An Appeal to God against the Enemy

741 Why, O God, hast thou cast off for ever? [why] doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2 Remember thine assembly, which thou hast purchased of old, which thou hast redeemed [to be] the portion of thine inheritance, this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. 3 Lift up thy steps unto the perpetual desolations: everything in the sanctuary hath the enemy destroyed. 4 Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy place of assembly; they set up their signs [for] signs. 5 [A man] was known as he could lift up axes in the thicket of trees; 6 And now they break down its carved work altogether, with hatchets and hammers. 7 They have set on fire thy sanctuary, they have profaned the habitation of thy name to the ground. 8 They said in their heart, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all God's places of assembly 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 contemn thy name for ever? 11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, and thy right hand? [pluck it] out of thy bosom: consume [them].

12 But God is my king of old, accomplishing deliverances in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength; thou didst break the heads of the monsters on the waters: 14 Thou didst break in pieces the heads of leviathan, thou gavest him to be meat to those that people the desert. 15 Thou didst cleave fountain and torrent, thou driedst up ever-flowing rivers. 16 The day is thine, the night also is thine; thou hast prepared the moon and the sun: 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; summer and winter—thou didst form them.

18 Remember this, that an enemy hath reproached Jehovah, and a foolish people have contemned thy name. 19 Give not up the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the wild beast; forget not the troop of thine afflicted for ever. 20 Have respect unto the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of the dwellings of violence. 21 Oh let not the oppressed one return ashamed; let the afflicted and needy praise thy name. 22 Rise up, 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.

God Abases the Wicked and Exalts the Righteous

751 To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' A Psalm of Asaph: a Song. Unto thee we give thanks, O God, we give thanks; and thy name is near: thy marvellous works declare it. 2 When I shall receive the assembly, I will judge with equity. 3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I have established its pillars. Selah. 4 I said unto the boastful, Boast not; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 5 Lift not up your horn on high; speak not arrogantly with a [stiff] neck.

6 For not from the east nor from the west, nor yet from the south doth exaltation [come]: 7 For God is the judge; he putteth down one and exalteth another. 8 For in the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and it foameth with wine, it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same; yea, the dregs thereof shall all the wicked of the earth drain off, [and] drink. 9 But as for me, I will declare for ever; I will sing psalms to the God of Jacob. 10 And all the horns of the wicked will I cut off; [but] the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

The God of Victory and Judgment

761 To the chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph: a Song. In Judah is God known, his name is great in Israel; 2 And in Salem is his tent, and his dwelling-place in Zion. 3 There broke he the flashings of the bow, shield and sword and battle. Selah. 4 More glorious art thou, more excellent, than the mountains of prey. 5 The stout-hearted 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 dead sleep.

7 Thou, thou art to be feared, and who can stand before thee when once thou art angry? 8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from the heavens; the earth feared, and was still, 9 When God rose up to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. 10 For the fury of man shall praise thee; the remainder of fury wilt thou gird on thyself. 11 Vow and pay unto Jehovah your God: let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that is to be feared. 12 He cutteth off the spirit of princes; [he] is terrible to the kings of the earth.

Comfort from Recalling God's Mighty Deeds

771 To the chief Musician. On Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm. My voice is unto God, and I will cry; my voice is unto God, 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 remembered God, and I moaned; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 4 Thou holdest open mine eyelids; I am full of disquiet and cannot speak. 5 I consider the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6 I remember my song in the night; I muse in mine own heart, and my spirit maketh diligent search. 7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? 8 Hath his loving-kindness ceased for ever? hath [his] word come to an end from generation to generation? 9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? or hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. 10 Then said I, This is my weakness:—the years of the right hand of the Most High

11 Will I remember,—the works of Jah; for I will remember thy wonders of old, 12 And I will meditate upon all thy work, and muse upon thy doings. 13 O God, thy way is in the sanctuary: who is so great a ·god as God? 14 Thou art the God that doest wonders; thou hast declared 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 trembled, yea, the depths were troubled: 17 The thick clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound, yea, thine arrows went abroad: 18 The voice of thy thunder was in the whirlwind, lightnings lit up the world; the earth was troubled and it quaked. 19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths are in the great waters; and thy footsteps are not known. 20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.