Sermon Central
Psalm 37-89
Psalm 37
2for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
5Commit your way to the LORD ; trust in him and he will do this:
6He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
12The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them;
13but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.
14The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
15But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
16Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;
17for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18The blameless spend their days under the LORD ’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever.
19In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20But the wicked will perish: Though the LORD ’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;
22those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed.
25I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
27Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.
30The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just.
33but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
35I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace.
4My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
6I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.
8I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
11My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.
12Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.
13I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak;
14I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.
16For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”
18I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
21LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. 22Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.
2So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased;
3my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
5You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
6“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
7“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
8Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.
10Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.
12“Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. 13Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”
Psalm 40
2He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
4Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
5Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.
7Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.
10I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.
12For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.
15May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
16But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!”
3The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.
4I said, “Have mercy on me, LORD ; heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
5My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die and his name perish?”
6When one of them comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it around.
7All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,
11I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
3My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One
5Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
7Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
8By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.
10My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 43
3Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. 5Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
3It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.
5Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes.
6I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory;
11You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations.
12You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.
13You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us.
17All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant.
19But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness.
22Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
Psalm 45
4In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
7You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
8All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad.
9Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
11Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.
12The city of Tyre will come with a gift,
13All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.
16Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land. 17I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.
Psalm 46
3though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
5God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
6Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
9He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields
10He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 47
3He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.
Psalm 48
2Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon
3God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.
4When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together,
8As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever.
9Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.
10Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.
12Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers,
13consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. 14For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.
Psalm 49
3My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
5Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—
7No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—
10For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.
12People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.
13This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
14They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.
16Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases;
17for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them.
18Though while they live they count themselves blessed— and people praise you when you prosper—
2From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
5“Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.
7“Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God.
8I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
12If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
16But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?
19You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.
20You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son.
21When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly
22“Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless
2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
18May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
3You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
4You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!
5Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.
6The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying,
7“Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!” 9For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.
Psalm 53
4Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on God. 6Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
3Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me— people without regard for God.
4Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
6I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, LORD, for it is good. 7You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
Psalm 55
4My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me.
11Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.
13But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
14with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.
15Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.
18He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
19God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change— he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.
21His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.
22Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Psalm 56
3When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
5All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin.
7Because of their wickedness do not
8Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll
9Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.
10In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise—
Psalm 57
2I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me.
3He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me—
7My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
8Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
9I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 11Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
2No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
5that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.
6Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
8May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. 11Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”
Psalm 59
4I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight!
5You, LORD God Almighty, you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors.
6They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.
8But you laugh at them, LORD ; you scoff at all those nations.
9You are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, are my fortress,
10my God on whom I can rely. God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me.
12For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter,
14They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.
Psalm 60
2You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking.
5Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered.
7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter.
9Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
11Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. 12With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
Psalm 61
2From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.
7May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.
2Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
9Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. 12and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.”
Psalm 63
3Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
7Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
10They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.
Psalm 64
2Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers.
3They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.
4They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear.
5They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “Who will see it
7But God will shoot them with his arrows; they will suddenly be struck down.
8He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. 10The righteous will rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him!
2You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.
4Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.
7who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
8The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.
9You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.
11You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.
12The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. 13The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.
Psalm 66 1For the director of music. A song. A psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
3Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
5Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!
6He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him.
8Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;
9he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
11You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
13I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you—
16Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
Psalm 67
2so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
4May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
5May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. 7May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Psalm 68
2May you blow them away like smoke— as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.
3But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
6God sets the lonely in families,
8the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
11The Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
14When the Almighty
15Mount Bashan, majestic mountain, Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
16why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the LORD himself will dwell forever?
17The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
18When you ascended on high, you took many captives; you received gifts from people, even from
22The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”
24Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
25In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
27There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them, there the great throng of Judah’s princes, and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28Summon your power, God
30Rebuke the beast among the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations. Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
33to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens, who thunders with mighty voice.
34Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the heavens.
2I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
4Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.
5You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you.
7For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.
9for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;
12Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.
13But I pray to you, LORD, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
14Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.
16Answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me.
20Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.
25May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
28May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
29But as for me, afflicted and in pain— may your salvation, God, protect me.
30I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32The poor will see and be glad— you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.
34Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them,
35for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it;
2May those who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
3May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” turn back because of their shame.
4But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!”
5For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.
6From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.
7I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.
8My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.
10For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together.
14As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
15My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all.
16I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD ; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
18Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.
20Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.
21You will increase my honor and comfort me once more. 24My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.
5May he endure
6May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.
8May he rule from sea to sea and from the River
13He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.
14He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
17May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him,
18Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. 20This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.
BOOK III Psalm 73 1A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
3For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
5They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.
9Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
11They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”
12This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.
14All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.
15If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children.
16When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply
18Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
19How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
21When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
23Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
6They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets.
11Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!
12But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth.
13It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
17It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
18Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name.
21Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.
22Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. 23Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.
3When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.
7It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. 10who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”
Psalm 76
3There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.
5The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands.
7It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry?
8From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—
9when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.
10Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.
3I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
5I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;
6I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7“Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
8Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
13Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?
15With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed.
19Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. 20You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 78
1A maskil
5He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
7Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
8They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.
10they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law.
11They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.
12He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall.
16he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.
19They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?
20True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”
21When the LORD heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel,
22for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.
23Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
24he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.
25Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.
26He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made the south wind blow.
27He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore.
28He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.
30But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths,
31God’s anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.
34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.
35They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
37their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland!
41Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
43the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44He turned their river into blood; they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
46He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust.
52But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
55He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
59When God heard them, he was furious; he rejected Israel completely.
63Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs;
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.
68but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.
69He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.
70He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;
71from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
Psalm 79 1A psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
3They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead.
4We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
5How long, LORD ? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
7for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
8Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.
10Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die. 13Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.
2before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.
3Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
4How long, LORD God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6You have made us an object of derision
9You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.
11Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
13Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.
15the root your right hand has planted, the son
17Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.
2Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre.
3Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
4this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
6“I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.
7In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
10I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
15Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
5“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6“I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’
7But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.”
2See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.
5With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you—
6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
9Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12who said, “Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.”
15so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
16Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek your name.
17May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. 18Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD — that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
2My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD ; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
7They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
9Look on our shield,
11For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Psalm 85
3You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.
5Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
7Show us your unfailing love, LORD, and grant us your salvation.
8I will listen to what God the LORD says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly.
10Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
12The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.
6Hear my prayer, LORD ; listen to my cry for mercy.
9All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
12I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 17Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
6The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion.”
2May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
4I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength.
5I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
6You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
10Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
17All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. 18You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 89
2I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
3You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant,
10You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.
13Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
16They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness.
18Indeed, our shield
20I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
23I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.
24My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn
26He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’
30“If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,
32I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;
34I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.
37it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.”
38But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one.
40You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
43Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle.
44You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground.
45You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
46How long, LORD ? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity!
48Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?
51the taunts with which your enemies, LORD, have mocked, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. 52Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.