By Asaph
We give our thanks to you, O God, we give our thanks.
Your name is near when men recount your wondrous deeds.
“At the time I choose, I will judge with equity.
When the earth will quake and all its inhabitants
Shake with fear, it is I who holds its pillars firm.
To the arrogant I say, ‘Leave off your boasting’
And to the wicked I say, ‘Do not vaunt your pride,
Flaunt it to the heavens, or speak so defiantly.’”
For neither from the east nor from the west,
Nor from the desert lands comes exaltation.
For it is God alone who is the judge;
He puts down one and raises up another.
For Jehovah holds in his hand a cup,
Full of foaming wine, well mixed with spices.
Out of it does he pour and they shall drink,
All the wicked of the earth, down to the dregs.
As for me, I will proclaim this forever,
And sing my praises to the God of Jacob,
“I will break the power of the wicked
And strengthen the power of the righteous.”
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Psalm 74
By Asaph
O God, why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger rage against your pasture’s flock?
Remember the congregation you chose long ago,
The tribe your liberated to be your possession,
And remember where you had made your home, Mount Zion.
Make your way through the everlasting desolation,
The enemy’s total destruction of the Temple.
There, in your meeting place, your adversaries roared
And replaced our banners with their battle standards.
It is well known they came down upon us like woodsmen
Wielding their axes upon a forest of trees.
They smashed the wood carvings with their hatchets and hammers.
They set aflame and profaned your sanctuary,
Burning to the ground the Temple that bears your name.
They vowed to themselves, “Let us crush them completely!”
Throughout the land they razed all your places of worship.
No longer are we given portents from our God;
No more are there among us here any prophets
Or anyone who has a knowledge of the future.
How long, O God, will your enemies revile you?
Will your adversaries profane your name forever?
Why do you withdraw your hand, even your right hand?
Take it from out your bosom and destroy them!
For God is our king of ancient times
Working salvation throughout the world.
You divided the sea with your might
And smashed the heads of sea serpents.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan
And made it food for desert dwellers.
You opened the fountain and the spring,
Drying up ever-flowing rivers.
The day is yours and also is the night;
You made the light and set the sun in its place.
You established the borders of the earth
And created the summer and the winter.
Remember how an enemy mocked you, Jehovah;
How a degenerate people disparaged your name.
Do not deliver the life of your dove to wild beasts,
Or forever forget the souls of your afflicted ones.
Remember the contract you made with us,
For there are dark places upon the earth
That are habitations of the violent.
Let not the oppressed retreat in disgrace.
Let the weak and the needy praise your name.
Rise up, O God, and defend your cause!
Remember how the godless fool
Is reproaching you all the day.
Do not ignore the clamor of your foes,
The constant uproar from those that defy you.
O God, why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger rage against your pasture’s flock?
Remember the congregation you chose long ago,
The tribe your liberated to be your possession,
And remember where you had made your home, Mount Zion.
Make your way through the everlasting desolation,
The enemy’s total destruction of the Temple.
There, in your meeting place, your adversaries roared
And replaced our banners with their battle standards.
It is well known they came down upon us like woodsmen
Wielding their axes upon a forest of trees.
They smashed the wood carvings with their hatchets and hammers.
They set aflame and profaned your sanctuary,
Burning to the ground the Temple that bears your name.
They vowed to themselves, “Let us crush them completely!”
Throughout the land they razed all your places of worship.
No longer are we given portents from our God;
No more are there among us here any prophets
Or anyone who has a knowledge of the future.
How long, O God, will your enemies revile you?
Will your adversaries profane your name forever?
Why do you withdraw your hand, even your right hand?
Take it from out your bosom and destroy them!
For God is our king of ancient times
Working salvation throughout the world.
You divided the sea with your might
And smashed the heads of sea serpents.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan
And made it food for desert dwellers.
You opened the fountain and the spring,
Drying up ever-flowing rivers.
The day is yours and also is the night;
You made the light and set the sun in its place.
You established the borders of the earth
And created the summer and the winter.
Remember how an enemy mocked you, Jehovah;
How a degenerate people disparaged your name.
Do not deliver the life of your dove to wild beasts,
Or forever forget the souls of your afflicted ones.
Remember the contract you made with us,
For there are dark places upon the earth
That are habitations of the violent.
