Psalm 72–83

PSALM 72

The Reign of the Righteous King.

A Psalm of Solomon.

¹Give the king ^aYour judgments, O God,

And ^bYour righteousness to the king’s son.

²¹May ²he ^ajudge Your people with righteousness

And ^3bYour afflicted with justice.

³¹Let the mountains bring ^2apeace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

⁴¹May he ^avindicate the ²afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

⁵¹Let them fear You ^awhile the sun endures,

And ²as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

⁶¹May he come down ^alike rain upon the mown grass,

Like ^bshowers that water the earth.

⁷In his days ¹may the ^arighteous flourish,

And ^babundance of peace till the moon is no more.

⁸May he also rule ^afrom sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹¹Let ^athe nomads of the desert ^bbow before him,

And his enemies ^click the dust.

¹⁰¹Let the kings of ^aTarshish and of the ^2bislands bring presents;

The kings of ^cSheba and ^dSeba ^eoffer ³gifts.

¹¹¹And let all ^akings bow down before him,

All ^bnations serve him.

¹²For he will ^adeliver the needy when he cries for help,

The ¹afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

¹³He will have ^acompassion on the poor and needy,

And the ¹lives of the needy he will save.

¹⁴He will ^1arescue their ²life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be ^bprecious in his sight;

¹⁵So may he live, and may the ^agold of Sheba be given to him;

And let ¹them pray for him continually;

Let them bless him all day long.

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

Its fruit will wave like the cedars of ^aLebanon;

And may those from the city flourish like ^bvegetation of the earth.

¹⁷May his ^aname endure forever;

May his name ¹increase ^2bas long as the sun shines;

And let men ^cbless themselves by him;

^dLet all nations call him blessed.

^18aBlessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

Who alone ^bworks wonders.

¹⁹And blessed be His ^aglorious name forever;

And may the whole ^bearth be filled with His glory.

^cAmen, and Amen.

²⁰The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

BOOK 3

PSALM 73

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is ^agood to Israel,

To those who are ^bpure in heart!

²But as for me, ^amy feet came close to stumbling,

My steps ¹had almost slipped.

³For I was ^aenvious of the ¹arrogant

As I saw the ^bprosperity of the wicked.

⁴For there are no pains in their death,

And their ¹body is fat.

⁵They are ^anot ¹in trouble as other ²men,

Nor are they ^bplagued ³like mankind.

⁶Therefore pride is ^atheir necklace;

The ^bgarment of violence covers them.

⁷Their eye ¹bulges from ^afatness;

The imaginations of their heart ²run riot.

⁸They ^amock and ¹wickedly speak of oppression;

They ^bspeak from on high.

⁹They have ^aset their mouth ¹against the heavens,

And their tongue ²parades through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore ¹his people return to this place,

And waters of ^aabundance are ²drunk by them.

¹¹They say, “^aHow does God know?

And is there knowledge ¹with the Most High?”

¹²Behold, ^athese are the wicked;

And always ^bat ease, they have increased in wealth.

¹³Surely ^ain vain I have ¹kept my heart pure

And ^bwashed my hands in innocence;

¹⁴For I have been stricken ^aall day long

And ^1bchastened every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

Behold, I would have betrayed the ^ageneration of Your children.

¹⁶When I ^apondered to understand this,

It was ¹troublesome in my sight

¹⁷Until I came into the ^1asanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their ^bend.

¹⁸Surely You set them in ^aslippery places;

You cast them down to ^1bdestruction.

¹⁹How they are ^1adestroyed in a moment!

They are utterly swept away by ^bsudden terrors!

²⁰Like a ^adream when one awakes,

O Lord, when ^baroused, You will ^cdespise their ¹form.

²¹When my ^aheart was embittered

And I was ^bpierced ¹within,

²²Then I was ^asenseless and ignorant;

I was like ¹a ^bbeast ²before You.

²³Nevertheless ^aI am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

²⁴With Your counsel You will ^aguide me,

And afterward ^breceive me ¹to glory.

^25aWhom have I in heaven but You?

And ¹besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

²⁶My ^aflesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the ¹strength of my heart and my ^bportion forever.

²⁷For, behold, ^athose who are far from You will ^bperish;

You have ¹destroyed all those who ^2care unfaithful to You.

²⁸But as for me, ^athe nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord ¹God my ^brefuge,

That I may ^ctell of all Your works.

PSALM 74

An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.

A ^†Maskil of Asaph.

¹O God, why have You ^arejected us forever?

Why does Your anger ^bsmoke against the ^csheep of Your ¹pasture?

²Remember Your congregation, which You have ^apurchased of old,

Which You have ^bredeemed to be the ^ctribe of Your inheritance;

And this Mount ^dZion, where You have dwelt.

³¹Turn Your footsteps toward the ^aperpetual ruins;

The enemy ^bhas damaged everything within the sanctuary.

