Psalm 43 ^[78]

¹Vindicate me, O God,

and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;

rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

²You are God my stronghold.

Why have you rejected me?

Why must I go about mourning,

oppressed by the enemy?

³Send forth your light and your truth,

let them guide me;

let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to the place where you dwell.

⁴Then will I go to the altar of God,

to God, my joy and my delight.

I will praise you with the harp,

O God, my God.

 

⁵Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.

Psalm 44

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.^[79]

¹We have heard with our ears, O God;

our fathers have told us

what you did in their days,

in days long ago.

²With your hand you drove out the nations

and planted our fathers;

you crushed the peoples

and made our fathers flourish.

³It was not by their sword that they won the land,

nor did their arm bring them victory;

it was your right hand, your arm,

and the light of your face, for you loved them.

 

⁴You are my King and my God,

who decrees^[80] victories for Jacob.

⁵Through you we push back our enemies;

through your name we trample our foes.

⁶I do not trust in my bow,

my sword does not bring me victory;

⁷but you give us victory over our enemies,

you put our adversaries to shame.

⁸In God we make our boast all day long,

and we will praise your name forever. Selah

 

⁹But now you have rejected and humbled us;

you no longer go out with our armies.

¹⁰You made us retreat before the enemy,

and our adversaries have plundered us.

¹¹You gave us up to be devoured like sheep

and have scattered us among the nations.

¹²You sold your people for a pittance,

gaining nothing from their sale.

 

¹³You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,

the scorn and derision of those around us.

¹⁴You have made us a byword among the nations;

the peoples shake their heads at us.

¹⁵My disgrace is before me all day long,

and my face is covered with shame

¹⁶at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,

because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

 

¹⁷All this happened to us,

though we had not forgotten you

or been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our hearts had not turned back;

our feet had not strayed from your path.

¹⁹But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals

and covered us over with deep darkness.

 

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

²¹would not God have discovered it,

since he knows the secrets of the heart?

²²Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

 

²³Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?

Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.

²⁴Why do you hide your face

and forget our misery and oppression?

 

²⁵We are brought down to the dust;

our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶Rise up and help us;

redeem us because of your unfailing love.

Psalm 45

For the director of music. To [the tune of] “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.^[81] A wedding song.

¹My heart is stirred by a noble theme

as I recite my verses for the king;

my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

 

²You are the most excellent of men

and your lips have been anointed with grace,

since God has blessed you forever.

³Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one;

clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.

⁴In your majesty ride forth victoriously

in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness;

let your right hand display awesome deeds.

⁵Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;

let the nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;

a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

⁷You love righteousness and hate wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

by anointing you with the oil of joy.

⁸All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;

from palaces adorned with ivory

the music of the strings makes you glad.

⁹Daughters of kings are among your honored women;

at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

 

¹⁰Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear:

Forget your people and your father’s house.

¹¹The king is enthralled by your beauty;

honor him, for he is your lord.

¹²The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift,^[82]

men of wealth will seek your favor.

 

¹³All glorious is the princess within [her chamber];

her gown is interwoven with gold.

¹⁴In embroidered garments she is led to the king;

her virgin companions follow her

and are brought to you.

¹⁵They are led in with joy and gladness;

they enter the palace of the king.

 

¹⁶Your sons will take the place of your fathers;

you will make them princes throughout the land.

¹⁷I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;

therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

Psalm 46

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.^[83] A song.

¹God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

³though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah

 

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

⁵God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

⁶Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

 

⁷The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

 

⁸Come and see the works of the LORD,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shields^[84] with fire.

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

¹¹The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Psalm 47

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹Clap your hands, all you nations;

shout to God with cries of joy.

²How awesome is the LORD Most High,

the great King over all the earth!

³He subdued nations under us,

peoples under our feet.

⁴He chose our inheritance for us,

the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah

 

⁵God has ascended amid shouts of joy,

the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises.

 

⁷For God is the King of all the earth;

sing to him a psalm^[85] of praise.

⁸God reigns over the nations;

God is seated on his holy throne.

⁹The nobles of the nations assemble

as the people of the God of Abraham,

for the kings^[86] of the earth belong to God;

he is greatly exalted.

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise,

in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

²It is beautiful in its loftiness,

the joy of the whole earth.

Like the utmost heights of Zaphon^[87] is Mount Zion,

the^[88] city of the Great King.

³God is in her citadels;

he has shown himself to be her fortress.

 

⁴When the kings joined forces,

when they advanced together,

⁵they saw [her] and were astounded;

they fled in terror.

⁶Trembling seized them there,

pain like that of a woman in labor.

⁷You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish

shattered by an east wind.

 

⁸As we have heard,

so have we seen

in the city of the LORD Almighty,

in the city of our God:

God makes her secure forever. Selah

 

⁹Within your temple, O God,

we meditate on your unfailing love.

¹⁰Like your name, O God,

your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;

your right hand is filled with righteousness.

¹¹Mount Zion rejoices,

the villages of Judah are glad

because of your judgments.

 

¹²Walk about Zion, go around her,

count her towers,

¹³consider well her ramparts,

view her citadels,

that you may tell of them to the next generation.

¹⁴For this God is our God for ever and ever;

he will be our guide even to the end.

