DAILY BIBLE READING - An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.

A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Asaph.

74 O 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;
Remember Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 
Turn your footsteps [quickly] toward the perpetual ruins;
The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.
4 
In the midst of Your meeting place Your enemies have roared [with their battle cry];
They have set up their own emblems for signs [of victory].
5 
It seems as if one had lifted up
An axe in a forest of trees [to set a record of destruction].
6 
And now all the carved work [of the meeting place]
They smash with hatchets and hammers.
7 
They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;
They have profaned the dwelling place of Your [a]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 symbols;
There is no longer any prophet [to guide us],
Nor does any among us know for how long.
10 
O God, how long will the adversary scoff?
Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?
11 
Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand [from judging the enemy]?
Remove Your hand from Your chest, destroy them!

12 
Yet God is my King of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 
You divided the [Red] Sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the [b]sea monsters in the waters.
14 
You crushed the heads of [c]Leviathan (Egypt);
You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 
You broke open fountains and streams;
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16 
The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have established and prepared the [heavenly] light and the sun.
17 
You have defined and established all the borders of the earth [the divisions of land and sea and of the nations];
You have made summer and winter.

18 
Remember this, O Lord, the enemy has scoffed,
And a foolish and impious people has spurned Your name.
19 
Oh, do not hand over the soul of your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 
Consider the covenant [You made with Abraham],
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.

22 
Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man scoffs at You all day long.
23 
Do not forget the [clamoring] voices of Your adversaries,
The uproar of those who rise against You, which ascends continually [to Your ears].

God Abases the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.

To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

75 We give thanks and praise to You, O God, we give thanks,
For Your [wonderful works declare that Your] [d]name is near;
People declare Your wonders.
2 
“When I select an appointed time,
I will judge with equity,” [says the Lord].
3 
“The earth and all the inhabitants of it melt [in tumultuous times].
It is I who will steady its pillars. Selah.
4 
“I said to the arrogant, ‘Do not boast;’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn [of self-glorification].
5 
‘Do not lift up your [defiant and aggressive] horn on high,
Do not speak with a stiff neck.’”

6 
For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation.
7 
But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and lifts up another.
8 
For a cup [of His wrath] is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed and fully spiced, and He pours out from it;
And all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink down to its dregs.

9 
But as for me, I will declare it and rejoice forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 
All the horns of the wicked He will cut off,
But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.

To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

76 God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.
2 
His tabernacle is in Salem (Jerusalem);
His dwelling place is in Zion.
3 
There He broke the flaming arrows,
The shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.

4 
You are glorious and resplendent,
More majestic than the mountains of prey.
5 
The stouthearted have been stripped of their spoil,
They have slept the sleep [of death];
And none of the warriors could use his hands.
6 
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep [of death].
7 
You, even You, are to be feared [with the submissive wonder of reverence];
Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

8 
You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared and was quiet
9 
When God arose to [establish] judgment,
To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.
10 
For the wrath of man shall praise You;
With a remnant of wrath You will clothe and arm Yourself.

11 
Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared [with awe-inspired reverence].
12 
He will cut off the spirit of princes;
He is awesome and feared by the kings of the earth.