SOTD Psalm 83

Psalm 83

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

¹O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
²For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
³They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
⁴They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
⁶the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
⁷ Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
⁸ Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.
Selah

⁹Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
¹⁰who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹²who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”

¹³O my God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind.
¹⁴As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O LORD.
¹⁷Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the earth.

SOTD Psalm 82

Psalm 82

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹ God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
²“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?
Selah

³ Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

⁵ They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶ I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”

⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!

SOTD Psalm 81

Psalm 81

Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.

¹ Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
²Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
³Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.

⁴For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule of the God of Jacob.
⁵He made it a decree in Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known: ⁶“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
⁷In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Selah

⁸ Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
⁹There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
¹⁰ I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

¹¹“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
¹²So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
¹³ Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
¹⁴I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
¹⁶But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

SOTD Psalm 80

Psalm 80

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

¹Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
²Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
and come to save us!

³ Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!

⁴O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
⁶ You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷ Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!

⁸You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
⁹You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
¹¹It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
¹²Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
¹³ The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.

¹⁴Turn again, O God of hosts!
Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
¹⁵the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
¹⁶They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
¹⁷But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
¹⁸Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!

¹⁹ Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

SOTD Psalm 79

Psalm 79

How Long, O LORD?

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
²They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
³They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
⁴We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.

⁵ How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
⁶ Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call upon your name!
⁷For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.

⁸ Do not remember against us our former iniquities;
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are brought very low.
⁹ Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
for your name’s sake!
¹⁰ Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!

¹¹Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
¹²Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors
the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
¹³But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

SOTD Psalm 78

Psalm 78

Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil of Asaph.

¹ Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
² I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
³things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
⁴We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

⁵He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
⁶that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
⁸and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
¹⁰They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
¹¹They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
¹²In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
¹³He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
¹⁴ In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
¹⁵He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
¹⁶He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
¹⁸They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
¹⁹They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰ He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”

²¹Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
²²because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
²³Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
²⁴and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
²⁶He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
²⁷he rained meat on them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
²⁸he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
²⁹And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
³⁰But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
³¹the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid low the young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
³³So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
³⁴When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
³⁵They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
³⁶But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.
⁴⁰How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
⁴¹They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
⁴²They did not remember his power
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
⁴³ when he performed his signs in Egypt
and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
⁴⁴He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
⁴⁵He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
⁴⁶He gave their crops to the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamores with frost.
⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
⁴⁹He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
⁵⁰He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
⁵¹He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
⁵²Then he led out his people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
⁵³ He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
⁵⁴And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain which his right hand had won.
⁵⁵He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
and did not keep his testimonies,
⁵⁷but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
⁵⁸For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
⁵⁹When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
⁶⁰He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
⁶¹and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
⁶²He gave his people over to the sword
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
⁶³ Fire devoured their young men,
and their young women had no marriage song.
⁶⁴Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
⁶⁶And he put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
⁶⁹He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded forever.
⁷⁰He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹from following the nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his inheritance.
⁷²With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with his skillful hand.

SOTD Psalm 77

Psalm 77

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

¹I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
² In 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.
³When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints.
Selah

⁴You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
⁶I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
⁷“Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
⁸Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”
Selah

¹⁰Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

¹¹I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
¹²I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah

¹⁶When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸ The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

SOTD Psalm 76

Psalm 76

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: 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 mountains of prey.
⁵ The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
⁶At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.

⁷ But you, you are to be feared!
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 arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth.
Selah

¹⁰Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
¹¹ Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;
let all around him bring gifts
to him who is to be feared,
¹²who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

SOTD Psalm 75

Psalm 75

God Will Judge with Equity

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

¹We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.

²“At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
³When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars.
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 haughty 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.
⁸ For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.

⁹But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
¹⁰ All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.