Psalm 49

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹Hear this, all you peoples;

listen, all who live in this world,

²both low and high,

rich and poor alike:

³My mouth will speak words of wisdom;

the utterance from my heart will give understanding.

⁴I will turn my ear to a proverb;

with the harp I will expound my riddle:

 

⁵Why should I fear when evil days come,

when wicked deceivers surround me—

⁶those who trust in their wealth

and boast of their great riches?

⁷No man can redeem the life of another

or give to God a ransom for him—

⁸the ransom for a life is costly,

no payment is ever enough —

⁹that he should live on forever

and not see decay.

 

¹⁰For all can see that wise men die;

the foolish and the senseless alike perish

and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their tombs will remain their houses^[89] forever,

their dwellings for endless generations,

though they had^[90] named lands after themselves.

 

¹²But man, despite his riches, does not endure;

he is^[91] like the beasts that perish.

 

¹³This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,

and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are destined for the grave,^[92]

and death will feed on them.

The upright will rule over them in the morning;

their forms will decay in the grave,^[93]

far from their princely mansions.

¹⁵But God will redeem my life^[94] from the grave;

he will surely take me to himself. Selah

 

¹⁶Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,

when the splendor of his house increases;

¹⁷for he will take nothing with him when he dies,

his splendor will not descend with him.

¹⁸Though while he lived he counted himself blessed —

and men praise you when you prosper—

¹⁹he will join the generation of his fathers,

who will never see the light [of life].

 

²⁰A man who has riches without understanding

is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 50

A psalm of Asaph.

¹The Mighty One, God, the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

²From Zion, perfect in beauty,

God shines forth.

³Our God comes and will not be silent;

a fire devours before him,

and around him a tempest rages.

⁴He summons the heavens above,

and the earth, that he may judge his people:

⁵“Gather to me my consecrated ones,

who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

⁶And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,

for God himself is judge. Selah

 

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

O Israel, and I will testify against you:

I am God, your God.

⁸I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices

or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

⁹I have no need of a bull from your stall

or of goats from your pens,

¹⁰for every animal of the forest is mine,

and the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird in the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are mine.

¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you,

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Sacrifice thank offerings to God,

fulfill your vows to the Most High,

¹⁵and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked, God says:

 

“What right have you to recite my laws

or take my covenant on your lips?

¹⁷You hate my instruction

and cast my words behind you.

¹⁸When you see a thief, you join with him;

you throw in your lot with adulterers.

¹⁹You use your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue to deceit.

²⁰You speak continually against your brother

and slander your own mother’s son.

²¹These things you have done and I kept silent;

you thought I was altogether^[95] like you.

But I will rebuke you

and accuse you to your face.

 

²²“Consider this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:

²³He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,

and he prepares the way

so that I may show him^[96] the salvation of God.”

Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

²Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

 

³For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak

and justified when you judge.

⁵Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶Surely you desire truth in the inner parts^[97];

you teach^[98] me wisdom in the inmost place.

 

⁷Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

 

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

 

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴Save me from bloodguilt, O God,

the God who saves me,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are^[99] a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart,

O God, you will not despise.

 

¹⁸In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;

build up the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then there will be righteous sacrifices,

whole burnt offerings to delight you;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 52

For the director of music. A maskil^[100] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

¹Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man?

Why do you boast all day long,

you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

²Your tongue plots destruction;

it is like a sharpened razor,

you who practice deceit.

³You love evil rather than good,

falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Selah

⁴You love every harmful word,

O you deceitful tongue!

 

⁵Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:

He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

⁶The righteous will see and fear;

they will laugh at him, saying,

⁷“Here now is the man

who did not make God his stronghold

but trusted in his great wealth

and grew strong by destroying others!”

 

⁸But I am like an olive tree

flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God’s unfailing love

for ever and ever.

⁹I will praise you forever for what you have done;

in your name I will hope, for your name is good.

I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Psalm 53

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[101] A maskil^[102] of David.

¹The fool says in his heart,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;

there is no one who does good.

 

²God looks down from heaven

on the sons of men

to see if there are any who understand,

any who seek God.

³Everyone has turned away,

they have together become corrupt;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.

 

⁴Will the evildoers never learn—

those who devour my people as men eat bread

and who do not call on God?

⁵There they were, overwhelmed with dread,

where there was nothing to dread.

God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;

you put them to shame, for God despised them.

 

⁶Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When God restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 54

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^[103] of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”

¹Save me, O God, by your name;

vindicate me by your might.

²Hear my prayer, O God;

listen to the words of my mouth.

 

³Strangers are attacking me;

ruthless men seek my life—

men without regard for God. Selah

 

⁴Surely God is my help;

the Lord is the one who sustains me.

 

⁵Let evil recoil on those who slander me;

in your faithfulness destroy them.

 

⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;

I will praise your name, O LORD,

for it is good.

⁷For he has delivered me from all my troubles,

and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

Psalm 55

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^[104] of David.

¹Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

²hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

³at the voice of the enemy,

at the stares of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering upon me

and revile me in their anger.

 

⁴My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death assail me.

⁵Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest—

⁷I would flee far away

and stay in the desert; Selah

⁸I would hurry to my place of shelter,

far from the tempest and storm.”

 

⁹Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

¹¹Destructive forces are at work in the city;

threats and lies never leave its streets.

