PSALM 72

The Reign of the Righteous King.

A Psalm of Solomon.

1 Give the king aYour judgments, O God,

And bYour righteousness to the king’s son.

2 1May 2he ajudge Your people with righteousness

And 3bYour afflicted with justice.

3 1Let the mountains bring 2apeace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

4 1May he avindicate the 2afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

5 1Let them fear You awhile the sun endures,

And 2as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

6 1May he come down alike rain upon the mown grass,

Like bshowers that water the earth.

7 In his days 1may the arighteous flourish,

And babundance of peace till the moon is no more.

8 May he also rule afrom sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 1Let athe nomads of the desert bbow before him,

And his enemies click the dust.

10 1Let the kings of aTarshish and of the 2bislands bring presents;

The kings of cSheba and dSeba eoffer 3gifts.

11 1And let all akings bow down before him,

All bnations serve him.

12 For he will adeliver the needy when he cries for help,

The 1afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

13 He will have acompassion on the poor and needy,

And the 1lives of the needy he will save.

14 He will 1arescue their 2life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be bprecious in his sight;

15 So may he live, and may the agold of Sheba be given to him;

And let 1them pray for him continually;

Let 1them bless him all day long.

16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

Its fruit will wave like the cedars of aLebanon;

And may those from the city flourish like bvegetation of the earth.

17 May his aname endure forever;

May his name 1increase 2bas long as the sun shines;

And let men cbless themselves by him;

dLet all nations call him blessed.

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

Who alone bworks wonders.

19 And blessed be His aglorious name forever;

And may the whole bearth be filled with His glory.

cAmen, and Amen.

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

BOOK 3

PSALM 73

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 Surely God is agood to Israel,

To those who are bpure in heart!

2 But as for me, amy feet came close to stumbling,

My steps 1had almost slipped.

3 For I was aenvious of the 1arrogant

As I saw the bprosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no pains in their death,

And their 1body is fat.

5 They are anot 1in trouble as other 2men,

Nor are they bplagued 3like mankind.

6 Therefore pride is atheir necklace;

The bgarment of violence covers them.

7 Their eye 1bulges from afatness;

The imaginations of their heart 2run riot.

8 They amock and 1wickedly speak of oppression;

They bspeak from on high.

9 They have aset their mouth 1against the heavens,

And their tongue 2parades through the earth.

10 Therefore 1his people return to this place,

And waters of aabundance are 2drunk by them.

11 They say, “aHow does God know?

And is there knowledge 1with the Most High?”

12 Behold, athese are the wicked;

And always bat ease, they have increased in wealth.

13 Surely ain vain I have 1kept my heart pure

And bwashed my hands in innocence;

14 For I have been stricken aall day long

And 1bchastened every morning.

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

Behold, I would have betrayed the ageneration of Your children.

16 When I apondered to understand this,

It was 1troublesome in my sight

17 Until I came into the 1asanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their bend.

18 Surely You set them in aslippery places;

You cast them down to 1bdestruction.

19 How they are 1adestroyed in a moment!

They are utterly swept away by bsudden terrors!

20 Like a adream when one awakes,

O Lord, when baroused, You will cdespise their 1form.

21 When my aheart was embittered

And I was bpierced 1within,

22 Then I was asenseless and ignorant;

I was like 1a bbeast 2before You.

23 Nevertheless aI am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

24 With Your counsel You will aguide me,

And afterward breceive me 1to glory.

25 aWhom have I in heaven but You?

And 1besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

26 My aflesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the 1strength of my heart and my bportion forever.

27 For, behold, athose who are far from You will bperish;

You have 1destroyed all those who 2care unfaithful to You.

28 But as for me, athe nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord 1God my brefuge,

That I may ctell of all Your works.

PSALM 74

An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.

A †Maskil of Asaph.

1 O God, why have You arejected us forever?

Why does Your anger bsmoke against the csheep of Your 1pasture?

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

Which You have bredeemed to be the ctribe of Your inheritance;

And this Mount dZion, where You have dwelt.

3 1Turn Your footsteps toward the aperpetual ruins;

The enemy bhas damaged everything within the sanctuary.

4 Your adversaries have aroared in the midst of Your meeting place;

They have set up their bown 1standards cfor signs.

5 It seems as if one had lifted up

His 1aaxe in a 2forest of trees.

6 And now 1all its acarved work

They smash with hatchet and 2hammers.

7 They have 1aburned Your sanctuary 2to the ground;

They have bdefiled the dwelling place of Your name.

8 They asaid in their heart, “Let us 1completely 2subdue them.”

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

9 We do not see our asigns;

There is bno longer any prophet,

Nor is there any among us who knows chow long.

10 How long, O God, will the adversary arevile,

And the enemy bspurn Your name forever?

11 Why ado You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?

From within Your bosom, bdestroy them!

12 Yet God is amy king from of old,

Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

13 1You adivided the sea by Your strength;

1You bbroke the heads of the csea monsters 2in the waters.

14 1You crushed the heads of 2aLeviathan;

1You gave him as food for the 3creatures bof the wilderness.

15 1You abroke open springs and torrents;

1You bdried up ever-flowing streams.

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

1You have aprepared the 2light and the sun.

17 1You have aestablished all the boundaries of the earth;

1You have 2made bsummer and winter.

18 Remember this, 1O Lord, that the enemy has areviled,

And a bfoolish people has spurned Your name.

19 Do not deliver the soul of Your aturtledove to the wild beast;

bDo not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

20 Consider the acovenant;

For the bdark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21 Let not the aoppressed return dishonored;

Let the bafflicted and needy praise Your name.

22 Arise, O God, and aplead Your own cause;

Remember 1how the bfoolish man reproaches You all day long.

23 Do not forget the voice of Your aadversaries,

The buproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.