Psalm 50; Psalm 73; Psalms 75–77

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Psalm 50

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of nAsaph.

oThe Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

pfrom the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, qthe perfection of beauty,

rGod shines forth.

Our God comes; he sdoes not keep silence;1

before him is a devouring tfire,

around him a mighty tempest.

uHe calls to the heavens above

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

Gather to me my faithful ones,

who made va covenant with me by sacrifice!

wThe heavens declare his righteousness,

for xGod himself is judge! Selah

yHear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

zI am God, your God.

Not for your sacrifices ado I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.

10  For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11  bI 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,

cfor the world and its fullness are mine.

13  Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14  dOffer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,2

and eperform your vows to the Most High,

15  and fcall upon me in the day of trouble;

I will gdeliver you, and you shall hglorify me.

16  But to the wicked God says:

What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?

17  iFor you hate discipline,

jand you cast my words behind you.

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

land you keep company with adulterers.

19  You give your mouth free rein for evil,

mand 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 nhave been silent;

you thought that I3 was one like yourself.

But now I orebuke you and play the charge before you.

22  Mark this, then, you who qforget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be rnone to deliver!

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

to one who torders his way rightly

I will show the usalvation of God!


Psalm 73

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of bAsaph.

Truly God is good to cIsrael,

to those who are dpure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

eFor I was fenvious of the arrogant

when I saw the gprosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not hstricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is itheir necklace;

violence covers them as ja garment.

Their keyes swell out through fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and lspeak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

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, nHow 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.


Psalms 75–77

God Will Judge with Equity

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

We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is nnear.

We1 recount your wondrous deeds.

At othe set time that I appoint

I will judge pwith equity.

When the earth qtotters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its rpillars. Selah

I say to the boastful, Do not boast,

and to the wicked, sDo not lift up your horn;

do not lift up your horn on high,

or speak with haughty neck.

For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes tlifting up,

but it is uGod who executes judgment,

vputting down one and lifting up another.

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.

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.

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: with cstringed instruments. A Psalm of dAsaph. A Song.

In Judah God is eknown;

his name is great in Israel.

His fabode has been established in gSalem,

his hdwelling place in Zion.

There he ibroke the flashing arrows,

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

Glorious are you, more majestic

jthan the mountains full of kprey.

lThe stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;

mthey sank into sleep;

all the men of war

were unable to use their hands.

At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

both nrider and horse lay stunned.

oBut you, you are to be feared!

Who can pstand before you

when once your anger is roused?

From the heavens you uttered judgment;

qthe earth feared and was still,

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 remnant2 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.

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to yJeduthun. A Psalm of zAsaph.

I acry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

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.

When I remember God, I fmoan;

when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

You hold my eyelids open;

I am so gtroubled that I cannot speak.

I consider hthe days of old,

the years long ago.

I said,3 Let me remember my isong in the night;

let me jmeditate in my heart.

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

Will the Lord kspurn forever,

and never again lbe favorable?

Has his steadfast love forever ceased?

Are his mpromises at an end for all time?

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.4

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.5

20  You gled your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.