 

¹²If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were raising himself against me,

I could hide from him.

¹³But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,

¹⁴with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

as we walked with the throng at the house of God.

 

¹⁵Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the grave,^[105]

for evil finds lodging among them.

 

¹⁶But I call to God,

and the LORD saves me.

¹⁷Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

¹⁸He ransoms me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

¹⁹God, who is enthroned forever,

will hear them and afflict them— Selah

men who never change their ways

and have no fear of God.

 

²⁰My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

²¹His speech is smooth as butter,

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil,

yet they are drawn swords.

 

²²Cast your cares on the LORD

and he will sustain you;

he will never let the righteous fall.

²³But you, O God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of corruption;

bloodthirsty and deceitful men

will not live out half their days.

 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalm 56

For the director of music. To [the tune of] “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.^[106] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

¹Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me;

all day long they press their attack.

²My slanderers pursue me all day long;

many are attacking me in their pride.

 

³When I am afraid,

I will trust in you.

⁴In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me?

 

⁵All day long they twist my words;

they are always plotting to harm me.

⁶They conspire, they lurk,

they watch my steps,

eager to take my life.

 

⁷On no account let them escape;

in your anger, O God, bring down the nations.

⁸Record my lament;

list my tears on your scroll^[107]—

are they not in your record?

 

⁹Then my enemies will turn back

when I call for help.

By this I will know that God is for me.

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,

in the LORD, whose word I praise—

¹¹in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

 

¹²I am under vows to you, O God;

I will present my thank offerings to you.

¹³For you have delivered me^[108] from death

and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.^[109]

Psalm 57

For the director of music. [To the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.^[110] When he had fled from Saul into the cave.

¹Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,

for in you my soul takes refuge.

I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings

until the disaster has passed.

 

²I cry out to God Most High,

to God, who fulfills [his purpose] for me.

³He sends from heaven and saves me,

rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah

God sends his love and his faithfulness.

 

⁴I am in the midst of lions;

I lie among ravenous beasts—

men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are sharp swords.

 

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

 

⁶They spread a net for my feet—

I was bowed down in distress.

They dug a pit in my path—

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

 

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast;

I will sing and make music.

⁸Awake, my soul!

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

 

⁹I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.

¹⁰For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

 

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 58

For the director of music. [To the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.^[111]

¹Do you rulers indeed speak justly?

Do you judge uprightly among men?

²No, in your heart you devise injustice,

and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

³Even from birth the wicked go astray;

from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

⁵that will not heed the tune of the charmer,

however skillful the enchanter may be.

 

⁶Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;

tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!

⁷Let them vanish like water that flows away;

when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.

⁸Like a slug melting away as it moves along,

like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.

 

⁹Before your pots can feel [the heat of] the thorns—

whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.^[112]

¹⁰The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,

when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Then men will say,

“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;

surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

Psalm 59

For the director of music. [To the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.^[113] When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.

¹Deliver me from my enemies, O God;

protect me from those who rise up against me.

²Deliver me from evildoers

and save me from bloodthirsty men.

 

³See how they lie in wait for me!

Fierce men conspire against me

for no offense or sin of mine, O LORD.

⁴I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.

Arise to help me; look on my plight!

⁵O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel,

rouse yourself to punish all the nations;

show no mercy to wicked traitors. Selah

 

⁶They return at evening,

snarling like dogs,

and prowl about the city.

⁷See what they spew from their mouths—

they spew out swords from their lips,

and they say, “Who can hear us?”

⁸But you, O LORD, laugh at them;

you scoff at all those nations.

 

⁹O my Strength, I watch for you;

you, O God, are my fortress, ¹⁰my loving God.

 

God will go before me

and will let me gloat over those who slander me.

¹¹But do not kill them, O Lord our shield,^[114]

or my people will forget.

In your might make them wander about,

and bring them down.

¹²For the sins of their mouths,

for the words of their lips,

let them be caught in their pride.

For the curses and lies they utter,

¹³consume them in wrath,

consume them till they are no more.

Then it will be known to the ends of the earth

that God rules over Jacob. Selah

 

¹⁴They return at evening,

snarling like dogs,

and prowl about the city.

¹⁵They wander about for food

and howl if not satisfied.

¹⁶But I will sing of your strength,

in the morning I will sing of your love;

for you are my fortress,

my refuge in times of trouble.

 

¹⁷O my Strength, I sing praise to you;

you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

Psalm 60

For the director of music. To [the tune of] “The Lily of the Covenant.” A miktam^[115] of David. For teaching. When he fought Aram Naharaim^[116] and Aram Zobah,^[117] and when Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us;

you have been angry—now restore us!

²You have shaken the land and torn it open;

mend its fractures, for it is quaking.

³You have shown your people desperate times;

you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

 

⁴But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner

to be unfurled against the bow. Selah

 

⁵Save us and help us with your right hand,

that those you love may be delivered.

⁶God has spoken from his sanctuary:

“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem

and measure off the Valley of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet,

Judah my scepter.

⁸Moab is my washbasin,

upon Edom I toss my sandal;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

 

⁹Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us

and no longer go out with our armies?

¹¹Give us aid against the enemy,

for the help of man is worthless.

¹²With God we will gain the victory,

and he will trample down our enemies.