⁴Your adversaries have ^aroared in the midst of Your meeting place;

They have set up their ^bown ¹standards ^cfor signs.

⁵It seems as if one had lifted up

His ^1aaxe in a ²forest of trees.

⁶And now ¹all its ^acarved work

They smash with hatchet and ²hammers.

⁷They have ^1aburned Your sanctuary ²to the ground;

They have ^bdefiled the dwelling place of Your name.

⁸They ^asaid in their heart, “Let us ¹completely ²subdue them.”

They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹We do not see our ^asigns;

There is ^bno longer any prophet,

Nor is there any among us who knows ^chow long.

¹⁰How long, O God, will the adversary ^arevile,

And the enemy ^bspurn Your name forever?

¹¹Why ^ado You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?

From within Your bosom, ^bdestroy them!

¹²Yet God is ^amy king from of old,

Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

¹³¹You ^adivided the sea by Your strength;

You ^bbroke the heads of the ^csea monsters ²in the waters.

¹⁴¹You crushed the heads of ^2aLeviathan;

You gave him as food for the ³creatures ^bof the wilderness.

¹⁵¹You ^abroke open springs and torrents;

You ^bdried up ever-flowing streams.

¹⁶Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;

¹You have ^aprepared the ²light and the sun.

¹⁷¹You have ^aestablished all the boundaries of the earth;

You have ²made ^bsummer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, ¹O Lord, that the enemy has ^areviled,

And a ^bfoolish people has spurned Your name.

¹⁹Do not deliver the soul of Your ^aturtledove to the wild beast;

^bDo not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

²⁰Consider the ^acovenant;

For the ^bdark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

²¹Let not the ^aoppressed return dishonored;

Let the ^bafflicted and needy praise Your name.

²²Arise, O God, and ^aplead Your own cause;

Remember ¹how the ^bfoolish man reproaches You all day long.

²³Do not forget the voice of Your ^aadversaries,

The ^buproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.

PSALM 75

God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.

For the choir director; set to ^†Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

¹We ^agive thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,

For Your name is ^bnear;

Men declare ^cYour wondrous works.

²“When I select an ^aappointed time,

It is I who ^bjudge with equity.

³“The ^aearth and all who dwell in it ¹melt;

It is I who have firmly set its ^bpillars.

²Selah.

⁴“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

And to the wicked, ‘^aDo not lift up the horn;

⁵Do not lift up your horn on high,

^aDo not speak with insolent ¹pride.’ ”

⁶For not from the east, nor from the west,

Nor from the ^1adesert comes exaltation;

⁷But ^aGod is the Judge;

He ^bputs down one and exalts another.

⁸For a ^acup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;

It is ^1bwell mixed, and He pours out of this;

Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and ^cdrink down its dregs.

⁹But as for me, I will ^adeclare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰And all the ^ahorns of the wicked ¹He will cut off,

But ^bthe horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

PSALM 76

The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

¹God is ^aknown in Judah;

His name is ^bgreat in Israel.

²His ^1atabernacle is in ^bSalem;

His ^cdwelling place also is in Zion.

³There He ^abroke the ¹flaming arrows,

The shield and the sword and the ²weapons of war.

³Selah.

⁴You are resplendent,

¹More majestic than the mountains of prey.

⁵The ^astouthearted were plundered,

¹They sank into sleep;

And none of the ²warriors could use his hands.

⁶At Your ^arebuke, O God of Jacob,

Both ^1brider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

⁷You, even You, are ^ato be feared;

And ^bwho may stand in Your presence when once ¹You are angry?

⁸You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;

The earth ^afeared and was still

⁹When God ^aarose to judgment,

To save all the humble of the earth.

Selah.

¹⁰For the ^1awrath of man shall praise You;

With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.

^11aMake vows to the Lord your God and ^bfulfill them;

Let all who are around Him ^cbring gifts to Him who is to be feared.

¹²He will cut off the spirit of princes;

He is ^1afeared by the kings of the earth.

PSALM 77

Comfort in Trouble from Recalling God’s Mighty Deeds.

For the choir director; ^†according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

¹My voice rises to God, and I will ^acry aloud;

My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.

²In the ^aday of my trouble I sought the Lord;

^bIn the night my ^chand was stretched out ¹without weariness;

My soul ^drefused to be comforted.

³When I remember God, then I am ^adisturbed;

When I ^bsigh, then ^cmy spirit grows faint.

¹Selah.

⁴You have held my eyelids open;

I am so troubled that I ^acannot speak.

⁵I have considered the ^adays of old,

The years of long ago.

⁶I will remember my ^asong in the night;

I ^bwill meditate with my heart,

And my spirit ¹ponders:

⁷Will the Lord ^areject forever?

And will He ^bnever be favorable again?

⁸Has His ^alovingkindness ceased forever?

Has His ^1bpromise come to an end ²forever?

⁹Has God ^aforgotten to be gracious,

Or has He in anger ¹withdrawn His ^bcompassion?

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