Chronological
BOOK 3
The Nearness of God Is My Good
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet had almost stumbled,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the boastful,
I saw the (E)peace of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [b]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble as other [d]men,
And they are not (G)stricken along with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore lofty pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [e]bulges from (J)fatness;
The delusions of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)scoff and [f]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [g]against the heavens,
And their tongue goes through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here, to his place,
And waters of (N)fullness are [i]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [k](U)reproved every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will recount thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)gave thought to know this,
It was trouble in my sight
17 Until I came into the [l](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cause them to fall to [m](AA)destruction.
19 How they become (AB)desolate in a moment!
They are completely swept away by (AC)terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [n]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [o]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [p]an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)lead me,
And afterward (AM)take me [r]in glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [s]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart fail,
But God is the rock of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [t]destroyed everyone who [u](AS)is unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have set Lord Yahweh as my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)recount all Your works.
In My Distress I Sought the Lord
For the choir director. According to [a]Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
77 My voice rises to God, and I must (A)cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
2 In the (B)day of my distress I sought the Lord;
(C)In the night my (D)hand was stretched out [b]without weariness;
My soul (E)refused to be comforted.
3 I remember God and I am (F)disturbed;
I (G)muse and (H)my spirit faints. [c]Selah.
4 You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I (I)cannot speak.
5 I give thought to the (J)days of old,
The years of long ago.
6 I remember my (K)music in the night;
I (L)am musing with my heart,
And my spirit is searching:
7 Will the Lord (M)reject evermore?
And will He (N)not be favorable again?
8 Has His (O)lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His [d](P)word ended [e]from generation to generation?
9 Has God (Q)forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger shut up His (R)compassion? Selah.
10 Then I said, “(S)It is my [f]grief,
That the (T)right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I shall remember the (U)deeds of Yah;
Surely I will (V)remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will (W)meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
13 O God, Your way is (X)holy;
(Y)What god is great like God?
14 You are the (Z)God who works wonders;
You have (AA)made known Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have by Your arm (AB)redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and (AC)Joseph. Selah.
16 The (AD)waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
17 The (AE)clouds poured out water;
The skies (AF)gave forth a sound;
Your (AG)arrows went here and there.
18 The (AH)sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The (AI)lightnings lit up the world;
The (AJ)earth trembled and shook.
19 Your (AK)way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
But Your footprints were not known.
20 You (AL)led Your people like a flock
By the hand of (AM)Moses and Aaron.
That the Generation to Come Might Know
A [g]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (AN)Give ear, O my people, to my [h]instruction;
(AO)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (AP)open my mouth in a parable;
I will pour forth (AQ)dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (AR)our fathers have recounted to us.
4 We will (AS)not conceal them from their children,
But (AT)recount to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,
And His strength and His (AU)wondrous deeds that He has done.
5 For He established a (AV)testimony in Jacob
And set a (AW)law in Israel,
Which He (AX)commanded our fathers
That they should [i](AY)teach them to their children,
6 (AZ)That the generation to come might know, even (BA)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (BB)recount them to their children,
7 That they should set their confidence in God
And (BC)not forget the deeds of God,
But (BD)observe His commandments,
8 And (BE)not be like their fathers,
A (BF)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (BG)did not [j]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (BH)faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim [k]were (BI)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (BJ)they turned back in the day of battle.
10 They (BK)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (BL)walk in His law;
11 So they (BM)forgot His acts
And His [l]wondrous deeds that He had shown them.
12 (BN)He did wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (BO)field of Zoan.
13 He (BP)split the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (BQ)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (BR)day
And all the night with a (BS)light of fire.
15 He was (BT)splitting the rocks in the wilderness
And so gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (BU)brought forth streams also from the cliff face
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (BV)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (BW)put God to the test
By asking for (BX)food according to their desire.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(BY)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He (BZ)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He prepare [m](CA)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore Yahweh heard and [n]was (CB)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (CC)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the skies above
And (CD)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (CE)rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them (CF)grain from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [o]angels;
He sent them provision (CG)to satisfy.
26 He (CH)led forth the east wind in the heavens
And by His strength He guided the south wind.
27 Then He rained [p]meat upon them like the dust,
Even (CI)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He caused them to fall in the midst of His camp,
All around His dwelling places.
29 So they (CJ)ate and were very satisfied,
And their desire He brought to them.
30 [q]Before they had satisfied their desire,
(CK)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (CL)anger of God rose against them
And killed [r]some of their (CM)stoutest ones,
And [s]subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they (CN)still sinned
And (CO)did not believe in His wondrous deeds.
33 So He brought (CP)their days to an end in [t]futility
And their years in sudden terror.
34 When He killed them, then they (CQ)sought Him,
And returned and sought (CR)earnestly for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their (CS)rock,
And the Most High God their (CT)Redeemer.
36 But they (CU)deceived Him with their mouth
And (CV)lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not (CW)prepared to remain with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being (CX)compassionate, (CY)atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And He abounded in (CZ)turning back His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
39 Thus (DA)He remembered that they were but (DB)flesh,
A [u](DC)wind that goes and does not return.
40 How often they (DD)rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And (DE)grieved Him in the (DF)wasteland!
41 Again and again they [v](DG)tested God,
And pained the (DH)Holy One of Israel.
42 They (DI)did not remember (DJ)His [w]power,
The day when He (DK)redeemed them from the adversary,
43 When He performed His (DL)signs in Egypt
And His (DM)miracles in the field of Zoan,
44 And (DN)turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, they could not drink.
45 He sent among them swarms of (DO)flies which devoured them,
And (DP)frogs which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their crops to the (DQ)grasshopper
And the fruit of their labor to the (DR)locust.
47 He killed their vines with (DS)hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He gave over their (DT)cattle also to the hailstones
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He (DU)sent upon them His burning anger,
Fury and indignation and [x]distress,
[y]A band of destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not hold back their soul from death,
But (DV)gave over their life to the plague,
51 So He (DW)struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
The (DX)first of their vigor in the tents of (DY)Ham.
52 But He (DZ)led forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness (EA)like a flock;
53 He led them (EB)safely, so that they did not fear;
But (EC)the sea covered their enemies.
54 So (ED)He brought them to His holy [z]land,
To this [aa](EE)hill country (EF)which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also (EG)drove out the nations before them
And (EH)apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [ab](EI)tested and (EJ)rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and (EK)acted treacherously like their fathers;
They (EL)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they (EM)provoked Him with their (EN)high places
And (EO)aroused His jealousy with their (EP)graven images.
59 God heard and [ac]was filled with (EQ)wrath
And greatly (ER)rejected Israel;
60 So that He (ES)abandoned the (ET)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [ad]which He caused to dwell among men,
61 And gave up His (EU)strength to captivity
And His beauty (EV)into the hand of the adversary.
62 He also (EW)gave over His people to the sword,
And [ae]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (EX)Fire devoured [af]His choice men,
And [ag]His (EY)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [ah]His (EZ)priests fell by the sword,
And [ai]His (FA)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (FB)awoke as if from sleep,
As if He were a (FC)warrior [aj]overcome by wine.
66 He (FD)struck His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach.
67 He also (FE)rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount (FF)Zion which He loved.
69 And He (FG)built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever.
70 He also (FH)chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From (FI)following the [ak](FJ)nursing ewes He brought him
To (FK)shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel (FL)His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (FM)integrity of his heart,
And led them with his skillful hands.
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