Psalm 61

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.

¹Hear my cry, O God;

listen to my prayer.

 

²From the ends of the earth I call to you,

I call as my heart grows faint;

lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

³For you have been my refuge,

a strong tower against the foe.

 

⁴I long to dwell in your tent forever

and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah

⁵For you have heard my vows, O God;

you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

 

⁶Increase the days of the king’s life,

his years for many generations.

⁷May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;

appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.

 

⁸Then will I ever sing praise to your name

and fulfill my vows day after day.

Psalm 62

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹My soul finds rest in God alone;

my salvation comes from him.

²He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

 

³How long will you assault a man?

Would all of you throw him down—

this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

⁴They fully intend to topple him

from his lofty place;

they take delight in lies.

With their mouths they bless,

but in their hearts they curse. Selah

 

⁵Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from him.

⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

⁷My salvation and my honor depend on God^[118];

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

⁸Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your hearts to him,

for God is our refuge. Selah

 

⁹Lowborn men are but a breath,

the highborn are but a lie;

if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;

together they are only a breath.

¹⁰Do not trust in extortion

or take pride in stolen goods;

though your riches increase,

do not set your heart on them.

 

¹¹One thing God has spoken,

two things have I heard:

that you, O God, are strong,

¹²and that you, O Lord, are loving.

Surely you will reward each person

according to what he has done.

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

¹O God, you are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you,

my body longs for you,

in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

 

²I have seen you in the sanctuary

and beheld your power and your glory.

³Because your love is better than life,

my lips will glorify you.

⁴I will praise you as long as I live,

and in your name I will lift up my hands.

⁵My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;

with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

 

⁶On my bed I remember you;

I think of you through the watches of the night.

⁷Because you are my help,

I sing in the shadow of your wings.

⁸My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

 

⁹They who seek my life will be destroyed;

they will go down to the depths of the earth.

¹⁰They will be given over to the sword

and become food for jackals.

 

¹¹But the king will rejoice in God;

all who swear by God’s name will praise him,

while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Psalm 64

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;

protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

²Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,

from that noisy crowd of evildoers.

 

³They sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim their words like deadly arrows.

⁴They shoot from ambush at the innocent man;

they shoot at him suddenly, without fear.

 

⁵They encourage each other in evil plans,

they talk about hiding their snares;

they say, “Who will see them^[119]? ”

⁶They plot injustice and say,

“We have devised a perfect plan!”

Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.

 

⁷But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly they will be struck down.

⁸He will turn their own tongues against them

and bring them to ruin;

all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.

 

⁹All mankind will fear;

they will proclaim the works of God

and ponder what he has done.

¹⁰Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD

and take refuge in him;

let all the upright in heart praise him!

Psalm 65

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

¹Praise awaits^[120] you, O God, in Zion;

to you our vows will be fulfilled.

²O you who hear prayer,

to you all men will come.

³When we were overwhelmed by sins,

you forgave^[121] our transgressions.

⁴Blessed are those you choose

and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

of your holy temple.

 

⁵You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,

O God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas,

⁶who formed the mountains by your power,

having armed yourself with strength,

⁷who stilled the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

and the turmoil of the nations.

⁸Those living far away fear your wonders;

where morning dawns and evening fades

you call forth songs of joy.

 

⁹You care for the land and water it;

you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

to provide the people with grain,

for so you have ordained it.^[122]

¹⁰You drench its furrows

and level its ridges;

you soften it with showers

and bless its crops.

¹¹You crown the year with your bounty,

and your carts overflow with abundance.

¹²The grasslands of the desert overflow;

the hills are clothed with gladness.

¹³The meadows are covered with flocks

and the valleys are mantled with grain;

they shout for joy and sing.

Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

¹Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

²Sing the glory of his name;

make his praise glorious!

³Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

So great is your power

that your enemies cringe before you.

⁴All the earth bows down to you;

they sing praise to you,

they sing praise to your name.” Selah

 

⁵Come and see what God has done,

how awesome his works in man’s behalf!

⁶He turned the sea into dry land,

they passed through the waters on foot—

come, let us rejoice in him.

⁷He rules forever by his power,

his eyes watch the nations—

let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah

 

⁸Praise our God, O peoples,

let the sound of his praise be heard;

⁹he has preserved our lives

and kept our feet from slipping.

¹⁰For you, O God, tested us;

you refined us like silver.

¹¹You brought us into prison

and laid burdens on our backs.

¹²You let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

 

¹³I will come to your temple with burnt offerings

and fulfill my vows to you—

¹⁴vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke

when I was in trouble.

¹⁵I will sacrifice fat animals to you

and an offering of rams;

I will offer bulls and goats. Selah

 

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God;

let me tell you what he has done for me.

¹⁷I cried out to him with my mouth;

his praise was on my tongue.

¹⁸If I had cherished sin in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened;

¹⁹but God has surely listened

and heard my voice in prayer.

²⁰Praise be to God,

who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 67

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

¹May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine upon us, Selah

²that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

 

³May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

⁴May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you rule the peoples justly

and guide the nations of the earth. Selah

⁵May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

 

⁶Then the land will yield its harvest,

and God, our God, will bless us.

⁷God will bless us,

and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalm 68

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.

¹May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;

may his foes flee before him.