Let not the oppressed retreat in disgrace.
Let the weak and the needy praise your name.
Rise up, O God, and defend your cause!
Remember how the godless fool
Is reproaching you all the day.
Do not ignore the clamor of your foes,
The constant uproar from those that defy you.
Psalm 73
By Asaph
Truly God has been good to Israel,
Especially those who are pure of heart.
But as for me, my feet did almost slip;
I nearly stumbled and lost my footing,
For I came to envy the arrogant,
When I did see how much such sinners prosper.
They do not seem to struggle against death,
And their bodies are healthy and well fed.
Free of the vexations of other men,
They are not plagued by the ills of mortals.
Conceit is the chain they wear around their neck;
Violence is the garment that clothes them.
Their eyes bulge out from their obesity,
And they possess more than their hearts desire.
They scoff and sneer and speak maliciously;
Arrogantly do they pontificate;
With their talk they even challenge the heavens,
And spread their boastful words across the earth.
So it is that God’s people may turn to them,
Swallowing all the words that are spoken.
Thus they pose the questions, “How does God know?”
And “Does the Most High know what’s going on?”
Behold, this is what the wicked are like,
Ever free from care as their riches increase.
Surely I have kept my heart pure in vain,
And in vain have washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day am I made to suffer
And every morning am I punished.
(If I had deigned to speak out in this way
I would have offended your followers).
When I tried to understand all of this,
I found it a grievous and painful task,
Until I entered the Temple of God;
Then, I understood what their fate will be.
Surely you will set them on a slippery slope
And push them over the cliff to their destruction.
How quickly will they come to their utter ruin!
How completely will they be consumed by disaster!
Like a dream when one awakens, O Jehovah,
At the dawn you will dismiss them as mere phantoms.
Bitter and all torn up inside,
I was senseless and ignorant,
Like a brutish beast before you.
Yet, I always remain with you
And you hold me by the right hand.
You direct me with your counsel
And, later, receive me in glory.
Whom have I in Heaven, but you?
On earth I desire no one else.
My health and spirit may fail me,
But God is the strength of my heart
And a part of me forever.
Behold, those who pull away from you will perish,
For you bring destruction on all unfaithful to you.
But how good it is for me to draw near to God,
To make my refuge in the Master Jehovah
So that I may tell of all the works he has done.
Truly God has been good to Israel,
Especially those who are pure of heart.
But as for me, my feet did almost slip;
I nearly stumbled and lost my footing,
For I came to envy the arrogant,
When I did see how much such sinners prosper.
They do not seem to struggle against death,
And their bodies are healthy and well fed.
Free of the vexations of other men,
They are not plagued by the ills of mortals.
Conceit is the chain they wear around their neck;
Violence is the garment that clothes them.
Their eyes bulge out from their obesity,
And they possess more than their hearts desire.
They scoff and sneer and speak maliciously;
Arrogantly do they pontificate;
With their talk they even challenge the heavens,
And spread their boastful words across the earth.
So it is that God’s people may turn to them,
Swallowing all the words that are spoken.
Thus they pose the questions, “How does God know?”
And “Does the Most High know what’s going on?”
Behold, this is what the wicked are like,
Ever free from care as their riches increase.
Surely I have kept my heart pure in vain,
And in vain have washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day am I made to suffer
And every morning am I punished.
(If I had deigned to speak out in this way
I would have offended your followers).
When I tried to understand all of this,
I found it a grievous and painful task,
Until I entered the Temple of God;
Then, I understood what their fate will be.
Surely you will set them on a slippery slope
And push them over the cliff to their destruction.
How quickly will they come to their utter ruin!
How completely will they be consumed by disaster!
Like a dream when one awakens, O Jehovah,
At the dawn you will dismiss them as mere phantoms.
Bitter and all torn up inside,
I was senseless and ignorant,
Like a brutish beast before you.
Yet, I always remain with you
And you hold me by the right hand.
You direct me with your counsel
And, later, receive me in glory.
Whom have I in Heaven, but you?
On earth I desire no one else.
My health and spirit may fail me,
But God is the strength of my heart
And a part of me forever.
Behold, those who pull away from you will perish,
For you bring destruction on all unfaithful to you.
But how good it is for me to draw near to God,
To make my refuge in the Master Jehovah
So that I may tell of all the works he has done.
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