Psalm 74

Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

A Maskil of Asaph.

1  O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2  Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3  Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4  Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;
they set up their own signs for signs.
5  They were like those who swing axes
in a forest of trees.t
6  And all its carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7  They set your sanctuary on fire;
they profaned the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8  They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them";
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9  We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10  How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11  Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garmentt and destroy them!

12  Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13  You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the sea monsterst on the waters.
14  You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15  You split open springs and brooks;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16  Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
17  You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made summer and winter.

18  Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
19  Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.

20  Have regard for the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21  Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.

22  Arise, O God, defend your cause;
remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23  Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

Psalm 75

God Will Judge with Equity

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

1  We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
Wet 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 to 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 God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8  For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain 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.

Psalm 76

Who Can Stand Before You?

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

1  In Judah God is known;
his name is great in Israel.
2  His abode has been established in Salem,
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 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 to be feared!
Who 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 remnantt 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 gifts
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.