²As smoke is blown away by the wind,

may you blow them away;

as wax melts before the fire,

may the wicked perish before God.

³But may the righteous be glad

and rejoice before God;

may they be happy and joyful.

 

⁴Sing to God, sing praise to his name,

extol him who rides on the clouds^[123] —

his name is the LORD—

and rejoice before him.

⁵A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

⁶God sets the lonely in families,^[124]

he leads forth the prisoners with singing;

but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

 

⁷When you went out before your people, O God,

when you marched through the wasteland, Selah

⁸the earth shook,

the heavens poured down rain,

before God, the One of Sinai,

before God, the God of Israel.

⁹You gave abundant showers, O God;

you refreshed your weary inheritance.

¹⁰Your people settled in it,

and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor.

 

¹¹The Lord announced the word,

and great was the company of those who proclaimed it:

¹²“Kings and armies flee in haste;

in the camps men divide the plunder.

¹³Even while you sleep among the campfires,^[125]

the wings of [my] dove are sheathed with silver,

its feathers with shining gold.”

¹⁴When the Almighty^[126] scattered the kings in the land,

it was like snow fallen on Zalmon.

 

¹⁵The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains;

rugged are the mountains of Bashan.

¹⁶Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains,

at the mountain where God chooses to reign,

where the LORD himself will dwell forever?

¹⁷The chariots of God are tens of thousands

and thousands of thousands;

the Lord [has come] from Sinai into his sanctuary.

¹⁸When you ascended on high,

you led captives in your train;

you received gifts from men,

even from^[127] the rebellious—

that you,^[128] O LORD God, might dwell there.

 

¹⁹Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,

who daily bears our burdens. Selah

²⁰Our God is a God who saves;

from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.

 

²¹Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,

the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.

²²The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;

I will bring them from the depths of the sea,

²³that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes,

while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

 

²⁴Your procession has come into view, O God,

the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.

²⁵In front are the singers, after them the musicians;

with them are the maidens playing tambourines.

²⁶Praise God in the great congregation;

praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel.

²⁷There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,

there the great throng of Judah’s princes,

and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

 

²⁸Summon your power, O God^[129];

show us your strength, O God, as you have done before.

²⁹Because of your temple at Jerusalem

kings will bring you gifts.

³⁰Rebuke the beast among the reeds,

the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.

Humbled, may it bring bars of silver.

Scatter the nations who delight in war.

³¹Envoys will come from Egypt;

Cush^[130] will submit herself to God.

 

³²Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,

sing praise to the Lord, Selah

³³to him who rides the ancient skies above,

who thunders with mighty voice.

³⁴Proclaim the power of God,

whose majesty is over Israel,

whose power is in the skies.

³⁵You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;

the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

 

Praise be to God!

Psalm 69

For the director of music. To [the tune of] “Lilies.” Of David.

¹Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

²I sink in the miry depths,

where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters;

the floods engulf me.

³I am worn out calling for help;

my throat is parched.

My eyes fail,

looking for my God.

⁴Those who hate me without reason

outnumber the hairs of my head;

many are my enemies without cause,

those who seek to destroy me.

I am forced to restore

what I did not steal.

 

⁵You know my folly, O God;

my guilt is not hidden from you.

 

⁶May those who hope in you

not be disgraced because of me,

O Lord, the LORD Almighty;

may those who seek you

not be put to shame because of me,

O God of Israel.

⁷For I endure scorn for your sake,

and shame covers my face.

⁸I am a stranger to my brothers,

an alien to my own mother’s sons;

⁹for zeal for your house consumes me,

and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

¹⁰When I weep and fast,

I must endure scorn;

¹¹when I put on sackcloth,

people make sport of me.

¹²Those who sit at the gate mock me,

and I am the song of the drunkards.

 

¹³But I pray to you, O LORD,

in the time of your favor;

in your great love, O God,

answer me with your sure salvation.

¹⁴Rescue me from the mire,

do not let me sink;

deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep waters.

¹⁵Do not let the floodwaters engulf me

or the depths swallow me up

or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love;

in your great mercy turn to me.

¹⁷Do not hide your face from your servant;

answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

¹⁸Come near and rescue me;

redeem me because of my foes.

 

¹⁹You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;

all my enemies are before you.

²⁰Scorn has broken my heart

and has left me helpless;

I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

for comforters, but I found none.

²¹They put gall in my food

and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

 

²²May the table set before them become a snare;

may it become retribution and^[131] a trap.

²³May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.

²⁴Pour out your wrath on them;

let your fierce anger overtake them.

²⁵May their place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

²⁶For they persecute those you wound

and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

²⁷Charge them with crime upon crime;

do not let them share in your salvation.

²⁸May they be blotted out of the book of life

and not be listed with the righteous.

 

²⁹I am in pain and distress;

may your salvation, O God, protect me.

 

³⁰I will praise God’s name in song

and glorify him with thanksgiving.

³¹This will please the LORD more than an ox,

more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

³²The poor will see and be glad—

you who seek God, may your hearts live!

³³The LORD hears the needy

and does not despise his captive people.

 

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and all that move in them,

³⁵for God will save Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah.

Then people will settle there and possess it;

³⁶the children of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will dwell there.

Psalm 70

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

¹Hasten, O God, to save me;

O LORD, come quickly to help me.

