Beginning
A Lament in Time of National Defeat
A maskil of Asaph.[a]
74 Why, O God, have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smoke
against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation that you bought long ago,
when you redeemed the tribe of your inheritance.
Remember Mount Zion[b] where you have dwelt.
3 Lift your steps to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has ruined in the sanctuary.
4 Your enemies have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they have set up their signs for signs.
5 They are[c] known to be like those who wield[d]
axes in a thicket of trees.
6 And now[e] its[f] carved works altogether
they have smashed with axe and hammer.
7 They have set fire to your sanctuary.
They have defiled to the ground,
the dwelling place for your name.
8 They have said in their heart,
“We will completely[g] oppress them.”
They burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our signs,
and there is no longer a prophet.
No one with us knows how long.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary taunt?
Will the enemy treat your name with contempt forever?
11 Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand?
Take it from your bosom;[h] destroy them!
12 But God has been my king from long ago,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You split open the sea by your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food to the desert dwelling creatures.
15 You split open spring and wadi.[i]
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16 Yours is the day, yours is the night also.
You established light and the sun.
17 You defined[j] all the boundaries of the earth;
Summer and winter—you formed them.
18 O Yahweh, remember this: the enemy taunts,
and foolish people treat your name with contempt.
19 Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;
do not ever forget the life of your afflicted ones.
20 Have regard for the covenant,
because the dark places of the land are full of
the haunts of violence.
21 Do not let the oppressed turn back humiliated;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember the reproaching of you by the foolish all day long.[k]
23 Do not forget the sound of your adversaries,
the roar of those rising up against you ascending continually.
Thanksgiving for God’s Future Help
For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.
A psalm of Asaph. A song.[l]
75 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, and your name is near.
Your wonderful deeds are told.[m]
2 “I will indeed set an appointed time;
I will judge fairly.[n]
3 The earth and all its inhabitants are shaking;[o]
I steady[p] its columns. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast!’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn!
5 Do not lift up high your[q] horn.
Do not speak with arrogant pride.’”[r]
6 For it is not from the east or the west
and not from the south[s] that lifting up comes,
7 rather God is the judge;
one he brings low, and another he lifts up.
8 For there is a cup in the hand of Yahweh
with[t] wine that foams, fully mixed,
and he pours out from this.
Surely all the wicked of the land
will quaff it down to its dregs. [u]
9 But as for me, I will proclaim forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
10 “And all the horns of the wicked I will cut off.
The horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”
Praise to God for His Rescue of Israel
For the music director, with stringed instruments.
A psalm of Asaph. A song.[v]
76 God is known in Judah.
His name is great in Israel.
2 His den[w] has been in Salem,
his lair[x] in Zion.
3 There he broke the flames of the bow,
the shield and sword and battle. Selah
4 Radiant[y] you are, majestic,
from[z] the mountains of prey.
5 The stouthearted are plundered;
they sleep their sleep,
and all the able men cannot use[aa] their hands.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider[ab] and horse slumber.
7 You, indeed, are to be feared,[ac]
and who can stand before you
when you are angry? [ad]
8 From heaven you proclaimed judgment.
The earth feared and was still
9 when God rose for justice,
to save all the afflicted of the land. Selah
10 For the anger of humankind will praise you.
You will put on the remnant of anger.[ae]
11 Make vows and fulfill them to Yahweh, your God;
let all surrounding him
bring tribute to the one to be feared.[af]
12 He cuts off the spirit of leaders.
He is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
Remembering God’s Help for Israel
For the music director, on Jeduthun.[ag]
Of Asaph. A psalm.[ah]
77 I cry out with my voice to God;
with my voice to God, that he may hear me.
2 In the day I have trouble, I seek[ai] the Lord.
At night my hand stretches out continually;[aj]
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 I remember God and I groan loudly;
I meditate and my spirit grows faint.
4 You hold open my eyelids.
I am troubled and cannot speak.
5 I think about the days from long ago,
the years of ancient times.
6 I remember my song in the night.
With my heart I meditate,
and my spirit searches to understand.
7 Will the Lord reject us forever,
and will he never be pleased with us again?
8 Has his loyal love ceased forever?
Is his promise[ak] ended throughout generations?
9 Has God forgotten to have compassion?
Or has he closed off his mercies in anger? Selah
10 So I said, “This pierces me—[al]
the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will remember the deeds of Yah.[am]
Surely I will remember your wonders[an] from long ago.
12 I will also muse on all your work,
and meditate on your deeds.
13 O God, your way is distinctive.[ao]
Who is a great god like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;[ap]
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 With your arm you redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 Waters saw you, O God;
waters saw you and they trembled.
Surely the deeps shook.
17 The clouds poured out water.
The skies thundered.[aq]
Your arrows also flew about.[ar]
18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;[as]
lightnings lit the world;
the earth shook and quaked.
19 Your way was through the sea,
and your path[at] through many waters.
Yet your footprints were not discerned.[au]
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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