74
Why have You rejected us forever, God?
Why does Your anger burn
against the sheep of Your pasture?
2
Remember Your congregation,
which You purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe for Your own possession.
Remember Mount
•Zion
where You dwell.
3
Make Your way to the everlasting ruins,
to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.
4
Your adversaries roared in the meeting place
where You met with us.
They set up their emblems as signs.
5
It was like men in a thicket of trees,
wielding axes,
6
then smashing all the carvings
with hatchets and picks.
7
They set Your sanctuary on fire;
they utterly desecrated
the dwelling place of Your name.
8
They said in their hearts,
“Let us oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned down every place throughout the land
where God met with us.
9
There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer a prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.
10
God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult Your name forever?
11
Why do You hold back Your hand?
Stretch out Your right hand and destroy them!
12
God my King is from ancient times,
performing saving acts on the earth.
13
You divided the sea with Your strength;
You smashed the heads of the sea monsters
in the waters;
14
You crushed the heads of
•Leviathan
;
You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
15
You opened up springs and streams;
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16
The day is Yours, also the night;
You established the moon and the sun.
17
You set all the boundaries of the earth;
You made summer and winter.
18
Remember this: the enemy has mocked
•Yahweh
,
and a foolish people has insulted Your name.
19
Do not give the life of Your dove to beasts;
do not forget the lives of Your poor people forever.
20
Consider the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of violence.
21
Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;
let the poor and needy praise Your name.
22
Rise up, God, defend Your cause!
Remember the insults
that fools bring against You all day long.
23
Do not forget the clamor of Your adversaries,
the tumult of Your opponents that goes up constantly.
Psalms
God Judges the Wicked
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of
•Asaph
. A song.
75
We give thanks to You, God;
we give thanks to You, for Your name is near.
People tell about Your wonderful works.
2
“When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.
3
When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the One who steadies its pillars.
4
I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,'
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your
•horn
.
5
Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak arrogantly.' ”
6
Exaltation does not come
from the east, the west, or the desert,
7
for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.
8
For there is a cup in the
Lord
's hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and He pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.
9
As for me, I will tell about Him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10
“I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”
Psalms
God, the Powerful Judge
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of
•Asaph
. A song.
76
God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.
2
His tent is in Salem,
His dwelling place in
•Zion
.
3
There He shatters the bow's flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
4
You are resplendent and majestic
coming down from the mountains of prey.
5
The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.
6
At Your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lay still.
7
And You — You are to be
•feared
.
When You are angry,
who can stand before You?
8
From heaven You pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and grew quiet
9
when God rose up to judge
and to save all the lowly of the earth.
Selah
10
Even human wrath will praise You;
You will clothe Yourself
with their remaining wrath.
11
Make and keep your vows
to the
Lord
your God;
let all who are around Him bring tribute
to the awe-inspiring One.
12
He humbles the spirit of leaders;
He is feared by the kings of the earth.
Psalms
Confidence in a Time of Crisis
For the choir director: according to Jeduthun. Of
•Asaph
. A psalm.
77
I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and He will hear me.
2
I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.
My hands were continually lifted up
all night long;
I refused to be comforted.
3
I think of God; I groan;
I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.
4
You have kept me from closing my eyes;
I am troubled and cannot speak.
5
I consider days of old,
years long past.
6
At night I remember my music;
I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.
7
“Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?
8
Has His faithful love ceased forever?
Is His promise at an end for all generations?
9
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger withheld His compassion? ”
Selah
10
So I say, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the
•Most
High has changed.”
11
I will remember the
Lord
's works;
yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders.
12
I will reflect on all You have done
and meditate on Your actions.
13
God, Your way is holy.
What god is great like God?
14
You are the God who works wonders;
You revealed Your strength among the peoples.
15
With power You redeemed Your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
16
The waters saw You, God.
The waters saw You; they trembled.
Even the depths shook.
17
The clouds poured down water.
The storm clouds thundered;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
18
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
lightning lit up the world.
The earth shook and quaked.
19
Your way went through the sea
and Your path through the great waters,
but Your footprints were unseen.
20
You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalms
Lessons from Israel's Past
78
My people, hear my instruction;
listen to what I say.
2
I will declare wise sayings;
I will speak mysteries from the past —
3
things we have heard and known
and that our fathers have passed down to us.
4
We must not hide them from their children,
but must tell a future generation
the praises of the
Lord
,
His might, and the wonderful works
He has performed.
5
He established a
•testimony
in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children
6
so that a future generation —
children yet to be born — might know.
They were to rise and tell their children
7
so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget God's works,
but keep His commands.
8
Then they would not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9
The Ephraimite archers turned back
on the day of battle.
10
They did not keep God's covenant
and refused to live by His law.
11
They forgot what He had done,
the wonderful works He had shown them.
12
He worked wonders in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt, the region of Zoan.
13
He split the sea and brought them across;
the water stood firm like a wall.
14
He led them with a cloud by day
and with a fiery light throughout the night.
15
He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.
16
He brought streams out of the stone
and made water flow down like rivers.
17
But they continued to sin against Him,
rebelling in the desert against the
•Most
High.
18
They deliberately tested God,
demanding the food they craved.
19
They spoke against God, saying,
“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?
20
Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out;
torrents overflowed.
But can He also provide bread
or furnish meat for His people? ”
21
Therefore, the
Lord
heard and became furious;
then fire broke out against Jacob,
and anger flared up against Israel
22
because they did not believe God
or rely on His salvation.
23
He gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
24
He rained manna for them to eat;
He gave them grain from heaven.
25
People ate the bread of angels.
He sent them an abundant supply of food.
26
He made the east wind blow in the skies
and drove the south wind by His might.
27
He rained meat on them like dust,
and winged birds like the sand of the seas.
28
He made them fall in His camp,
all around His tent.
29
They ate and were completely satisfied,
for He gave them what they craved.
30
Before they had satisfied their desire,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31
God's anger flared up against them,
and He killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel's choice young men.