72.18–19 A doxology marking the end of the second book of the Psalter (Pss 42–72). See note on 41.13. Blessed. See note on 103.1–2.
72.20 An editorial note added to the end of the second book of the Psalter identifying the first two books as containing the prayers of David. In fact, later psalms in the Psalter are also ascribed to him.
BOOK III: PSALMS 73–89
PSALM 73
Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Psalm of Asaph.
1Truly God is good to the upright,a
to those who are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
3For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
7Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
10Therefore the people turn and praise them,b
and find no fault in them.c
11And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14For all day long I have been plagued,
and am punished every morning.
15If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
18Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20They ared like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast toward you.
23Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me with honor.e
25Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strengthf of my heart and my portion forever.
27Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
28But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
to tell of all your works.
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a Or good to Israel
b Cn: Heb his people return here
c Cn: Heb abundant waters are drained by them
d Cn: Heb Lord
e Or to glory
f Heb rock
73.1–28 A psalm of trust in God and praise for divine deliverance. Its reflective character in vv. 4–20 connects it with the wisdom and didactic tradition. Asaph. See note on 50.1–23.
73.1–3 In a basic affirmation of trust the psalmist agrees with others that God is good to the upright (Pss 1; 37; 49) but tells of almost being led astray from God and the righteous way out of envy of the prosperity of the wicked while the pure in heart are frequently in trouble (vv. 5, 13–14; cf. Job).
73.4–12 The character and prosperity of the wicked are laid out.
73.4–5 They have an easy life despite their unrighteous ways.
73.6–8 Their affluence is gained by violence and oppression against others.
73.9–11 In their arrogance, the wicked do not believe God will see or punish their wickedness.
73.12 A concluding summary of the seemingly enviable state of the wicked.
73.13–14 The contrasting state of the psalmist, who is innocent but suffers.
73.15–16 The temptation to think and act like the wicked is felt and resisted, but trying to comprehend is troublesome.
73.17–20 In the turning point of the psalm (v. 17), an encounter with God (cf. Job 42.1–6) in the sanctuary gives the psalmist an understanding that in the end God will deal justly with the wicked (vv. 18–20; cf. Ps 37).
73.21–28 The psalmist now sees the stupidity of focusing on the prosperity of the wicked (vv. 21–22) and expresses confidence in God’s presence (vv. 23, 27–28), guidance (v. 24), and protection (vv. 26, 28).
PSALM 74
Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
1O God, why do you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4Your foes have roared within your holy place;
they set up their emblems there.
5At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.a
6And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
7They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it to the ground.
8They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9We do not see our emblems;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is no one among us who knows how long.
10How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand inb your bosom?
12Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the earth.
13You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as foodc for the creatures of the wilderness.
15You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminariesd and the sun.
17You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.
18Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,
and an impious people reviles your name.
19Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20Have regard for youre covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.
21Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
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a Cn Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Cn: Heb do you consume your right hand from
c Heb food for the people
d Or moon; Heb light
e Gk Syr: Heb the
74.1–23 A community prayer for help that seems to assume the destruction of Jerusalem and so may date between 587 and 520 BCE. Maskil. See note on 32.1–11. Asaph. See note on 50.1–23.
74.1–2 Address and introductory cry for help.
74.1 Why…forever? anticipates the later complaint How long? (v. 10).
74.3–8 A description of the destruction of Jerusalem.
74.4 Emblems, lit. “signs” (cf. v. 10), perhaps military standards.
74.8 Meeting places of God, perhaps other places of worship besides the temple.
74.9–11 A complaint to God over the absence of divine intervention.
74.9 Emblems, probably “signs” here. It may mean that the prophetic signs that promised a quick end to suffering have not come true. There is no…prophet may mean that the speakers have lost all confidence in those prophets still around. There is no prophet who knows how long the suffering is to last. For prophetic signs that tell how long something will last, see 2 Kings 19.29; Isa 7.14–16. Such failure of contemporary prophecy may be demonstrated in Jer 28.1–4.
74.10 How long? See note on 6.3.
74.12–17 Expression of trust and praise of the creator.
