle.p

10 They did not keep God’s covenant

and refused to live by his law.q

11 They forgot what he had done,

the wondrous works he had shown them.r

12 He worked wonders in the sight of their ancestors

in the land of Egypt, the territory of Zoan.s

13 He split the sea and brought them across;

the water stood firm like a wall.t

14 He led them with a cloud by day

and with a fiery light throughout the night.u

15 He split rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.v

16 He brought streams out of the stone

and made water flow down like rivers.w

17 But they continued to sin against him,

rebelling in the desert against the Most High.x

18 They deliberatelyA tested God,

demanding the food they craved.y

19 They spoke against God…