Psalm 73–83

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?

Selah.

¹⁰Then I said, “^aIt is my ¹grief,

That the ^bright hand of the Most High has changed.”

¹¹I shall remember the ^adeeds of ¹the Lord;

Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

¹²I will ^ameditate on all Your work

And muse on Your deeds.

¹³Your way, O God, is ^aholy;

^bWhat god is great like our God?

¹⁴You are the ^aGod who works wonders;

You have ^bmade known Your strength among the peoples.

¹⁵You have by Your ¹power ^aredeemed Your people,

The sons of Jacob and ^bJoseph.

Selah.

¹⁶The ^awaters saw You, O God;

The waters saw You, they were in anguish;

The deeps also trembled.

¹⁷The ^aclouds poured out water;

The skies ^bgave forth a sound;

Your ^carrows ¹flashed here and there.

¹⁸The ^asound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;

The ^blightnings lit up the world;

The ^cearth trembled and shook.

¹⁹Your ^away was in the sea

And Your paths in the mighty waters,

And Your footprints may not be known.

²⁰You ^aled Your people like a flock

By the hand of ^bMoses and Aaron.

PSALM 78

God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.

A ^†Maskil of Asaph.

^1aListen, O my people, to my ¹instruction;

^bIncline your ears to the words of my mouth.

²I will ^aopen my mouth in a parable;

I will utter ^bdark sayings of old,

³Which we have heard and known,

And ^aour fathers have told us.

⁴We will ^anot conceal them from their children,

But ^btell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,

And His strength and His ^cwondrous works that He has done.

⁵For He established a ^atestimony in Jacob

And appointed a ^blaw in Israel,

Which He ^ccommanded our fathers

That they should ^1dteach them to their children,

^6aThat the generation to come might know, even ^bthe children yet to be born,

That they may arise and ^ctell them to their children,

⁷That they should put their confidence in God

And ^anot forget the works of God,

But ^bkeep His commandments,

⁸And ^anot be like their fathers,

A ^bstubborn and rebellious generation,

A generation that ^cdid not ¹prepare its heart

And whose spirit was not ^dfaithful to God.

⁹The sons of Ephraim ¹were ^aarchers equipped with bows,…