74.13–15 The picture is of the mythological creation battle in which the watery forces of chaos, portrayed as monsters, are defeated by the Lord at the beginning of creation. See 93.3; 104.7–9; Job 38.8–11; cf. Isa 27.1. Israel associated this language with God’s “creation” of the people in the crossing of the sea (cf. Ex 15.1–18; Isa 51.9–11). Both images may be in view here.
74.18–23 A series of petitions urging God to help and giving various motivations that suggest that God’s cause, name, and covenant are at stake in Israel’s distress.
PSALM 75
Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks; your name is near.
People tell of your wondrous deeds.
2At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah
4I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with insolent neck.”
6For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9But I will rejoicea forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
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a Gk: Heb declare
75.1–10 A community prayer of thanksgiving. The psalm gives thanks to God and announces divine judgment on the arrogant wicked. To the leader. See note on 4.1–8. Do Not Destroy. Meaning uncertain. Asaph. See note on 50.1–23.
75.1 The community praises God for marvelous acts of deliverance.
75.2–5 The Lord speaks through a prophetic or priestly voice to announce righteous judgment.
75.3 Totters. See 46.2–3, 6. Selah. See note on 3.2.
75.4–5 Horn, a symbol of might or power (cf. v. 10).
75.6–8 God’s judgment of the wicked.
75.7 Putting…another is a frequent way of expressing God’s vindication of the innocent and righteous and judgment of the wicked (see 113.7; 145.8; 146.6).
75.8 Cup, a symbol of divine judgment (see 11.6; Isa 51.17; Jer 25.15, 28; Hab 2.16).
75.9–10 The themes of praise and divine judgment are brought together in the conclusion. I, either the community or its representative in v. 9, but the Lord in v. 10.
PSALM 76
Israel’s God—Judge of All the Earth
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1In Judah God is known,
his name is great in Israel.
2His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
3There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
Selah
4Glorious are you, more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.a
5The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
was able to lift a hand.
6At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
7But you indeed are awesome!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still
9when God rose up to establish judgment,
to save all the oppressed of the earth.
Selah
10Human wrath serves only to praise you,
when you bind the last bit of yourb wrath around you.
11Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them;
let all who are around him bring gifts
to the one who is awesome,
12who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
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a Gk: Heb the mountains of prey
b Heb lacks your
76.1–12 A song of Zion. See Pss 46; 48; 137.3. To the leader…instruments. See note on 4.1–8. Asaph. See note on 50.1–23.
76.1–2 God’s abode and place of powerful activity is Zion or Jerusalem.
76.2 Abode, lit. “lair” or “covert” (of a fierce animal). Salem, an ancient name for Jerusalem (see Gen 14.18).
76.3–6 The Lord’s battle against the armies.
76.3 God’s destruction of all the weapons of war is associated with the divine activity from Zion (see 46.9). Flashing arrows, lit. “flames of the bow,” perhaps the fiery arrows of besiegers. Selah. See note on 3.2.
76.4–6 The destruction of the weapons is matched by rendering the warriors powerless, a theme of Israel’s ancient holy wars.
76.6 Rider and horse. See Ex 15.1.
76.7–9 The victory is an act of divine judgment against the oppressive rulers and of salvation for the weak and afflicted.
76.10 The underlying Hebrew of this verse is uncertain and ambiguous. Human wrath could also be read as God’s “wrath against humans.” The meaning may be that God’s crushing those that rise against him will redound to God’s praise. God’s wrath in the OT is a dimension of God’s righteousness and justice directed against evildoers. It is tempered by God’s love and compassion (see 103.8; Ex 34.6; Num 14.18; Isa 54.7–8; Hos 11.8–9; Jon 4.2).
76.11–12 An exhortation to the community to praise the God (v. 11), who does what the psalm has declared so vividly (v. 12).
PSALM 77
God’s Mighty Deeds Recalled
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
1I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
2In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints.
Selah
4You keep my eyelids from closing;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5I consider the days of old,
and remember the years of long ago.
6I communea with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:b
7“Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8Has his steadfast love ceased forever?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”
Selah
10And I say, “It is my grief
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD;
I will remember your wonders of old.
12I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
13Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah
16When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
the very deep trembled.
17The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19Your way was through the sea,
your path, through the mighty waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20You led your people like a flock
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