Psalm 71–75

Psalm 71

God the Rock of Salvation

1 In aYou, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame.

2 bDeliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;

cIncline Your ear to me, and save me.

3 dBe my 1strong refuge,

To which I may resort continually;

You have given the ecommandment to save me,

For You are my rock and my fortress.

4 fDeliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

5 For You are gmy hope, O Lord God;

You are my trust from my youth.

6 hBy You I have been 2upheld from birth;

You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.

My praise shall be continually of You.

7 iI have become as a wonder to many,

But You are my strong refuge.

8 Let jmy mouth be filled with Your praise

And with Your glory all the day.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

10 For my enemies speak against me;

And those who lie in wait for my life ktake counsel together,

11 Saying, “God has forsaken him;

Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

12 lO God, do not be far from me;

O my God, mmake haste to help me!

13 Let them be 3confounded and consumed

Who are adversaries of my life;

Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor

Who seek my hurt.

14 But I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

And Your salvation all the day,

For I do not know their limits.

16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God;

I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

17 O God, You have taught me from my nyouth;

And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

18 Now also owhen I am old and grayheaded,

O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come.

19 Also pYour righteousness, O God, is 4very high,

You who have done great things;

qO God, who is like You?

20 rYou, who have shown me great and severe troubles,

sShall revive me again,

And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

21 You shall increase my greatness,

And comfort me on every side.

22 Also twith the lute I will praise You—

And Your faithfulness, O my God!

To You I will sing with the harp,

O uHoly One of Israel.

23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,

And vmy soul, which You have redeemed.

24 My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;

For they are confounded,

For they are brought to shame

Who seek my hurt.

Psalm 72

Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign

A Psalm aOf Solomon.

1 Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.

2 bHe will judge Your people with righteousness,

And Your poor with justice.

3 cThe mountains will bring peace to the people,

And the little hills, by righteousness.

4 dHe will bring justice to the poor of the people;

He will save the children of the needy,

And will 1break in pieces the oppressor.

5 2They shall fear You

eAs long as the sun and moon endure,

Throughout all generations.

6 fHe shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,

Like showers that water the earth.

7 In His days the righteous shall flourish,

gAnd abundance of peace,

Until the moon is no more.

8 hHe shall have dominion also from sea to sea,

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 iThose who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,

jAnd His enemies will lick the dust.

10 kThe kings of Tarshish and of the isles

Will bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seba

Will offer gifts.

11 lYes, all kings shall fall down before Him;

All nations shall serve Him.

12 For He mwill deliver the needy when he cries,

The poor also, and him who has no helper.

13 He will spare the poor and needy,

And will save the souls of the needy.

14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;

And nprecious shall be their blood in His sight.

15 And He shall live;

And the gold of oSheba will be given to Him;

Prayer also will be made for Him continually,

And daily He shall be praised.

16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,

On the top of the mountains;

Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;

pAnd those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

17 qHis name shall endure forever;

His name shall continue as long as the sun.

And rmen shall be blessed in Him;

sAll nations shall call Him blessed.

18 tBlessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

uWho only does wondrous things!

19 And vblessed be His glorious name forever!

wAnd let the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Amen and Amen.

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

Book Three: Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God

A Psalm of aAsaph.

1 Truly God is good to Israel,

To such as are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;

My steps had nearly bslipped.

3 cFor I was envious of the boastful,

When I saw the prosperity of the dwicked.

4 For there are no 1pangs in their death,

But their strength is firm.

5 eThey are not in trouble as other men,

Nor are they plagued like other men.

6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace;

Violence covers them flike a garment.

7 gTheir 2eyes bulge with abundance;

They have more than heart could wish.

8 hThey scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;

They ispeak 3loftily.

9 They set their mouth jagainst the heavens,

And their tongue walks through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return here,

kAnd waters of a full cup are drained by them.

11 And they say, l“How does God know?

And is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12 Behold, these are the ungodly,

Who are always at ease;

They increase in riches.

13 Surely I have 4cleansed my heart in mvain,

And washed my hands in innocence.

14 For all day long I have been plagued,

And chastened every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.

16 When I thought how to understand this,

It was 5too painful for me—

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;

Then I understood their nend.

18 Surely oYou set them in slippery places;

You cast them down to destruction.

19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!

They are utterly consumed with terrors.

20 As a dream when one awakes,

So, Lord, when You awake,

You shall despise their image.

21 Thus my heart was grieved,

And I was 6vexed in my mind.

22 pI was so foolish and ignorant;

I was like a beast before You.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You hold me by my right hand.

24 qYou will guide me with Your counsel,

And afterward receive me to glory.

25 rWhom have I in heaven but You?

And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

26 sMy flesh and my heart fail;

But God is the 7strength of my heart and my tportion forever.

27 For indeed, uthose who are far from You shall perish;

You have destroyed all those who 8desert You for harlotry.

28 But it is good for me to vdraw near to God;

I have put my trust in the Lord God,

That I may wdeclare all Your works.

Psalm 74

A Plea for Relief from Oppressors

A 1Contemplation of Asaph.

1 O God, why have You cast us off forever?

Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,

The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed—

This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.

3 Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.

The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.

4 aYour enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place;

bThey set up their banners for signs.

5 They seem like men who lift up

Axes among the thick trees.

6 And now they break down its carved work, all at once,

With axes and hammers.

7 They have set fire to Your sanctuary;

They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground.

8 cThey said in their hearts,

“Let us 2destroy them altogether.”

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

9 We do not see our signs;

dThere is no longer any prophet;

Nor is there any among us who knows how long.

10 O God, how long will the adversary 3reproach?

Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?

11 eWhy do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?

Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them.

12 For fGod is my King from of old,

Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13 gYou divided the sea by Your strength;

You broke the heads of the 4sea serpents in the waters.

14 You broke the heads of 5Leviathan in pieces,

And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

15 hYou broke open the fountain and the flood;

iYou dried up mighty rivers.

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

kYou have prepared the light and the sun.

17 You have lset all the borders of the earth;

mYou have made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O Lord,

And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.

19 Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast!

Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.

20 nHave respect to the covenant;

For the 6dark places of the earth are full of the 7haunts of 8cruelty.

21 Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed!

Let the poor and needy praise Your name.

22 Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;

Remember how the foolish man 9reproaches You daily.

23 Do not forget the voice of Your enemies;

The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually.

Psalm 75

Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment

To the Chief Musician. Set to a“Do 1Not Destroy.” a Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

1 We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!

For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.

2 “When I choose the 2proper time,

I will judge uprightly.

3 The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;

I set up its pillars firmly.

Selah

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

And to the wicked, b‘Do not 3lift up the horn.

5 Do not lift up your horn on high;

Do not speak with 4a stiff neck.’ ”

6 For exaltation comes neither from the east

Nor from the west nor from the south.

7 But cGod is the Judge:

dHe puts down one,

And exalts another.

8 For ein the hand of the Lord there is a cup,

And the wine is red;

It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;

Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth

Drain and drink down.

9 But I will declare forever,

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10 “All fthe 5horns of the wicked I will also cut off,

But gthe horns of the …