Psalm 73:1–89:52

The Justice of Gode

73 God is indeed good to Israel,

to those who have pure hearts.

2 But I had nearly lost confidence;

my faith was almost gone

3 because I was jealous of the proud

when I saw that things go well for the wicked.

4 They do not suffer pain;

they are strong and healthy.

5 They do not suffer as other people do;

they do not have the troubles that others have.

6 And so they wear pride like a necklace

and violence like a robe;

7 their hearts pour out evil,f

and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.

8 They laugh at other people and speak of evil things;

they are proud and make plans to oppress others.

9 They speak evil of God in heaven

and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,

10 so that even God’s people turn to them

and eagerly believe whatever they say.g

11 They say, “God will not know;

the Most High will not find out.”

12 That is what the wicked are like.

They have plenty and are always getting more.

13 Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure

and have not committed sin?

14 O God, you have made me suffer all day long;

every morning you have punished me.

15 If I had said such things,

I would not be acting as one of your people.

16 I tried to think this problem through,

but it was too difficult for me

17 until I went into your Temple.

Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.

18 You will put them in slippery places

and make them fall to destruction!

19 They are instantly destroyed;

they go down to a horrible end.

20 They are like a dream that goes away in the morning;

when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.

21 When my thoughts were bitter

and my feelings were hurt,

22 I was as stupid as an animal;

I did not understand you.

23 Yet I always stay close to you,

and you hold me by the hand.

24 You guide me with your instruction

and at the end you will receive me with honour.

25 What else have I in heaven but you?

Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?

26 My mind and my body may grow weak,

but God is my strength;

he is all I ever need.

27 Those who abandon

you will certainly perish; you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,

to find protection with the Sovereign Lord

and to proclaim all that he has done!

A Prayer for National Deliveranceh

74 Why have you abandoned us like this, O God?

Will you be angry with your own people for ever?

2 Remember your people,

whom you chose for yourself long ago, whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe.

Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.

3 Walk over these total ruins;

our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.

4 Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple;

they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.

5 They looked like woodmen

cutting down trees

with their axes.i

6 They smashed all the wooden panels with their axes and sledgehammers.

7 They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire;

they desecrated the place where you are worshipped.

8 They wanted to crush us completely;

they burnt down every holy place in the land.

9 All our sacred symbols are gone;

there are no prophets left,

and no one knows how long this will last.

10 How long, O God, will our enemies laugh at you?

Will they insult your name for ever?

11 Why have you refused to help us?

Why do you keep your hands behind you?j

12 But you have been our king from the beginning, O God;

you have saved us many times.

13* With your mighty strength you divided the sea

and smashed the heads of the sea monsters;

14* you crushed the heads of the monster Leviathank

and fed his body to desert animals.l

15 You made springs and fountains flow;

you dried up large rivers.

16 You created the day and the night;

you set the sun and the moon in their places;

17 you set the limits of the earth;

you made summer and winter.

18 But remember, O Lord, that your enemies laugh at you,

that they are godless and despise you.

19 Don’t abandon your helpless people to their cruel enemies;

don’t forget your persecuted people!

20 Remember the covenant you made with us.

There is violence in every dark corner of the land.

21 Don’t let the oppressed be put to shame;

let those poor and needy people praise you.

22 Rouse yourself, God, and defend your cause!

Remember that godless people laugh at you all day long.

23 Don’t forget the angry shouts of your enemies,

the continuous noise made by your foes.

God the Judgem

75 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you!

We proclaim how great you are

and tell ofn the wonderful things you have done.

2 “I have set a time for judgement,” says God,

“and I will judge with fairness.

3 Though every living creature tremble

and the earth itself be shaken,

I will keep its foundations firm.

4 I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;

5 I tell them to stop their boasting.”

6 Judgement does not come from the east or from the west,

from the north or from the south;o

7 it is God who is the judge,

condemning some and acquitting others.

8 The Lord holds a cup in his hand,

filled with the strong wine of his anger.

He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it;

they drink it down to the last drop.

9 But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob

or singing praises to him.

10 He will break the power of the wicked,

but the power of the righteous will be increased.