²May those who seek my life

be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin

be turned back in disgrace.

³May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”

turn back because of their shame.

⁴But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation always say,

“Let God be exalted!”

 

⁵Yet I am poor and needy;

come quickly to me, O God.

You are my help and my deliverer;

O LORD, do not delay.

Psalm 71

¹In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

²Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;

turn your ear to me and save me.

³Be my rock of refuge,

to which I can always go;

give the command to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

⁴Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of evil and cruel men.

 

⁵For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,

my confidence since my youth.

⁶From birth I have relied on you;

you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.

I will ever praise you.

⁷I have become like a portent to many,

but you are my strong refuge.

⁸My mouth is filled with your praise,

declaring your splendor all day long.

 

⁹Do not cast me away when I am old;

do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

¹⁰For my enemies speak against me;

those who wait to kill me conspire together.

¹¹They say, “God has forsaken him;

pursue him and seize him,

for no one will rescue him.”

¹²Be not far from me, O God;

come quickly, O my God, to help me.

¹³May my accusers perish in shame;

may those who want to harm me

be covered with scorn and disgrace.

 

¹⁴But as for me, I will always have hope;

I will praise you more and more.

¹⁵My mouth will tell of your righteousness,

of your salvation all day long,

though I know not its measure.

¹⁶I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;

I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,

and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

¹⁸Even when I am old and gray,

do not forsake me, O God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

your might to all who are to come.

 

¹⁹Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,

you who have done great things.

Who, O God, is like you?

²⁰Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,

you will restore my life again;

from the depths of the earth

you will again bring me up.

²¹You will increase my honor

and comfort me once again.

 

²²I will praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

²³My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you—

I, whom you have redeemed.

²⁴My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

have been put to shame and confusion.

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice, O God,

the royal son with your righteousness.

²He will^[132] judge your people in righteousness,

your afflicted ones with justice.

³The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,

the hills the fruit of righteousness.

⁴He will defend the afflicted among the people

and save the children of the needy;

he will crush the oppressor.

 

⁵He will endure^[133] as long as the sun,

as long as the moon, through all generations.

⁶He will be like rain falling on a mown field,

like showers watering the earth.

⁷In his days the righteous will flourish;

prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

 

⁸He will rule from sea to sea

and from the River^[134] to the ends of the earth.^[135]

⁹The desert tribes will bow before him

and his enemies will lick the dust.

¹⁰The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores

will bring tribute to him;

the kings of Sheba and Seba

will present him gifts.

¹¹All kings will bow down to him

and all nations will serve him.

 

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

the afflicted who have no one to help.

¹³He will take pity on the weak and the needy

and save the needy from death.

¹⁴He will rescue them from oppression and violence,

for precious is their blood in his sight.

 

¹⁵Long may he live!

May gold from Sheba be given him.

May people ever pray for him

and bless him all day long.

¹⁶Let grain abound throughout the land;

on the tops of the hills may it sway.

Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon;

let it thrive like the grass of the field.

¹⁷May his name endure forever;

may it continue as long as the sun.

 

All nations will be blessed through him,

and they will call him blessed.

 

¹⁸Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,

who alone does marvelous deeds.

¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen.

 

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

 

²But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold.

³For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 

⁴They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.^[136]

⁵They are free from the burdens common to man;

they are not plagued by human ills.

⁶Therefore pride is their necklace;

they clothe themselves with violence.

⁷From their callous hearts comes iniquity^[137];

the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

⁸They scoff, and speak with malice;

in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

⁹Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

¹⁰Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance.^[138]

¹¹They say, “How can God know?

Does the Most High have knowledge?”

 

¹²This is what the wicked are like—

always carefree, they increase in wealth.

 

¹³Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;

in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴All day long I have been plagued;

I have been punished every morning.

 

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have betrayed your children.

¹⁶When I tried to understand all this,

it was oppressive to me

¹⁷till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

 

¹⁸Surely you place them on slippery ground;

you cast them down to ruin.

¹⁹How suddenly are they destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors!

²⁰As a dream when one awakes,

so when you arise, O Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.

 

²¹When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

²²I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

 

²³Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

 

²⁷Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds.

Psalm 74

A maskil^[139] of Asaph.

¹Why have you rejected us forever, O God?

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

²Remember the people you purchased of old,

the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—

Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

³Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,

all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

 

⁴Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;

they set up their standards as signs.

⁵They behaved like men wielding axes

to cut through a thicket of trees.

⁶They smashed all the carved paneling

with their axes and hatchets.

⁷They burned your sanctuary to the ground;

they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

⁸They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”

They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹We are given no miraculous signs;

no prophets are left,

and none of us knows how long this will be.

 

¹⁰How long will the enemy mock you, O God?

Will the foe revile your name forever?

¹¹Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

 

¹²But you, O God, are my king from of old;

you bring salvation upon the earth.

¹³It was you who split open the sea by your power;

you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

¹⁴It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan

and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.

¹⁵It was you who opened up springs and streams;

you dried up the ever flowing rivers.

¹⁶The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

¹⁷It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.

 

¹⁸Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD,

how foolish people have reviled your name.

¹⁹Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;

do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.

²⁰Have regard for your covenant,

because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

²¹Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;

may the poor and needy praise your name.

