Psalm 73–83

BOOK III

(Psalms 73–89)

Psalm 73

GOD’S WAYS VINDICATED

A psalm of Asaph.^a

¹God is indeed good to Israel,

to the pure in heart.^b

²But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my steps nearly went astray.^c

³For I envied the arrogant;

I saw the prosperity of the wicked.^d

⁴They have an easy time until they die,^C

and their bodies are well fed.^De

⁵They are not in trouble like others;

they are not afflicted like most people.^f

⁶Therefore, pride is their necklace,

and violence covers them like a garment.^g

⁷Their eyes bulge out from fatness;

the imaginations of their hearts run wild.^h

⁸They mock, and they speak maliciously;

they arrogantly threaten oppression.ⁱ

⁹They set their mouths against heaven,

and their tongues strut across the earth.^j

¹⁰Therefore his people turn to them^A

and drink in their overflowing words.^Bk

¹¹The wicked say, “How can God know?

Does the Most High know everything?”^l

¹²Look at them—the wicked!

They are always at ease,

and they increase their wealth.^m

¹³Did I purify my heart

and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?ⁿ

¹⁴For I am afflicted all day long

and punished every morning.^o

¹⁵If I had decided to say these things aloud,

I would have betrayed your people.^Cp

¹⁶When I tried to understand all this,

it seemed hopeless^Dq

¹⁷until I entered God’s sanctuary.

Then I understood their destiny.^r

¹⁸Indeed, you put them in slippery places;

you make them fall into ruin.^s

¹⁹How suddenly they become a desolation!

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

²⁰Like one waking from a dream,

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

²¹When I became embittered

and my innermost being^E was wounded,^v

²²I was stupid and didn’t understand;

I was an unthinking animal toward you.^w

²³Yet I am always with you;

you hold my right hand.^x

²⁴You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me up in glory.^Fy

²⁵Who do I have in heaven but you?

And I desire nothing on earth but you.^z

²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength^G of my heart,

my portion forever.^aa

²⁷Those far from you will certainly perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.^ab

²⁸But 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

¹Why have you rejected us forever, God?

Why does your anger burn

against the sheep of your pasture?^ae

²Remember your congregation,

which you purchased long ago

and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.^af

Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.^ag

³Make your way^A to the perpetual ruins,

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

⁴Your adversaries roared in the meeting place

where you met with us.^B

They set up their emblems as signs.^b

⁵It was like men in a thicket of trees,

wielding axes,^c

⁶then smashing all the carvings

with hatchets and picks.^d

⁷They set your sanctuary on fire;

they utterly^C desecrated

the dwelling place of your name.^e

⁸They said in their hearts,

“Let’s oppress them relentlessly.”

They burned every place throughout the land

where God met with us.^Df

⁹There are no signs for us to see.

There is no longer a prophet.

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

¹⁰God, how long will the enemy mock?

Will the foe insult your name forever?^h

¹¹Why do you hold back your hand?

Stretch out^E your right hand and destroy them!ⁱ

¹²God my King is from ancient times,

performing saving acts on the earth.^j

¹³You divided the sea with your strength;

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

¹⁴you crushed the heads of Leviathan;

you fed him to the creatures of the desert.^l

¹⁵You opened up springs and streams;^m

you dried up ever-flowing rivers.ⁿ

¹⁶The day is yours, also the night;

you established the moon and the sun.^o

¹⁷You set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made summer and winter.^p

¹⁸Remember this: the enemy has mocked the Lord,

and a foolish people has insulted your name.^q

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

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

²⁰Consider the covenant,^s

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

²¹Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;

let the poor and needy praise your name.^u

²²Rise up, God, champion your cause!^v

Remember the insults

that fools bring against you all day long.^w

²³Do 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.

¹We 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

³When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,

I am the one who steadies its pillars.^ab

Selah

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

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

⁵Do not lift up your horn against heaven^A

or speak arrogantly.’ ”^ad

⁶Exaltation does not come

from the east, the west, or the desert,

⁷for God is the Judge:

He brings down one and exalts another.^ae

⁸For 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

⁹As 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.

¹God is known in Judah;

his name is great in Israel.^e

²His tent is in Salem,

his dwelling place in Zion.^f

³There he shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,

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

Selah

⁴You are resplendent and majestic

coming down from the mountains of prey.^h

⁵The brave-hearted have been plundered;

they have slipped into their final sleep.

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

⁶At your rebuke, God of Jacob,

both chariot and horse lay still.^j

⁷And you—you are to be feared.^A

When you are angry,

who can stand before you?^k

⁸From heaven you pronounced judgment.

The earth feared and grew quiet^l

⁹when God rose up to judge

and to save all the lowly of the earth.^m

Selah

¹⁰Even human wrath will praise you;

you will clothe yourself

with the wrath that remains.^Bn

¹¹Make and keep your vows

to the Lord your God;^o

let all who are around him bring tribute

to the awe-inspiring one.^Cp

¹²He 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.

¹I cry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.^s

²I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.

My hands were continually lifted up

all night long;

I refused to be comforted.^t

³I think of God; I groan;

I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.^u

Selah

⁴You have kept me from closing my eyes;

I am troubled and cannot speak.^v

⁵I consider days of old,

years long past.^w

⁶At 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

⁸Has his faithful love ceased forever?

Is his promise at an end for all generations?^z

⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”^aa

Selah

¹⁰So I say, “I am grieved

that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”^Bab

¹¹I will remember the Lord’s works;

yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.^ac

¹²I will reflect on all you have done

and meditate on your actions.^ad

¹³God, your way is holy.

What god is great like God?^ae

¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;

you revealed your strength among the peoples.^af

¹⁵With power you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.^ag

Selah

¹⁶The water saw you, God.

The water saw you; it trembled.

Even the depths shook.^ah

¹⁷The clouds poured down water.

The storm clouds thundered;

your arrows flashed back and forth.^a

¹⁸The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

lightning lit up the world.^b

The earth shook and quaked.^c

¹⁹Your way went through the sea

and your path through the vast water,

but your footprints were unseen.^d

²⁰You led your people like a flock^e

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.^f

Psalm 78

LESSONS FROM ISRAEL’S PAST

A Maskil of Asaph.^g

¹My people, hear my instruction;

listen to the words from my mouth.^h

²I will declare wise sayings;

I will speak mysteries from the pastⁱ—

³things we have heard and known

and that our ancestors have passed down to us.^j

⁴We 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

⁵He established a testimony in Jacob

and set up a law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

to teach to their children^l

⁶so that a future generation—

children yet to be born—might know.

They were to rise and tell their children^m

⁷so that they might put their confidence in God

and not forget God’s works,

but keep his commands.ⁿ

⁸Then 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

⁹The Ephraimite archers turned back

on the day of battle.^p

¹⁰They did not keep God’s covenant

and refused to live by his law.^q

¹¹They forgot what he had done,

the wondrous works he had shown them.^r

¹²He worked wonders in the sight of their ancestors

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

¹³He split the sea and brought them across;

the water stood firm like a wall.^t

¹⁴He led them with a cloud by day

and with a fiery light throughout the night.^u

¹⁵He split rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.^v

¹⁶He brought streams out of the stone

and made water flow down like rivers.^w

¹⁷But they continued to sin against him,

rebelling in the desert against the Most High.^x

¹⁸They deliberately^A tested God,

demanding the food they craved.^y

¹⁹They spoke against God,…