Psalm 72–83

A Solomon Psalm

^1–872Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,

the gift of just rule to the crown prince.

May he judge your people rightly,

be honorable to your meek and lowly.

Let the mountains give exuberant witness;

shape the hills with the contours of right living.

Please stand up for the poor,

help the children of the needy,

come down hard on the cruel tyrants.

Outlast the sun, outlive the moon—

age after age after age.

Be rainfall on cut grass,

earth-refreshing rain showers.

Let righteousness burst into blossom

and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.

Rule from sea to sea,

from the River to the Rim.

^9–14Foes will fall on their knees before God,

his enemies lick the dust.

Kings remote and legendary will pay homage,

kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.

All kings will fall down and worship,

and godless nations sign up to serve him,

Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,

the destitute who have run out of luck.

He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,

he restores the wretched of the earth.

He frees them from tyranny and torture—

when they bleed, he bleeds;

when they die, he dies.

^15–17And live! Oh, let him live!

Deck him out in Sheba gold.

Offer prayers unceasing to him,

bless him from morning to night.

Fields of golden grain in the land,

cresting the mountains in wild exuberance,

Cornucopias of praise, praises

springing from the city like grass from the earth.

May he never be forgotten,

his fame shine on like sunshine.

May all godless people enter his circle of blessing

and bless the One who blessed them.

^18–20Blessed God, Israel’s God,

the one and only wonder-working God!

Blessed always his blazing glory!

All earth brims with his glory.

Yes and Yes and Yes.

An Asaph Psalm

^1–573No doubt about it! God is good—

good to good people, good to the good-hearted.

But I nearly missed it,

missed seeing his goodness.

I was looking the other way,

looking up to the people

At the top,

envying the wicked who have it made,

Who have nothing to worry about,

not a care in the whole wide world.

^6–10Pretentious with arrogance,

they wear the latest fashions in violence,

Pampered and overfed,

decked out in silk bows of silliness.

They jeer, using words to kill;

they bully their way with words.

They’re full of hot air,

loudmouths disturbing the peace.

People actually listen to them—can you believe it?

Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

^11–14What’s going on here? Is God out to lunch?

Nobody’s tending the store.

The wicked get by with everything;

they have it made, piling up riches.

I’ve been stupid to play by the rules;

what has it gotten me?

A long run of bad luck, that’s what—

a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.

^15–20If I’d have given in and talked like this,

I would have betrayed your dear children.

Still, when I tried to figure it out,

all I got was a splitting headache …

Until I entered the sanctuary of God.

Then I saw the whole picture:

The slippery road you’ve put them on,

with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.

In the blink of an eye, disaster!

A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare!

We wake up and rub our eyes.… Nothing.

There’s nothing to them. And there never was.

^21–24When I was beleaguered and bitter,

totally consumed by envy,

I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox

in your very presence.

I’m still in your presence,

but you’ve taken my hand.

You wisely and tenderly lead me,

and then you bless me.

^25–28You’re all I want in heaven!

You’re all I want on earth!

When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,

God is rock-firm and faithful.

Look! Those who left you are falling apart!

Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again.

But I’m in the very presence of God—

oh, how refreshing it is!

I’ve made Lord God my home.

God, I’m telling the world what you do!

An Asaph Psalm

¹74You walked off and left us, and never looked back.

God, how could you do that?

We’re your very own sheep;

how can you stomp off in anger?

^2–3Refresh your memory of us—you bought us a long time ago.

Your most precious tribe—you paid a good price for us!

Your very own Mount Zion—you actually lived here once!

Come and visit the site of disaster,

see how they’ve wrecked the sanctuary.

^4–8While your people were at worship, your enemies barged in,

brawling and scrawling graffiti.

They set fire to the porch;

axes swinging, they chopped up the woodwork,

Beat down the doors with sledgehammers,

then split them into kindling.

They burned your holy place to the ground,

violated the place of worship.

They said to themselves, “We’ll wipe them all out,”

and burned down all the places of worship.

^9–17There’s not a sign or symbol of God in sight,

nor anyone to speak in his name,

no one who knows what’s going on.

How long, God, will barbarians blaspheme,

enemies curse and get by with it?

Why don’t you do something? How long are you going

to sit there with your hands folded in your lap?

God is my King from the very start;

he works salvation in the womb of the earth.

With one blow you split the sea in two,

you made mincemeat of the dragon Tannin.

You lopped off the heads of Leviathan,

then served them up in a stew for the animals.

With your finger you opened up springs and creeks,

and dried up the wild floodwaters.

You own the day, you own the night;

you put stars and sun in place.

