Psalm 74–76

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.