BOOK 3

PSALM 73

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

A Psalm of Asaph.

1Surely God is good to Israel,

To those who are pure in heart!

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

My steps had almost slipped.

3For I was envious of the arrogant

As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4For there are no pains in their death,

And their body is fat.

5They are not in trouble as other men,

Nor are they plagued like mankind.

6Therefore pride is their necklace;

The garment of violence covers them.

7Their eye bulges from fatness;

The imaginations of their heart run riot.

8They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;

They speak from on high.

9They have set their mouth against the heavens,

And their tongue parades through the earth.

10Therefore his people return to this place,

And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

11They say, “How does God know?

And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

12Behold, these are the wicked;

And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

And washed my hands in innocence;

14For I have been stricken all day long

And chastened every morning.

15If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

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

16When I pondered to understand this,

It was troublesome in my sight

17Until I came into the sanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their end.

18Surely You set them in slippery places;

You cast them down to destruction.

19How they are destroyed in a moment!

They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!

20Like a dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

21When my heart was embittered

And I was pierced within,

22Then I was senseless and ignorant;

I was like a beast before You.

23Nevertheless I am continually with You;

You have taken hold of my right hand.

24With Your counsel You will guide me,

And afterward receive me to glory.

25Whom have I in heaven but You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

26My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;

You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.

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

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works.

PSALM 74

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

A Maskil of Asaph.

1O God, why have You rejected us forever?

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

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

Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance;

And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.

3Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins;

The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

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

They have set up their own standards for signs.

5It seems as if one had lifted up

His axe in a forest of trees.

6And now all its carved work

They smash with hatchet and hammers.

7They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;

They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name.

8They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.”

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

9We do not see our signs;

There is no longer any prophet,

Nor is there any among us who knows how long.

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

And the enemy spurn Your name forever?

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

From within Your bosom, destroy them!

12Yet God is my king from of old,

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

13You divided the sea by Your strength;

You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

14You crushed the heads of Leviathan;

You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15You broke open springs and torrents;

You dried up ever-flowing streams.

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

You have prepared the light and the sun.

17You have established all the boundaries of the earth;

You have made summer and winter.

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

And a foolish people has spurned Your name.

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

Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

20Consider the covenant;

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

21Let not the oppressed return dishonored;

Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

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

Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long.

23Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries,

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

PSALM 75

God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.

For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

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

For Your name is near;

Men declare Your wondrous works.

2“When I select an appointed time,

It is I who judge with equity.

3The earth and all who dwell in it melt;

It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.

4I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;

5Do not lift up your horn on high,

Do not speak with insolent pride.’ ”

6For not from the east, nor from the west,

Nor from the desert comes exaltation;

7But God is the Judge;

He puts down one and exalts another.

8For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;

It is well mixed, and He pours out of this;

Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.

9But as for me, I will declare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off,

But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

PSALM 76

The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

1God is known in Judah;

His name is great in Israel.

2His tabernacle is in Salem;

His dwelling place also is in Zion.

3There He broke the flaming arrows,

The shield and the sword and the weapons of war. Selah.

4You are resplendent,

More majestic than the mountains of prey.

5The stouthearted were plundered,

They sank into sleep;

And none of the warriors could use his hands.

6At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

7You, even You, are to be feared;

And who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

8You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;

The earth feared and was still

9When God arose to judgment,

To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.

10For the wrath of man shall praise You;

With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.

11Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;

Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.

12He will cut off the spirit of princes;

He is feared by the kings of the earth.