Psalm 74-76

New International Version

Psalm 74

A maskil^[a] of Asaph.

¹O God, why have you rejected^(A) us forever?^(B)
    Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?^(C)
²Remember the nation you purchased^(D) long ago,^(E)
    the people of your inheritance,^(F) whom you redeemed^(G)—
    Mount Zion,^(H) where you dwelt.^(I)
³Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,^(J)
    all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

⁴Your foes roared^(K) in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards^(L) as signs.
⁵They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.^(M)
⁶They smashed all the carved^(N) paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled^(O) the dwelling place^(P) of your Name.^(Q)
⁸They said in their hearts, “We will crush^(R) them completely!”
    They burned^(S) every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹We are given no signs from God;^(T)
    no prophets^(U) are left,
    and none of us knows how long this will be.
¹⁰How long^(V) will the enemy mock^(W) you, God?
    Will the foe revile^(X) your name forever?
¹¹Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?^(Y)
    Take it from the folds of your garment^(Z) and destroy them!

¹²But God is my King^(AA) from long ago;
he brings salvation^(AB) on the earth.

¹³It was you who split open the sea^(AC) by your power;
    you broke the heads of the monster^(AD) in the waters.
¹⁴It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan^(AE)
    and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.^(AF)
¹⁵It was you who opened up springs^(AG) and streams;
    you dried up^(AH) the ever-flowing rivers.
¹⁶The day is yours, and yours also the night;
    you established the sun and moon.^(AI)
¹⁷It was you who set all the boundaries^(AJ) of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.^(AK)

¹⁸Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
    how foolish people^(AL) have reviled your name.
¹⁹Do not hand over the life of your dove^(AM) to wild beasts;
    do not forget the lives of your afflicted^(AN) people forever.
²⁰Have regard for your covenant,^(AO)
    because haunts of violence fill the dark places^(AP) of the land.
²¹Do not let the oppressed^(AQ) retreat in disgrace;
    may the poor and needy^(AR) praise your name.
²²Rise up,^(AS) O God, and defend your cause;
    remember how fools^(AT) mock you all day long.
²³Do not ignore the clamor^(AU) of your adversaries,^(AV)
    the uproar^(AW) of your enemies,^(AX) which rises continually.

Psalm 75^[b]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;^(AY)
people tell of your wonderful deeds.^(AZ)

²You say, “I choose the appointed time;^(BA)
    it is I who judge with equity.^(BB)
³When the earth and all its people quake,^(BC)
    it is I who hold its pillars^(BD) firm.^[c]
⁴To the arrogant^(BE) I say, ‘Boast no more,’^(BF)
    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.^[d]^(BG)
⁵Do not lift your horns against heaven;
    do not speak so defiantly.^(BH)’”

⁶No one from the east or the west
    or from the desert can exalt themselves.
⁷It is God who judges:^(BI)
    He brings one down, he exalts another.^(BJ)
⁸In the hand of the Lord is a cup
    full of foaming wine mixed^(BK) with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
    drink it down to its very dregs.^(BL)

⁹As for me, I will declare^(BM) this forever;
I will sing^(BN) praise to the God of Jacob,^(BO)
¹⁰who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”^(BP)

Psalm 76^[e]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹God is renowned in Judah;
    in Israel his name is great.^(BQ)
²His tent is in Salem,^(BR)
    his dwelling place in Zion.^(BS)
³There he broke the flashing arrows,^(BT)
    the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.^[f]^(BU)

⁴You are radiant with light,^(BV)
    more majestic than mountains rich with game.
⁵The valiant^(BW) lie plundered,
    they sleep their last sleep;^(BX)
not one of the warriors
    can lift his hands.
⁶At your rebuke,^(BY) God of Jacob,
    both horse and chariot^(BZ) lie still.

⁷It is you alone who are to be feared.^(CA)
    Who can stand^(CB) before you when you are angry?^(CC)
⁸From heaven you pronounced judgment,
    and the land feared^(CD) and was quiet—
⁹when you, God, rose up to judge,^(CE)
    to save all the afflicted^(CF) of the land.
¹⁰Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,^(CG)
    and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.^[g]

¹¹Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;^(CH)
    let all the neighboring lands
    bring gifts^(CI) to the One to be feared.
¹²He breaks the spirit of rulers;
    he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Footnotes

Psalm 74:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 75:1 In Hebrew texts 75:1-10 is numbered 75:2-11.
Psalm 75:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Psalm 75:4 Horns here symbolize strength; also in verses 5 and 10.
Psalm 76:1 In Hebrew texts 76:1-12 is numbered 76:2-13.
Psalm 76:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 9.
Psalm 76:10 Or Surely the wrath of mankind brings you praise, / and with the remainder of wrath you arm yourself

Romans 9:16-33

New International Version

¹⁶It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.^(A) ¹⁷For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”^[a]^(B) ¹⁸Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.^(C)

¹⁹One of you will say to me:^(D) “Then why does God still blame us?^(E) For who is able to resist his will?”^(F) ²⁰But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?^(G) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,^(H) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”^[b]^(I) ²¹Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?^(J)

²²What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience^(K) the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?^(L) ²³What if he did this to make the riches of his glory^(M) known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory^(N)— ²⁴even us, whom he also called,^(O) not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?^(P) ²⁵As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”^[c]^(Q)

²⁶and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”^[d]^(R)

²⁷Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,^(S)
only the remnant will be saved.^(T)
²⁸For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”^[e]^(U)

²⁹It is just as Isaiah said previously:

“Unless the Lord Almighty^(V)
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.”^[f]^(W)

Israel’s Unbelief

³⁰What then shall we say?^(X) That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;^(Y) ³¹but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness,^(Z) have not attained their goal.^(AA) ³²Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.^(AB) ³³As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^[g]^(AC)

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