June 26 Reading – Psalms 73-77
Psalms 73 ASV
1 A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, Even to such as are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped.
3 For I was envious at the arrogant, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pangs in their death; But their strength is firm.
5 They are not in trouble as other men; Neither are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment.
7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish.
8 They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily.
9 They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return hither: And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?
12 Behold, these are the wicked; And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.
13 Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, And washed my hands in innocency;
14 For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
16 When I thought how I might know this, It was too painful for me;
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God, And considered their latter end.
18 Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction.
19 How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
21 For my soul was grieved, And I was pricked in my heart:
22 So brutish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand.
24 Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
26 My flesh and my heart faileth; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, departing from thee.
28 But it is good for me to draw near unto God: I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge, That I may tell of all thy works.
Psalms 74
1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, Which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thine inheritance; And mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual ruins, All the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.
4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of thine assembly; They have set up their ensigns for signs.
5 They seemed as men that lifted up Axes upon a thicket of trees.
6 And now all the carved work thereof They break down with hatchet and hammers.
7 They have set thy sanctuary on fire; They have profaned the dwelling-place of thy name by casting it to the ground.
8 They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether: They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
9 We see not our signs: There is no more any prophet; Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
10 How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
11 Why drawest thou back thy hand, even thy right hand? Pluck it out of thy bosom and consume them.
12 Yet God is my King of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: Thou brakest the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces; Thou gavest him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 Thou didst cleave fountain and flood: Thou driedst up mighty rivers.
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: Thou hast made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Jehovah, And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name.
19 Oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast: Forget not the life of thy poor for ever.
20 Have respect unto the covenant; For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Oh let not the oppressed return ashamed: Let the poor and needy praise thy name.
22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee all the day.
23 Forget not the voice of thine adversaries: The tumult of those that rise up against thee ascendeth continually.
Psalms 75
1 For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tash-heth. A Psalm of Asaph; a song. We give thanks unto thee, O God; We give thanks, for thy name is near: Men tell of thy wondrous works.
2 When I shall find the set time, I will judge uprightly.
3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I have set up the pillars of it. Selah
4 I said unto the arrogant, Deal not arrogantly; And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5 Lift not up your horn on high; Speak not with a stiff neck.
6 For neither from the east, nor from the west, Nor yet from the south, cometh lifting up.
7 But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and lifteth up another.
8 For in the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and the wine foameth; It is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same: Surely the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall drain them, and drink them.
9 But I will declare for ever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; But the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Psalms 76
1 For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a song. In Judah is God known: His name is great in Israel.
2 In Salem also is his tabernacle, And his dwelling-place in Zion.
3 There he brake the arrows of the bow; The shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah
4 Glorious art thou and excellent, From the mountains of prey.
5 The stouthearted are made a spoil, They have slept their sleep; And none of the men of might have found their hands.
6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both chariot and horse are cast into a deep sleep.
7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared; And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
8 Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from heaven; The earth feared, and was still,
9 When God arose to judgment, To save all the meek of the earth. Selah
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: The residue of wrath shalt thou gird upon thee.
11 Vow, and pay unto Jehovah your God: Let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit of princes: He is terrible to the kings of the earth.
Psalms 77
1 For the Chief Musician; after the manner of Jeduthan. A Psalm of Asaph. I will cry unto God with my voice, Even unto God with my voice; and he will give ear unto me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: My hand was stretched out in the night, and slacked not; My soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remember God, and am disquieted: I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah
4 Thou holdest mine eyes watching: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart; And my spirit maketh diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will he be favorable no more?
8 Is his lovingkindness clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah
10 And I said, This is my infirmity; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.
11 I will make mention of the deeds of Jehovah; For I will remember thy wonders of old.
12 I will meditate also upon all thy work, And muse on thy doings.
13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: Who is a great God like unto God?
14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples.
15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 The waters saw thee, O God; The waters saw thee, they were afraid: The depths also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound: Thine arrows also went abroad.
18 The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lightened the world: The earth trembled and shook.
19 Thy way was in the sea, And thy paths in the great waters, And thy footsteps were not known.
20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock, By the hand of Moses and Aaron.
American Standard Version (ASV): Public Domain