You laid out the four corners of earth,

shaped the seasons of summer and winter.

^18–21Mark and remember, God, all the enemy

taunts, each idiot desecration.

Don’t throw your lambs to the wolves;

after all we’ve been through, don’t forget us.

Remember your promises;

the city is in darkness, the countryside violent.

Don’t leave the victims to rot in the street;

make them a choir that sings your praises.

^22–23On your feet, O God—

stand up for yourself!

Do you hear what they’re saying about you,

all the vile obscenities?

Don’t tune out their malicious filth,

the brawling invective that never lets up.

An Asaph Psalm

¹75We thank you, God, we thank you—

your Name is our favorite word;

your mighty works are all we talk about.

^2–4You say, “I’m calling this meeting to order,

I’m ready to set things right.

When the earth goes topsy-turvy

And nobody knows which end is up,

I nail it all down,

I put everything in place again.

I say to the smart alecks, ‘That’s enough,’

to the bullies, ‘Not so fast.’ ”

^5–6Don’t raise your fist against High God.

Don’t raise your voice against Rock of Ages.

He’s the One from east to west;

from desert to mountains, he’s the One.

^7–8God rules: he brings this one down to his knees,

pulls that one up on her feet.

God has a cup in his hand,

a bowl of wine, full to the brim.

He draws from it and pours;

it’s drained to the dregs.

Earth’s wicked ones drink it all,

drink it down to the last bitter drop!

^9–10And I’m telling the story of God Eternal,

singing the praises of Jacob’s God.

The fists of the wicked

are bloody stumps,

The arms of the righteous

are lofty green branches.

An Asaph Psalm

^1–376God is well-known in Judah;

in Israel, he’s a household name.

He keeps a house in Salem,

his own suite of rooms in Zion.

That’s where, using arrows for kindling,

he made a bonfire of weapons of war.

^4–6Oh, how bright you shine!

Outshining their huge piles of loot!

The warriors were plundered

and left there impotent.

And now there’s nothing to them,

nothing to show for their swagger and threats.

Your sudden roar, God of Jacob,

knocked the wind out of horse and rider.

^7–10Fierce you are, and fearsome!

Who can stand up to your rising anger?

From heaven you thunder judgment;

earth falls to her knees and holds her breath.

God stands tall and makes things right,

he saves all the wretched on earth.

Instead of smoldering rage—God-praise!

All that sputtering rage—now a garland for God!

^11–12Do for God what you said you’d do—

he is, after all, your God.

Let everyone in town bring offerings

to the One Who Watches our every move.

Nobody gets by with anything,

no one plays fast and loose with him.

An Asaph Psalm

¹77I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might,

I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.

^2–6I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord;

my life was an open wound that wouldn’t heal.

When friends said, “Everything will turn out all right,”

I didn’t believe a word they said.

I remember God—and shake my head.

I bow my head—then wring my hands.

I’m awake all night—not a wink of sleep;

I can’t even say what’s bothering me.

I go over the days one by one,

I ponder the years gone by.

I strum my lute all through the night,

wondering how to get my life together.

^7–10Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good?

Will he never smile again?

Is his love worn threadbare?

Has his salvation promise burned out?

Has God forgotten his manners?

Has he angrily stalked off and left us?

“Just my luck,” I said. “The High God goes out of business

just the moment I need him.”

^11–12Once again I’ll go over what God has done,

lay out on the table the ancient wonders;

I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished,

and give a long, loving look at your acts.

^13–15O God! Your way is holy!

No god is great like God!

You’re the God who makes things happen;

you showed everyone what you can do—

You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble,

rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.

^16–19Ocean saw you in action, God,

saw you and trembled with fear;

Deep Ocean was scared to death.

Clouds belched buckets of rain,

Sky exploded with thunder,

your arrows flashing this way and that.

From Whirlwind came your thundering voice,

Lightning exposed the world,

Earth reeled and rocked.

You strode right through Ocean,

walked straight through roaring Ocean,

but nobody saw you come or go.

²⁰Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron,

You led your people like a flock of sheep.

An Asaph Psalm

^1–478Listen, dear friends, to God’s truth,

bend your ears to what I tell you.

I’m chewing on the morsel of a proverb;

I’ll let you in on the sweet old truths,

Stories we heard from our fathers,

counsel we learned at our mother’s knee.

We’re not keeping this to ourselves,

we’re passing it along to the next generation—

God’s fame and fortune,

the marvelous things he has done.

^5–8He planted a witness in Jacob,

set his Word firmly in Israel,

Then commanded our parents

to teach it to their children

So the…