 

²²Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;

remember how fools mock you all day long.

²³Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,

the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.

Psalm 75

For the director of music. [To the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹We give thanks to you, O God,

we give thanks, for your Name is near;

men tell of your wonderful deeds.

 

²You say, “I choose the appointed time;

it is I who judge uprightly.

³When the earth and all its people quake,

it is I who hold its pillars firm. Selah

⁴To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.

⁵Do not lift your horns against heaven;

do not speak with outstretched neck.’ ”

 

⁶No one from the east or the west

or from the desert can exalt a man.

⁷But it is God who judges:

He brings one down, he exalts another.

⁸In the hand of the LORD is a cup

full of foaming wine mixed with spices;

he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth

drink it down to its very dregs.

 

⁹As for me, I will declare this forever;

I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

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

but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

Psalm 76

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹In Judah God is known;

his name is great in Israel.

²His tent is in Salem,

his dwelling place in Zion.

³There he broke the flashing arrows,

the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. Selah

 

⁴You are resplendent with light,

more majestic than mountains rich with game.

⁵Valiant men lie plundered,

they sleep their last sleep;

not one of the warriors

can lift his hands.

⁶At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

both horse and chariot lie still.

⁷You alone are to be feared.

Who can stand before you when you are angry?

⁸From heaven you pronounced judgment,

and the land feared and was quiet—

⁹when you, O God, rose up to judge,

to save all the afflicted of the land. Selah

¹⁰Surely your wrath against men brings you praise,

and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.^[140]

 

¹¹Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them;

let all the neighboring lands

bring gifts to the One to be feared.

¹²He breaks the spirit of rulers;

he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 77

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹I cried out to God for help;

I cried out to God to hear me.

²When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;

at night I stretched out untiring hands

and my soul refused to be comforted.

 

³I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;

I mused, and my spirit grew faint. Selah

⁴You kept my eyes from closing;

I was too troubled to speak.

⁵I thought about the former days,

the years of long ago;

⁶I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart mused and my spirit inquired:

 

⁷“Will the Lord reject forever?

Will he never show his favor again?

⁸Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

Has his promise failed for all time?

⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah

 

¹⁰Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:

the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

¹¹I will remember the deeds of the LORD;

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

¹²I will meditate on all your works

and consider all your mighty deeds.

 

¹³Your ways, O God, are holy.

What god is so great as our God?

¹⁴You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the peoples.

¹⁵With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

 

¹⁶The waters saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and writhed;

the very depths were convulsed.

¹⁷The clouds poured down water,

the skies resounded with thunder;

your arrows flashed back and forth.

¹⁸Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,

your lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

¹⁹Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

 

²⁰You led your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78

A maskil^[141] of Asaph.

¹O my people, hear my teaching;

listen to the words of my mouth.

²I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

³what we have heard and known,

what our fathers have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children;

we will tell the next generation

the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,

his power, and the wonders he has done.

⁵He decreed statutes for Jacob

and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our forefathers

to teach their children,

⁶so the next generation would know them,

even the children yet to be born,

and they in turn would tell their children.

⁷Then they would put their trust in God

and would not forget his deeds

but would keep his commands.

⁸They would not be like their forefathers—

a stubborn and rebellious generation,

whose hearts were not loyal to God,

whose spirits were not faithful to him.

 

⁹The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,

turned back on the day of battle;

¹⁰they did not keep God’s covenant

and refused to live by his law.

¹¹They forgot what he had done,

the wonders he had shown them.

¹²He did miracles in the sight of their fathers

in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

¹³He divided the sea and led them through;

he made the water stand firm like a wall.

¹⁴He guided them with the cloud by day

and with light from the fire all night.

¹⁵He split the rocks in the desert

and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

¹⁶he brought streams out of a rocky crag

and made water flow down like rivers.

 

¹⁷But they continued to sin against him,

rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

¹⁸They willfully put God to the test

by demanding the food they craved.

¹⁹They spoke against God, saying,

“Can God spread a table in the desert?

²⁰When he struck the rock, water gushed out,

and streams flowed abundantly.

But can he also give us food?

Can he supply meat for his people?”

²¹When the LORD heard them, he was very angry;

his fire broke out against Jacob,

and his wrath rose against Israel,

²²for they did not believe in God

or trust in his deliverance.

²³Yet he gave a command to the skies above

and opened the doors of the heavens;

²⁴he rained down manna for the people to eat,

he gave them the grain of heaven.

²⁵Men ate the bread of angels;

he sent them all the food they could eat.

²⁶He let loose the east wind from the heavens

and led forth the south wind by his power.

²⁷He rained meat down on them like dust,

flying birds like sand on the seashore.

²⁸He made them come down inside their camp,

all around their tents.

²⁹They ate till they had more than enough,

for he had given them what they craved.

³⁰But before they turned from the food they craved,

even while it was still in their mouths,

³¹God’s anger rose against them;

he put to death the sturdiest among them,

cutting down the young men of Israel.

 

³²In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;

in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

³³So he ended their days in futility

and their years in terror.

³⁴Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;

they eagerly turned to him again.

³⁵They remembered that God was their Rock,

that God Most High was their Redeemer.

³⁶But then they would flatter him with their mouths,

lying to him with their tongues;

³⁷their hearts were not loyal to him,

they were not faithful to his covenant.

