BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

1 Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.y

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;z

I had nearly lost my foothold.a

3 For I enviedb the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.c

4 They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.a

5 They are freed from common human burdens;

they are not plagued by human ills.

6 Therefore pridee is their necklace;f

they clothe themselves with violence.g

7 From their callous heartsh comes iniquityb;

their evil imaginations have no limits.

8 They scoff, and speak with malice;i

with arrogancej they threaten oppression.k

9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10 Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance.c

11 They say, “How would God know?

Does the Most High know anything?”

12 This is what the wicked are like—

always free of care,l they go on amassing wealth.m

13 Surely in vainn I have kept my heart pure

and have washed my hands in innocence.o

14 All day long I have been afflicted,p

and every morning brings new punishments.

15 If I had spoken out like that,

I would have betrayed your children.

16 When I tried to understandq all this,

it troubled me deeply

17 till I entered the sanctuaryr of God;

then I understood their final destiny.s

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;t

you cast them down to ruin.u

19 How suddenlyv are they destroyed,

completely swept awayw by terrors!

20 They are like a dreamx when one awakes;y

when you arise, Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.z

21 When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

22 I was senselessa and ignorant;

I was a brute beastb before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.c

24 You guided me with your counsel,e

and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?f

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.g

26 My flesh and my hearth may fail,i

but God is the strengthj of my heart

and my portionk forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;l

you destroy all who are unfaithfulm to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.n

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;o

I will tell of all your deeds.p

Psalm 74

A maskila of Asaph.

1 O God, why have you rejectedq us forever?r

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?s

2 Remember the nation you purchasedt long ago,u

the people of your inheritance,v whom you redeemedw—

Mount Zion,x where you dwelt.y

3 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,z

all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

4 Your foes roareda in the place where you met with us;

they set up their standardsb as signs.

5 They behaved like men wielding axes

to cut through a thicket of trees.c

6 They smashed all the carvedd paneling

with their axes and hatchets.

7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground;

they defilede the dwelling placef of your Name.g

8 They said in their hearts, “We will crushh them completely!”

They burnedi every place where God was worshiped in the land.

9 We are given no signs from God;j

no prophetsk are left,

and none of us knows how long this will be.

10 How longl will the enemy mockm you, God?

Will the foe revilen your name forever?

11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?o

Take it from the folds of your garmentp and destroy them!

12 But God is my Kingq from long ago;

he brings salvationr on the earth.

13 It was you who split open the seas by your power;

you broke the heads of the monstert in the waters.

14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathanu

and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.v

15 It was you who opened up springsw and streams;

you dried upx the ever-flowing rivers.

16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.y

17 It was you who set all the boundariesz of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.a

18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,

how foolish peopleb have reviled your name.

19 Do not hand over the life of your dovec to wild beasts;

do not forget the lives of your afflictedd people forever.

20 Have regard for your covenant,e

because haunts of violence fill the dark placesf of the land.

21 Do not let the oppressedg retreat in disgrace;

may the poor and needyh praise your name.

22 Rise up,i O God, and defend your cause;

remember how foolsj mock you all day long.

23 Do not ignore the clamork of your adversaries,l

the uproarm of your enemies,n which rises continually.

Psalm 75a

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.

1 We praise you, God,

we praise you, for your Name is near;o

people tell of your wonderful deeds.p

2 You say, “I choose the appointed time;q

it is I who judge with equity.r

3 When the earth and all its people quake,s

it is I who hold its pillarst firm.b

4 To the arrogantu I say, ‘Boast no more,’v

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.c w

5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;

do not speak so defiantly.x’ ”

6 No one from the east or the west

or from the desert can exalt themselves.

7 It is God who judges:y

He brings one down, he exalts another.z

8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup

full of foaming wine mixeda with spices;

he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth

drink it down to its very dregs.b

9 As for me, I will declarec this forever;

I will singd praise to the God of Jacob,e

10 who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,

but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”f

Psalm 76a

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.

1 God is renowned in Judah;

in Israel his name is great.g

2 His tent is in Salem,h

his dwelling place in Zion.i

3 There he broke the flashing arrows,j

the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.b k

4 You are radiant with light,l

more majestic than mountains rich with game.

5 The valiantm lie plundered,

they sleep their last sleep;n

not one of the warriors

can lift his hands.

6 At your rebuke,o God of Jacob,

both horse and chariotp lie still.

7 It is you alone who are to be feared.q

Who can standr before you when you are angry?s

8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,

and the land fearedt and was quiet—

9 when you, God, rose up to judge,u

to save all the afflictedv of the land.

10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,w

and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.c

11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;x

let all the neighboring lands

bring giftsy to the One to be feared.

12 He breaks the spirit of rulers;

he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 77a

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

1 I cried out to Godz for help;

I cried out to God to hear me.

2 When I was in distress,a I sought the Lord;

at nightb I stretched out untiring hands,c

and I would not be comforted.d

3 I rememberede you, God, and I groaned;f

I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.b g

4 You kept my eyes from closing;

I was too troubled to speak.h

5 I thought about the former days,i

the years of long ago;

6 I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

7 “Will the Lord reject forever?j

Will he never show his favork again?

8 Has his unfailing lovel vanished forever?

Has his promisem failed for all time?

9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?n

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?o”

10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:

the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.p

11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your miraclesq of long ago.

12 I will considerr all your works

and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”s

13 Your ways, God, are holy.

What god is as great as our God?t

14 You are the God who performs miracles;u

you display your power among the peoples.

15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,v

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The watersw saw you, God,

the waters saw you and writhed;x

the very depths were convulsed.

17 The clouds poured down water,y

the heavens resounded with thunder;z

your arrowsa flashed back and forth.

18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,b

your lightningc lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.d

19 Your pathe led through the sea,f

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

20 You led your peopleg like a flockh

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.i

Psalm 78

A maskila of Asaph.

1 My people, hear my teaching;j

listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth with a parable;k

I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

3 things we have heard and known,

things our ancestors have told us.l

4 We will not hide them from their descendants;m

we will tell the next generationn

the praiseworthy deedso of the Lord,

his power, and the wondersp he has done.

5 He decreed statutesq for Jacobr

and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them,

even the children yet to be born,s

and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God

and would not forgett his deeds

but would keep his commands.u

8 They would not be like their ancestorsv—

a stubbornw and rebelliousx generation,

whose hearts were not loyal to God,

whose spirits were not faithful to him.

9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,y

turned back on the day of battle;z

10 they did not keep God’s covenanta

and refused to live by his law.b

11 They forgot what he had done,c

the wonders he had shown them.

12 He did miraclesd in the sight of their ancestors

in the land of Egypt,e in the region of Zoan.f

13 He divided the seag and led them through;

he made the water stand up like a wall.h

14 He guided them with the cloud by day

and with light from the fire all night.i

15 He split the rocksj in the wilderness

and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag

and made water flow down like rivers.

17 But they continued to sink against him,

rebelling in …