NAS - Psalms 73 to 74

BOOK3

Psalm 73

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

Psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! ²But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. ³For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat. ⁵They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. ⁷ Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart run riot. ⁸ They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. ⁹ They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. ¹¹ They say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?" ¹² Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. ¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence; ¹⁴ For I have been stricken all day long And chastened every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children. ¹⁶ When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight ¹⁷ Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. ¹⁸ Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. ¹⁹ How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! ²⁰ Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

²¹When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within, ²²Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. ²³Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. ²⁴With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ²⁷ For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. ²⁸ But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.

Psalm 74

An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.

Maskil of Asaph.

¹O God, why have You rejected us 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 inheritance; And this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt. ³ Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary. ⁴ Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs. ⁵ It seems as if one had lifted up His axe in a forest of trees. ⁶ And now all its carved work They smash with hatchet and hammers. ⁷They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name. ⁸ They said in their heart, "Let us completely subdue them." They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land. ⁹ We do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet, Nor is there any among us who knows how long. ¹⁰How long, O God, will the adversary revile, And the enemy spurn Your name forever? ¹¹ Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? From within Your bosom, destroy them!

¹²Yet God is my king from of old, Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth. ¹³ You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. ¹⁴ You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. ¹⁵ You broke open springs and torrents; You dried up ever-flowing streams. ¹⁶ Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun. ¹⁷ You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have made summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, O LORD, that the enemy has reviled, And a foolish people has spurned Your name. ¹⁹ Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever. ²⁰ Consider the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. ²¹ Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

²²Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long. ²³ Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.