Psalm 50; Psalm 73; Psalms 75–77

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Psalm 50

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

1  mThe Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

2  Out of Zion, the nperfection of beauty,

God oshines forth.

3  Our God comes; he does not pkeep silence;1

qbefore him is a rdevouring fire,

around him a mighty tempest.

4  He scalls to the heavens above

and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5  “Gather to me my tfaithful ones,

uwho made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

6  The vheavens declare his righteousness,

for wGod himself is judge! Selah

7  “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

xI am God, your God.

8  yNot for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

9  I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.

10  For zevery beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11  aI know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

12  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for bthe world and its fullness are mine.

13  Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14  Offer to God a csacrifice of thanksgiving,2

and perform your vows to the Most High,

15  and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall dglorify me.”

16  But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?

17  For you hate discipline,

and you ecast my words behind you.

18  If you see a thief, fyou are pleased with him,

and you keep company with adulterers.

19  “You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and your tongue frames deceit.

20  You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

21  These things you have done, and I have been silent;

you thought that I3 was one like yourself.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22  “Mark this, then, you who gforget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!

23  The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who orders his way rightly

I will hshow the salvation of God!”


Psalm 73

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of Asaph.

1  Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are zpure in heart.

2  But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly aslipped.

3  bFor I was cenvious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4  For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

5  They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

6  Therefore pride is their necklace;

violence covers them das a garment.

7  Their eyes swell out through efatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

8  They scoff and speak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

9  They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

10  Therefore his people turn back to them,

and find no fault in them.1

11  And they say, f“How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12  Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

13  All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands gin innocence.

14  For all the day long I have been stricken

and rebuked every morning.

15  If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16  But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

17  until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

18  Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19  How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

20  hLike a dream when one iawakes,

O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

21  When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22  I was brutish and ignorant;

I was jlike a beast toward you.

23  Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

24  You guide me with your kcounsel,

and afterward you will lreceive me to glory.

25  Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26  My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength2 of my heart and mmy portion forever.

27  For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28  But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may ntell of all your works.


Psalms 75–77

God Will Judge with Equity

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

1  kWe give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is near.

We1 recount your wondrous deeds.

2  “At the set time that I appoint

I will judge with equity.

3  When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

4  I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

and lto the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;

5  do not lift up your horn on high,

or speak with haughty neck.’”

6  For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

7  but it is mGod who executes judgment,

nputting down one and lifting up another.

8  For in the hand of the Lord there is a ocup

with foaming wine, well mixed,

and he pours out from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall pdrain it down to the dregs.

9  But I will declare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10  All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,

but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

1  In Judah God is known;

qhis name is great in Israel.

2  His abode has been established in rSalem,

his dwelling place in Zion.

3  There he broke the flashing arrows,

the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

4  Glorious are you, more majestic

than the mountains full of prey.

5  The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;

they sank into sleep;

all the men of war

were unable to use their hands.

6  At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

both rider and horse lay stunned.

7  But you, you are sto be feared!

tWho can stand before you

when once your anger is roused?

8  From the heavens you uttered judgment;

the earth feared and was still,

9  when God arose to establish judgment,

to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

10  Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;

the remnant2 of wrath you will put on like a belt.

11  Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;

let all around him bring ugifts

to him who is to be feared,

12  who cuts off the spirit of princes,

who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to vJeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

1  I wcry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

2  In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;

my soul refuses to be comforted.

3  When I remember God, I moan;

when I meditate, xmy spirit faints. Selah

4  You hold my eyelids open;

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5  I consider the ydays of old,

the years long ago.

6  I said,3 “Let me remember my song in the znight;

let me meditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

7  “Will the Lord spurn forever,

and never again be favorable?

8  Has his steadfast love forever ceased?

Are his promises at an end for all time?

9  Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10  Then I said, “I will appeal to this,

to athe years of the right hand of the Most High.”4

11  I will bremember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

12  I will ponder all your work,

and cmeditate on your mighty deeds.

13  Your way, O God, is holy.

dWhat god is great like our God?

14  You are the God who works wonders;

you have emade known your might among the peoples.

15  You with your arm fredeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16  gWhen the waters hsaw you, O God,

when the waters saw you, they were afraid;

indeed, the deep trembled.

17  iThe clouds poured out water;

the skies gave forth thunder;

your jarrows flashed on every side.

18  The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

your lightnings lighted up the world;

kthe earth trembled and shook.

19  Your lway was through the sea,

your path through the great waters;

yet your footprints were unseen.5

20  You mled your people like a nflock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.