³⁸Yet he was merciful;

he forgave their iniquities

and did not destroy them.

Time after time he restrained his anger

and did not stir up his full wrath.

³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,

a passing breeze that does not return.

 

⁴⁰How often they rebelled against him in the desert

and grieved him in the wasteland!

⁴¹Again and again they put God to the test;

they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not remember his power—

the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

⁴³the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt,

his wonders in the region of Zoan.

⁴⁴He turned their rivers to blood;

they could not drink from their streams.

⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,

and frogs that devastated them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to the grasshopper,

their produce to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail

and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail,

their livestock to bolts of lightning.

⁴⁹He unleashed against them his hot anger,

his wrath, indignation and hostility—

a band of destroying angels.

⁵⁰He prepared a path for his anger;

he did not spare them from death

but gave them over to the plague.

⁵¹He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,

the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

⁵²But he brought his people out like a flock;

he led them like sheep through the desert.

⁵³He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;

but the sea engulfed their enemies.

⁵⁴Thus he brought them to the border of his holy land,

to the hill country his right hand had taken.

⁵⁵He drove out nations before them

and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;

he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

 

⁵⁶But they put God to the test

and rebelled against the Most High;

they did not keep his statutes.

⁵⁷Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless,

as unreliable as a faulty bow.

⁵⁸They angered him with their high places;

they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

⁵⁹When God heard them, he was very angry;

he rejected Israel completely.

⁶⁰He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,

the tent he had set up among men.

⁶¹He sent [the ark of] his might into captivity,

his splendor into the hands of the enemy.

⁶²He gave his people over to the sword;

he was very angry with his inheritance.

⁶³Fire consumed their young men,

and their maidens had no wedding songs;

⁶⁴their priests were put to the sword,

and their widows could not weep.

 

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,

as a man wakes from the stupor of wine.

⁶⁶He beat back his enemies;

he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,

he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah,

Mount Zion, which he loved.

⁶⁹He built his sanctuary like the heights,

like the earth that he established forever.

⁷⁰He chose David his servant

and took him from the sheep pens;

⁷¹from tending the sheep he brought him

to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,

of Israel his inheritance.

⁷²And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;

with skillful hands he led them.

Psalm 79

A psalm of Asaph.

¹O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;

they have defiled your holy temple,

they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

²They have given the dead bodies of your servants

as food to the birds of the air,

the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.

³They have poured out blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there is no one to bury the dead.

⁴We are objects of reproach to our neighbors,

of scorn and derision to those around us.

 

⁵How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?

How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

⁶Pour out your wrath on the nations

that do not acknowledge you,

on the kingdoms

that do not call on your name;

⁷for they have devoured Jacob

and destroyed his homeland.

⁸Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers;

may your mercy come quickly to meet us,

for we are in desperate need.

 

⁹Help us, O God our Savior,

for the glory of your name;

deliver us and forgive our sins

for your name’s sake.

¹⁰Why should the nations say,

“Where is their God?”

Before our eyes, make known among the nations

that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.

¹¹May the groans of the prisoners come before you;

by the strength of your arm

preserve those condemned to die.

 

¹²Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times

the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord.

¹³Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will praise you forever;

from generation to generation

we will recount your praise.

Psalm 80

For the director of music. To [the tune of] “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock;

you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

²before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.

Awaken your might;

come and save us.

 

³Restore us, O God;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved.

 

⁴O LORD God Almighty,

how long will your anger smolder

against the prayers of your people?

⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears;

you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

⁶You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,

and our enemies mock us.

 

⁷Restore us, O God Almighty;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved.

 

⁸You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

⁹You cleared the ground for it,

and it took root and filled the land.

¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches.

¹¹It sent out its boughs to the Sea,^[142]

its shoots as far as the River.^[143]

 

¹²Why have you broken down its walls

so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

¹³Boars from the forest ravage it

and the creatures of the field feed on it.

¹⁴Return to us, O God Almighty!

Look down from heaven and see!

Watch over this vine,

¹⁵the root your right hand has planted,

the son^[144] you have raised up for yourself.

 

¹⁶Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;

at your rebuke your people perish.

¹⁷Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,

the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

¹⁸Then we will not turn away from you;

revive us, and we will call on your name.

 

¹⁹Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved.

Psalm 81

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[145] Of Asaph.

¹Sing for joy to God our strength;

shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

²Begin the music, strike the tambourine,

play the melodious harp and lyre.

 

³Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,

and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;

⁴this is a decree for Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵He established it as a statute for Joseph

when he went out against Egypt,

where we heard a language we did not understand.^[146]

 

⁶He says, “I removed the burden from their shoulders;

their hands were set free from the basket.

⁷In your distress you called and I rescued you,

I answered you out of a thundercloud;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

 

⁸“Hear, O my people, and I will warn you—

if you would but listen to me, O Israel!

⁹You shall have no foreign god among you;

you shall not bow down to an alien god.

¹⁰I am the LORD your God,

who brought you up out of Egypt.

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

 

¹¹“But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not submit to me.

¹²So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices.

 

¹³“If my people would but listen to me,

if Israel would follow my ways,

¹⁴how quickly would I subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes!

¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him,

and their punishment would last forever.

¹⁶But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;

with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”