Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause

74 A Maskil1 of rAsaph.

1  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!

God Will Judge with Equity

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

1  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.

Who Can Stand Before You?

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

1  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.