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God the Refuge of His People.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to soprano voices. A Song.

46 God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable],
A very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,

Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah.


There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her [His city], she will not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.


Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has brought desolations and wonders on the earth.

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10 
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.

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

A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Asaph.

74 O God, why have You rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance;
Remember Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.

Turn your footsteps [quickly] toward the perpetual ruins;
The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

In the midst of Your meeting place Your enemies have roared [with their battle cry];
They have set up their own emblems for signs [of victory].

It seems as if one had lifted up
An axe in a forest of trees [to set a record of destruction].

And now all the carved work [of the meeting place]
They smash with hatchets and hammers.

They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;
They have profaned the dwelling place of Your [a]name.

They said in their heart, “Let us completely subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

We do not see our symbols;
There is no longer any prophet [to guide us],
Nor does any among us know for how long.
10 
O God, how long will the adversary scoff?
Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?
11 
Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand [from judging the enemy]?
Remove Your hand from Your chest, destroy them!

12 
Yet God is my King of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 
You divided the [Red] Sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the [b]sea monsters in the waters.(A)
14 
You crushed the heads of [c]Leviathan (Egypt);
You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.(B)
15 
You broke open fountains and streams;
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.(C)
16 
The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have established and prepared the [heavenly] light and the sun.
17 
You have defined and established all the borders of the earth [the divisions of land and sea and of the nations];
You have made summer and winter.(D)

18 
Remember this, O Lord, the enemy has scoffed,
And a foolish and impious people has spurned Your name.
19 
Oh, do not hand over the soul of your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 
Consider the covenant [You made with Abraham],
For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 
Let not the oppressed return dishonored;
Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

22 
Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man scoffs at You all day long.
23 
Do not forget the [clamoring] voices of Your adversaries,
The uproar of those who rise against You, which ascends continually [to Your ears].

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 74:7 See note Deut 12:5.
  2. Psalm 74:13 Symbolic of Egypt’s power.
  3. Psalm 74:14 See note Job 41:1.

The Lord’s Care over All His Works.

104 Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,

Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters [above the firmament],
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,

Who makes winds His messengers,
Flames of fire His ministers.(A)


He established the earth on its foundations,
So that it will not be moved forever and ever.(B)

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.(C)

At Your rebuke they fled;
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.

You set a boundary [for the waters] that they may not cross over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.

10 
You send springs into the valleys;
Their waters flow among the mountains.
11 
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst there.
12 
Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests;
They lift up their voices and sing among the branches.(D)
13 
He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

14 
He causes grass to grow for the cattle,
And all that the earth produces for cultivation by man,
So that he may bring food from the earth—
15 
And wine which makes the heart of man glad,
So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And bread to sustain and strengthen man’s heart.
16 
The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He has planted,
17 
Where the birds make their nests;
As for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

18 
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The rocks are a refuge for the [a]shephanim.
19 
He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the [exact] place of its setting.
20 
You [O Lord] make darkness and it becomes night,
In which prowls about every wild beast of the forest.
21 
The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
22 
When the sun arises, they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.
23 
Man goes out to his work
And remains at his labor until evening.

24 
O Lord, how many and varied are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.
25 
There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Creatures both small and great.
26 
There the ships [of the sea] sail,
And Leviathan [the sea monster], which You have formed to play there.

27 
They all wait for You
To give them their food in its appointed season.
28 
You give it to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are filled and satisfied with good [things].
29 
You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their breath, they die
And return to their dust.
30 
You send out Your Spirit, they are created;
You renew the face of the ground.

31 
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord rejoice and be glad in His works—
32 
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 
May my meditation be sweet and pleasing to Him;
As for me, I will rejoice and be glad in the Lord.
35 
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 104:18 Small, shy, furry animals (Hyrax syriacus) found in the peninsula of the Sinai, northern Israel, and the region around the Dead Sea; kjv coney, orig NASB rock badgers.

Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.

135 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O servants of the Lord (priests, Levites),

You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the courts of the house of our God,

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is gracious and lovely.

For the Lord has chosen [the descendants of] Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His own special treasure and possession.(A)


For I know that the Lord is great
And that our Lord is above all gods.

Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all deeps—

Who causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightning for the rain,
Who brings the wind from His storehouses;


Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
Both of man and animal;(B)

Who sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 
Who struck many nations
And killed mighty kings,
11 
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 
And He gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 
Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame and remembrance, O Lord, [endures] throughout all generations.
14 
For the Lord will judge His people
And He will have compassion on His servants [revealing His mercy].(C)
15 
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 
They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 
Those who make idols are like them [absolutely worthless—spiritually blind, deaf, and powerless];
So is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.(D)

19 
O house of Israel, bless and praise the Lord [with gratitude];
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20 
O house of Levi, bless the Lord;
You who fear the Lord [and worship Him with obedience], bless the Lord [with grateful praise]!(E)
21 
Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
Who dwells [with us] at Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

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