73  Truly God is good to ^cIsrael,

to those who are ^dpure in heart.

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

my steps had nearly slipped.

3  ^eFor I was ^fenvious of the arrogant

when I saw the ^gprosperity 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 ^hstricken like the rest of mankind.

6  Therefore pride is ⁱtheir necklace;

violence covers them as ^ja garment.

7  Their ^keyes swell out through fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

8  They scoff and ^lspeak 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 ^mno fault in them.¹

11  And they say, ⁿ“How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12  Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they ^oincrease in riches.

13  All in vain have I ^pkept my heart clean

and ^qwashed my hands in innocence.

14  For all the day long I have been ^hstricken

and ^rrebuked ^severy morning.

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

I would have betrayed ^tthe generation of your children.

16  But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me ^ua wearisome task,

17  until I went into ^vthe sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their ^wend.

18  Truly you set them in ^xslippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19  How they are destroyed ^yin a moment,

swept away utterly by ^zterrors!

20  Like ^aa dream when one awakes,

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

21  When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22  I was ^cbrutish and ignorant;

I was like ^da beast toward you.

23  Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you ^ehold my right hand.

24  You ^fguide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will ^greceive me to glory.

25  ^hWhom have I in heaven but you?

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

26  ⁱMy flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is ^jthe strength² of my heart and my ^kportion ^lforever.

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

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

28  But for me it is good to ^obe near God;

I have made the Lord God my ^prefuge,

that I may ^qtell of all your works.

74  O God, why do you ^scast us off forever?

Why does your anger ^tsmoke against ^uthe sheep of your pasture?

2  ^vRemember your congregation, which you have ^wpurchased of old,

which you have ^xredeemed to be ^ythe tribe of your heritage!

Remember Mount Zion, ^zwhere you have dwelt.

3  Direct your steps to ^athe perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4  Your foes have ^broared in the midst of your meeting place;

^cthey set up their ^down signs for ^esigns.

5  They were like those who swing ^faxes

in a forest of trees.²

6  And all its ^gcarved wood

they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

7  They ^hset your sanctuary on fire;

they ⁱprofaned ^jthe dwelling place of your name,

bringing it down to the ground.

8  They ^ksaid to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9  We do not see our ^lsigns;

^mthere is no longer any prophet,

and there is none among us who knows how long.

10  How long, O God, ⁿis the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11  Why ^odo you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the fold of your garment³ and destroy them!

12  Yet ^pGod my King is from of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13  You ^qdivided the sea by your might;

you ^rbroke the heads of ^sthe sea monsters⁴ on the waters.

14  You crushed the heads of ^tLeviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15  You ^usplit open springs and brooks;

you ^vdried up ever-flowing streams.

16  Yours is the day, yours also the night;

you have established ^wthe heavenly lights and the sun.

17  You have ^xfixed all the boundaries of the earth;

you have made ^ysummer and winter.

18  ^zRemember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and ^aa foolish people reviles your name.

19  Do not deliver the soul of your ^bdove to the wild beasts;

^cdo not forget the life of your poor forever.

20  Have regard for ^dthe covenant,

for ^ethe dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21  Let not ^fthe downtrodden ^gturn back in shame;

let ^hthe poor and needy praise your name.

22  Arise, O God, ⁱdefend your cause;

^jremember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

23  Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

^kthe uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

75  We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is ⁿnear.

We¹ recount your wondrous deeds.

2  “At ^othe set time that I appoint

I will judge ^pwith equity.

3  When the earth ^qtotters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its ^rpillars. Selah

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

and to the wicked, ^s‘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 ^tlifting up,

7  but it is ^uGod who executes judgment,

^vputting down one and lifting up another.

8  ^wFor in the hand of the Lord there is ^xa cup

with foaming wine, ^ywell mixed,

and he pours out from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall ^zdrain it down to the dregs.

9  But I will declare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10  ^aAll the horns of the wicked I will cut off,

^bbut the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

76  In Judah God is ^eknown;

his name is great in Israel.

2  His ^fabode has been established in ^gSalem,

his ^hdwelling place in Zion.

3  There he ⁱbroke the flashing arrows,

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

4  Glorious are you, more majestic

^jthan the mountains full of ^kprey.

5  ^lThe stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;

^mthey sank into sleep;

all the men of war

were unable to use their hands.

6  At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

both ⁿrider and horse lay stunned.

7  ^oBut you, you are to be feared!

Who can ^pstand before you

when once your anger is roused?

8  From the heavens you uttered judgment;

^qthe earth feared and was still,

9  when God ^rarose to establish judgment,

to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

10  Surely ^sthe wrath of man shall praise you;

the remnant¹ of wrath you will put on like a belt.

11  ^tMake your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;

let all around him ^ubring gifts

to him who ^vis to be feared,

12  who ^wcuts off the spirit of princes,

who ^xis to be feared by the kings of the earth.

77  I ^acry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

2  ^bIn the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

in ^cthe night my ^dhand is stretched out without wearying;

my soul ^erefuses to be comforted.

3  When I remember God, I ^fmoan;

when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

4  You hold my eyelids open;

I am so ^gtroubled that I cannot speak.

5  I consider ^hthe days of old,

the years long ago.

6  I said,¹ “Let me remember my ⁱsong in the night;

let me ^jmeditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

7  “Will the Lord ^kspurn forever,

and never again ^lbe favorable?

8  Has his steadfast love forever ceased?

Are his ^mpromises at an end for all time?

9  ⁿHas God forgotten to be gracious?

^oHas he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

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

to the years of the ^pright hand of the Most High.”²

11  I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will ^qremember your wonders of old.

12  I will ponder all your ^rwork,

and meditate on your ^smighty deeds.

13  Your way, O God, is ^tholy.

^uWhat god is great like our God?

14  You are the God who ^vworks wonders;

you have ^wmade known your might among the peoples.

15  You ^xwith your arm redeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16  When ^ythe waters saw you, O God,

when the waters saw you, they were afraid;

indeed, the deep trembled.

17  The clouds poured out water;

the skies ^zgave forth thunder;

your ^aarrows flashed on every side.

18  ^bThe crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

^cyour lightnings lighted up the world;

the earth ^dtrembled and shook.

19  Your ^eway was through the sea,

your path through the great waters;

yet your footprints ^fwere unseen.³

20  You ^gled your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.