Historical
A complaint over the devastation of the land by the enemy.
Maschil of Asaph.
74 O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?
Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old,
Which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance;
And mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins,
[a]All the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.
4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly;
They have set up their ensigns for signs.
5 They [b]seemed as men that lifted up
Axes upon a thicket of trees.
6 And now all the carved work thereof
They break down with hatchet and hammers.
7 They have set thy sanctuary on fire;
They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name by casting it to the ground.
8 They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether:
They have burned up all the [c]synagogues of God in the land.
9 We see not our signs:
There is no more any prophet;
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
10 How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach?
Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
11 Why drawest thou back thy hand, even thy right hand?
Pluck it out of thy bosom and consume them.
12 Yet God is my King of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou didst [d]divide the sea by thy strength:
Thou brakest the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces;
Thou gavest him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 Thou didst cleave fountain and flood:
Thou driedst up [e]mighty rivers.
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine:
Thou hast prepared the [f]light and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth:
Thou hast made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy [g]hath reproached, O Jehovah,
And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name.
19 Oh deliver not [h]the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast:
Forget not the [i]life of thy poor for ever.
20 Have respect unto the covenant;
For the dark places of the [j]earth are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Oh let not the oppressed return ashamed:
Let the poor and needy praise thy name.
22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause:
Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day.
23 Forget not the voice of thine adversaries:
The tumult of those that rise up against thee [k]ascendeth continually.
God abases the proud, but exalts the righteous.
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
75 We give thanks unto thee, O God;
We give thanks, [l]for thy name is near:
Men tell of thy wondrous works.
2 When I shall [m]find the set time, I will judge uprightly.
3 [n]The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved:
I have [o]set up the pillars of it. Selah
4 I said unto the [p]arrogant, Deal not arrogantly;
And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5 Lift not up your horn on high;
Speak not [q]with a stiff neck.
6 For neither from the east, nor from the west,
Nor yet [r]from the [s]south, cometh lifting up.
7 But God is the judge:
He putteth down one, and lifteth up another.
8 For in the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and the wine [t]foameth;
It is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same:
Surely the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall drain them, and drink them.
9 But I will declare for ever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off;
But the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
The victorious power of the God of Jacob.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.
76 In Judah is God known:
His name is great in Israel.
2 In Salem also is his [u]tabernacle,
And his [v]dwelling-place in Zion.
3 There he brake the [w]arrows of the bow;
The shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah
4 Glorious art thou and excellent,
[x]From the mountains of prey.
5 The stouthearted are made a spoil,
They have slept their sleep;
And none of the men of might have found their hands.
6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared;
And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
8 Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared, and was still,
9 When God arose to judgment,
To save all the meek of the earth. Selah
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
The residue of wrath shalt thou [y]gird upon thee.
11 Vow, and pay unto Jehovah your God:
Let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit of princes:
He is terrible to the kings of the earth.
Comfort in trouble from recalling God’s mighty deeds.
For the Chief Musician; after the manner of Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
77 I will cry unto God with my voice,
Even unto God with my voice; and he will give ear unto me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord:
My hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not;
My soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remember God, and am disquieted:
I complain, and my spirit [z]is overwhelmed. Selah
4 Thou holdest mine eyes watching:
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old,
The years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night:
I commune with mine own heart;
And my spirit maketh diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever?
And will he be favorable no more?
8 Is his lovingkindness clean gone for ever?
Doth his promise fail for evermore?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah
10 And I said, [aa]This is my infirmity;
But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.
11 I will make mention of the deeds of [ab]Jehovah;
For I will remember thy wonders of old.
12 I will meditate also upon all thy work,
And muse on thy doings.
13 Thy way, O God, is [ac]in the sanctuary:
Who is a great god like unto God?
14 Thou art the God that doest wonders:
Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples.
15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 The waters saw thee, O God;
The waters saw thee, they [ad]were afraid:
The depths also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
The skies sent out a sound:
Thine arrows also went abroad.
18 The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lightened the world:
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Thy way was in the sea,
And thy paths in the great waters,
And thy footsteps were not known.
20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock,
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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