Psalm 72–83

Psalm 72

A Psalm Of Solomon.

¹Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.

^2bHe will judge Your people with righteousness,

And Your poor with justice.

^3cThe mountains will bring peace to the people,

And the little hills, by righteousness.

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

He will save the children of the needy,

And will ¹break in pieces the oppressor.

⁵²They shall fear You

^eAs long as the sun and moon endure,

Throughout all generations.

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

Like showers that water the earth.

⁷In His days the righteous shall flourish,

^gAnd abundance of peace,

Until the moon is no more.

^8hHe shall have dominion also from sea to sea,

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

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

^jAnd His enemies will lick the dust.

^10kThe kings of Tarshish and of the isles

Will bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seba

Will offer gifts.

^11lYes, all kings shall fall down before Him;

All nations shall serve Him.

¹²For He ^mwill deliver the needy when he cries,

The poor also, and him who has no helper.

¹³He will spare the poor and needy,

And will save the souls of the needy.

¹⁴He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;

And ⁿprecious shall be their blood in His sight.

¹⁵And 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.

¹⁶There 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.

^17qHis 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.

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

^uWho only does wondrous things!

¹⁹And ^vblessed be His glorious name forever!

^wAnd let the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Amen and Amen.

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

Book Three: Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹Truly God is good to Israel,

To such as are pure in heart.

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

My steps had nearly ^bslipped.

^3cFor I was envious of the boastful,

When I saw the prosperity of the ^dwicked.

⁴For there are no ¹pangs in their death,

But their strength is firm.

^5eThey are not in trouble as other men,

Nor are they plagued like other men.

⁶Therefore pride serves as their necklace;

Violence covers them ^flike a garment.

^7gTheir ²eyes bulge with abundance;

They have more than heart could wish.

^8hThey scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;

They ⁱspeak ³loftily.

⁹They set their mouth ^jagainst the heavens,

And their tongue walks through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore his people return here,

^kAnd waters of a full cup are drained by them.

¹¹And they say, ^l“How does God know?

And is there knowledge in the Most High?”

¹²Behold, these are the ungodly,

Who are always at ease;

They increase in riches.

¹³Surely I have ⁴cleansed my heart in ^mvain,

And washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴For all day long I have been plagued,

And chastened every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

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

¹⁶When I thought how to understand this,

It was ⁵too painful for me—

¹⁷Until I went into the sanctuary of God;

Then I understood their ⁿend.

¹⁸Surely ^oYou set them in slippery places;

You cast them down to destruction.

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

They are utterly consumed with terrors.

²⁰As a dream when one awakes,

So, Lord, when You awake,

You shall despise their image.

²¹Thus my heart was grieved,

And I was ⁶vexed in my mind.

^22pI was so foolish and ignorant;

I was like a beast before You.

²³Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You hold me by my right hand.

^24qYou will guide me with Your counsel,

And afterward receive me to glory.

^25rWhom have I in heaven but You?

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

^26sMy flesh and my heart fail;

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

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

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

²⁸But 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 Contemplation of Asaph.

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

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

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

The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed—

This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.

³Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.

The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.

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

^bThey set up their banners for signs.

⁵They seem like men who lift up

Axes among the thick trees.

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

With axes and hammers.

⁷They have set fire to Your sanctuary;

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

^8cThey said in their hearts,

“Let us ²destroy them altogether.”

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

⁹We do not see our signs;

^dThere is no longer any prophet;

Nor is there any among us who knows how long.

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

Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?

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

Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them.

¹²For ^fGod is my King from of old,

Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

^13gYou divided the sea by Your strength;

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

¹⁴You broke the heads of ⁵Leviathan in pieces,

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

^15hYou broke open the fountain and the flood;

ⁱYou dried up mighty rivers.

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

^kYou have prepared the light and the sun.

¹⁷You have ^lset all the borders of the earth;

^mYou have made summer and winter.

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

And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.

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

Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.

²⁰ⁿHave respect to the covenant;

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

²¹Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed!

Let the poor and needy praise Your name.

²²Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;

Remember how the foolish man ⁹reproaches You daily.

²³Do not forget the voice of Your enemies;

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

Psalm 75

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

¹We 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.

³The 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.

⁵Do not lift up your horn on high;

Do not speak with ⁴a stiff neck.’ ”

⁶For exaltation comes neither from the east

Nor from the west nor from the south.

⁷But ^cGod is the Judge:

^dHe puts down one,

And exalts another.

⁸For ^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.

⁹But 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 righteous shall be ^hexalted.”

Psalm 76

To the Chief Musician. On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

¹In ^aJudah God is known; His name is great in Israel.

²In ²Salem also is His tabernacle,

And His dwelling place in Zion.

³There He broke the arrows of the bow,

The shield and sword of battle.

Selah

⁴You are more glorious and excellent

^bThan the mountains of prey.

^5cThe stouthearted were plundered;

^dThey ³have sunk into their sleep;

And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.

^6eAt Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

⁷You, Yourself, are to be feared;

And ^fwho may stand in Your presence

When once You are angry?

^8gYou caused judgment to be heard from heaven;

^hThe earth feared and was still,

⁹When God ⁱarose to judgment,

To deliver all the oppressed of the earth.

Selah

^10jSurely the wrath of man shall praise You;

With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself.

^11kMake vows to the Lord your God, and pay them;

^lLet all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared.

¹²He shall cut off the spirit of princes;

^mHe is awesome to the kings of the earth.

Psalm 77

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

¹I cried out to God with my voice—To God with my voice;

And He gave ear to me.

²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;

My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing;

My soul refused to be comforted.

³I remembered God, and was troubled;

I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.

Selah

⁴You hold my eyelids open;

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

⁵I have considered the days of old,

The years of ancient times.

⁶I call to remembrance my song in the night;

I meditate within my heart,

And my spirit ¹makes diligent search.

⁷Will the Lord cast off forever?

And will He be favorable no more?

⁸Has His mercy ceased forever?

Has His ^bpromise failed ²forevermore?

⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?

Selah

¹⁰And I said, “This is my ³anguish;

But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

¹¹I will remember the works of the Lord;

Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

¹²I will also meditate on all Your work,

And talk of Your deeds.

¹³Your way, O God, is in ⁴the ^csanctuary;

Who is so great a God as our God?

¹⁴You are the God who does wonders;

You have declared Your strength among the peoples.

¹⁵You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,

The sons of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

¹⁶The waters saw You, O God;

The waters saw You, they were ^dafraid;

The depths also trembled.

¹⁷The clouds poured out water;

The skies sent out a sound;

Your…