Psalms 72 - 74 — Legacy Standard Bible

Give the King Your Judgments

Of Solomon.

O God, give the king ^aYour judgments,And ^bYour righteousness to the king’s son.²¹May ²he ^arender judgment to Your people with righteousnessAnd ^bYour ³afflicted with justice.³Let the mountains lift up ¹^,^apeace to the people,And the hills, in righteousness.⁴¹May he ^agive justice to the ²afflicted of the people,Save the children of the needy,And crush the oppressor.⁵¹Let them fear You ^awhile the sun endures,And ²as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.⁶¹May he come down ^alike rain upon the mown grass,Like ^bshowers that water the earth.⁷¹May the ^arighteous flourish in his days,And ^babundance of peace until the moon is no more.⁸May he also have dominion ^afrom sea to seaAnd from the River to the ends of the earth.⁹¹Let ^athe desert creatures ^bkneel before him,And his enemies ^click the dust.¹⁰¹Let the kings of ^aTarshish and of the ^bcoastlands bring a present;The kings of ^cSheba and ^dSeba ^eoffer tribute.¹¹¹And let all ^akings bow down to him,All ^bnations serve him.¹²For he will ^adeliver the needy when he cries for help,The ¹afflicted also, and him who has no helper.¹³He will have ^acompassion on the poor and needy,And the ¹lives of the needy he will save.¹⁴He will ^aredeem their ¹life from oppression and violence,And their blood will be ^bprecious in his sight;¹⁵So may he live! And may they give to him the ^agold of Sheba;And let each pray for him continually;Let each bless him all day long.¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;May its fruit wave like the cedars of ^aLebanon;And may those from the city blossom like ^bvegetation of the earth.¹⁷May his ^aname endure forever;May his name ¹increase ²^,^bas long as the sun shines;Let all nations ³^,^cbe blessed in him;^dLet all nations call him blessed.¹⁸^aBlessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,Who alone ^bworks wondrous deeds.¹⁹And blessed be His ^aglorious name forever;And may the whole ^bearth be filled with His glory.^cAmen, and Amen.²⁰¹The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are completed.

BOOK 3

The Nearness of God Is My Good

A Psalm of Asaph.

Surely God is ^agood to Israel,To those who are ^bpure in heart!²But as for me, ^amy feet had almost stumbled,My steps ¹had almost slipped.³For I was ^aenvious of the boastful,I saw the ^bpeace of the wicked.⁴For there are no pains in their death,And their ¹body is fat.⁵They are ^anot ¹in trouble as other ²men,And they are not ^bstricken along with the rest of mankind.⁶Therefore lofty pride is ^atheir necklace;The ^bgarment of violence covers them.⁷Their eye ¹bulges from ^afatness;The delusions of their heart overflow.⁸They ^ascoff and ¹wickedly speak of oppression;They ^bspeak from on high.⁹They have ^aset their mouth ¹against the heavens,And their tongue goes through the earth.¹⁰Therefore ¹his people return here, to his place,And waters of ^afullness are ²drunk by them.¹¹They say, “^aHow does God know?And is there knowledge with the Most High?”¹²Behold, ^athese are the wicked;And always ^bat ease, they have increased in wealth.¹³Surely ^ain vain I have ¹kept my heart pureAnd ^bwashed my hands in innocence;¹⁴For I have been stricken ^aall day longAnd ¹^,^breproved every morning.¹⁵If I had said, “I will recount thus,”Behold, I would have betrayed the ^ageneration of Your children.¹⁶When I ^agave thought to know this,It was trouble in my sight¹⁷Until I came into the ¹^,^asanctuary of God;Then I understood their ^bend.¹⁸Surely You set them in ^aslippery places;You cause them to fall to ¹^,^bdestruction.¹⁹How they become ^adesolate in a moment!They are completely swept away by ^bterrors!²⁰Like a ^adream when one awakes,O Lord, when ^baroused, You will ^cdespise their ¹form.²¹When my ^aheart was embitteredAnd I was ^bpierced ¹within,²²Then I was ^asenseless and ignorant;I was like ¹an ^banimal ²before You.²³Nevertheless ^aI am continually with You;You have taken hold of my right hand.²⁴With Your counsel You will ^alead me,And afterward ^btake me ¹in glory.²⁵^aWhom have I in heaven but You?And ¹besides You, I desire nothing on earth.²⁶My ^aflesh and my heart fail,But God is the rock of my heart and my ^bportion forever.²⁷For, behold, ^athose who are far from You will ^bperish;You have ¹destroyed everyone who ²^,^cis unfaithful to You.²⁸But as for me, ^athe nearness of God is my good;I have set Lord Yahweh as my ^brefuge,That I may ^crecount all Your works.

Yet God Is My King

A ¹Maskil of Asaph.

Why, O God? Have You ^arejected us forever?Why does Your anger ^bsmoke against the ^csheep of Your ²pasture?²Remember Your congregation, which You have ^apurchased of old,Which You have ^bredeemed to be the ^ctribe of Your inheritance;And this Mount ^dZion, where You have dwelt.³Lift up Your steps toward the ^aperpetual ruins;The enemy ^bhas damaged everything within the sanctuary.⁴Your adversaries have ^aroared in the midst of Your meeting place;They have set up their ^bown signs ^cfor signs.⁵Each seems like one who lifts up¹An ^aaxe against the undergrowth of trees.⁶And now its ^acarved work altogetherThey smash with hatchet and ¹hammers.⁷They have ^aset Your sanctuary on fire;By bringing it to the ground, they have ^bdefiled the dwelling place of Your name.⁸They ^asaid in their heart, “Let us ¹completely ²subdue them.”They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.⁹We do not see our ^asigns;There is ^bno longer any prophet,Nor is there any among us who knows ^chow long.¹⁰How long, O God, will the adversary ^areproach?Will the enemy ^bspurn Your name forever?¹¹Why ^ado You turn back Your hand, even Your right hand?From within Your bosom, ^bdestroy them!¹²Yet God is ^amy King from of old,Who works deeds of ¹salvation in the midst of the earth.¹³You ^adivided the sea by Your strength;You ^bbroke the heads of the ^csea monsters ¹in the waters.¹⁴You crushed the heads of ¹^,^aLeviathan;You gave him as food for the ²creatures ^bof the desert.¹⁵¹You ^asplit open spring and river;²You ^bdried up ever-flowing rivers.¹⁶Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;¹You have ^aestablished the ²light and the sun.¹⁷¹You have ^acaused all the boundaries of the earth to stand firm;²You have formed ^bsummer and winter.¹⁸Remember this, O Yahweh, that the enemy has ^areproached,And a ^bwickedly foolish people has spurned Your name.¹⁹Do not deliver the soul of Your ^aturtledove to the wild beast;^bDo not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.²⁰Look to the ^acovenant;For the ^bdark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.²¹Let not the ^aoppressed return dishonored;Let the ^bafflicted and needy praise Your name.²²Arise, O God, and ^aplead Your own cause;Remember ¹how the ^bwicked fool reproaches You all day long.²³Do not forget the voice of Your ^aadversaries,The ^brumbling of those who rise against You which ascends continually.