God the Victorp

76 God is known in Judah;

his name is honoured in Israel.

2 He has his home in Jerusalem;

he lives on Mount Zion.

3 There he broke the arrows of the enemy,

their shields and swords, yes, all their weapons.

4 How glorious you are, O God!

How majestic, as you return from the mountains

where you defeated your foes.

5 Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had

and now are sleeping the sleep of death;

all their strength and skill was useless.

6 When you threatened them, O God of Jacob,

the horses and their riders fell dead.

7 But you, Lord, are feared by all.

No one can stand in your presence when you are angry.

8 You made your judgement known from heaven;

the world was afraid and kept silent,

9 when you rose up to pronounce judgement,

to save all the oppressed on earth.

10 Human anger only results in more praise for you;

those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.q

11 Give the Lord your God what you promised him;

bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations.

God makes everyone fear him;

12 he humbles proud princes

and terrifies great kings.

Comfort in Time of Distressr

77 I cry aloud to God;

I cry aloud, and he hears me.

2 In times of trouble I pray to the Lord;

all night long I lift my hands in prayer,

but I cannot find comfort.

3 When I think of God, I sigh;

when I meditate, I feel discouraged.

4 He keeps me awake all night;

I am so worried that I cannot speak.

5 I think of days gone by

and remember years of long ago.

6 I spend the night in deep thought;s

I meditate, and this is what I ask myself:

7 “Will the Lord always reject us?

Will he never again be pleased with us?

8 Has he stopped loving us?

Does his promise no longer stand?

9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has anger taken the place of his compassion?”

10 Then I said, “What hurts me most is this—

that God is no longer powerful.”t

11 I will remember your great deeds, Lord;

I will recall the wonders you did in the past.

12 I will think about all that you have done;

I will meditate on all your mighty acts.

13 Everything you do, O God, is holy.

No god is as great as you.

14 You are the God who works miracles;

you showed your might among the nations.

15 By your power you saved your people,

the descendants of Jacob and of Joseph.

16 When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid,

and the depths of the sea trembled.

17 The clouds poured down rain;

thunder crashed from the sky,

and lightning flashed in all directions.

18 The crash of your thunder rolled out,

and flashes of lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and shook.

19 You walked through the waves;

you crossed the deep sea,

but your footprints could not be seen.

20 You led your people like a shepherd,

with Moses and Aaron in charge.

God and His Peopleu

78 Listen, my people, to my teaching,

and pay attention to what I say.

2* I am going to use wise sayings

and explain mysteries from the past,

3 things we have heard and known,

things that our ancestors told us.

4 We will not keep them from our children;

we will tell the next generation

about the Lord’s power and his great deeds

and the wonderful things he has done.

5 He gave laws to the people of Israel

and commandments to the descendants of Jacob.

He instructed our ancestors

to teach his laws to their children,

6 so that the next generation might learn them

and in turn should tell their children.

7 In this way they also would put their trust in God

and not forget what he has done,

but always obey his commandments.

8 They would not be like their ancestors,

a rebellious and disobedient people,

whose trust in God was never firm

and who did not remain faithful to him.

9 The Ephraimites, armed with bows and arrows,

ran away on the day of battle.

10 They did not keep their covenant with God;

they refused to obey his law.

11 They forgot what he had done,

the miracles they had seen him perform.

12* While their ancestors watched, God performed miracles

in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.

13* He divided the sea and took them through it;

he made the waters stand like walls.

14* By day he led them with a cloud

and all night long with the light of a fire.

15* He split rocks open in the desert

and gave them water from the depths.

16* He caused a stream to come out of the rock

and made water flow like a river.

17 But they continued to sin against God,

and in the desert they rebelled against the Most High.

18* They deliberately put God to the test

by demanding the food they wanted.

19* They spoke against God and said,

“Can God supply food in the desert?

20* It is true that he struck the rock,

and water flowed out in a torrent;

but can he also provide us with bread

and give his people meat?”

21* And so the Lord was angry when he heard them;

he attacked his people with fire,

and his anger against them grew,

22* because they had no faith in him

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