Psalm 76:8–78:24

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 the wilderness against the Most High.

18 They willfully put God to the testl

by demanding the food they craved.m

19 They spoke against God;n

they said, “Can God really

spread a table in the wilderness?

20 True, he struck the rock,

and water gushed out,o

streams flowed abundantly,

but can he also give us bread?

Can he supply meatp for his people?”

21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious;

his fire broke outq against Jacob,

and his wrath rose against Israel,

22 for they did not believe in God

or trustr in his deliverance.

23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above

and opened the doors of the heavens;s

24 he rained down mannat for the people to eat,

he gave them the grain of heaven.