Psalms 74; Psalms 75; Psalms 76; Romans 9:16-33

1 God, why have you rejected us for so long? Why are you angry with us, the sheep of your pasture?

2 Remember the people you bought long ago. You saved us, and we are your very own. After all, you live on Mount Zion.

3 Make your way through these old ruins; the enemy wrecked everything in the Temple.

4 Those who were against you shouted in your meeting place and raised their flags there.

5 They came with axes raised as if to cut down a forest of trees.

6 They smashed the carved panels with their axes and hatchets.

7 They burned your Temple to the ground; they have made the place where you live unclean.

8 They thought, "We will completely crush them!" They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

9 We do not see any signs. There are no more prophets, and no one knows how long this will last.

10 God, how much longer will the enemy make fun of you? Will they insult you forever?

11 Why do you hold back your power? Bring your power out in the open and destroy them!

12 God, you have been our king for a long time. You bring salvation to the earth.

13 You split open the sea by your power and broke the heads of the sea monster.

14 You smashed the heads of the monster Leviathan and gave him to the desert creatures as food.

15 You opened up the springs and streams and made the flowing rivers run dry.

16 Both the day and the night are yours; you made the sun and the moon.

17 You set all the limits on the earth; you created summer and winter.

18 Lord, remember how the enemy insulted you. Remember how those foolish people made fun of you.

19 Do not give us, your doves, to those wild animals. Never forget your poor people.

20 Remember the agreement you made with us, because violence fills every dark corner of this land.

21 Do not let your suffering people be disgraced. Let the poor and helpless praise you.

22 God, arise and defend yourself. Remember the insults that come from those foolish people all day long.

23 Don't forget what your enemies said; don't forget their roar as they rise against you always.

1 God, we thank you; we thank you because you are near. We tell about the miracles you do.

2 You say, "I set the time for trial, and I will judge fairly.

3 The earth with all its people may shake, but I am the one who holds it steady. Selah

4 I say to those who are proud, 'Don't brag,' and to the wicked, 'Don't show your power.

5 Don't try to use your power against heaven. Don't be stubborn.'"

6 No one from the east or the west or the desert can judge you.

7 God is the judge; he judges one person as guilty and another as innocent.

8 The Lord holds a cup of anger in his hand; it is full of wine mixed with spices. He pours it out even to the last drop, and the wicked drink it all.

9 I will tell about this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

10 He will take all power away from the wicked, but the power of good people will grow.

1 People in Judah know God; his fame is great in Israel.

2 His Tent is in Jerusalem; his home is on Mount Zion.

3 There God broke the flaming arrows, the shields, the swords, and the weapons of war.Selah

4 God, how wonderful you are! You are more splendid than the hills full of animals.

5 The brave soldiers were stripped as they lay asleep in death. Not one warrior had the strength to stop it.

6 God of Jacob, when you spoke strongly, horses and riders fell dead.

7 You are feared; no one can stand against you when you are angry.

8 From heaven you gave the decision, and the earth was afraid and silent.

9 God, you stood up to judge and to save the needy people of the earth.Selah

10 People praise you for your anger against evil. Those who live through your anger are stopped from doing more evil.

11 Make and keep your promises to the Lord your God. From all around, gifts should come to the God we worship.

12 God breaks the spirits of great leaders; the kings on earth fear him.

16 So God will choose the one to whom he decides to show mercy; his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do.

17 The Scripture says to the king of Egypt: "I made you king for this reason: to show my power in you so that my name will be talked about in all the earth."

18 So God shows mercy where he wants to show mercy, and he makes stubborn the people he wants to make stubborn.

19 So one of you will ask me: "Then why does God blame us for our sins? Who can fight his will?"

20 You are only human, and human beings have no right to question God. An object should not ask the person who made it, "Why did you make me like this?"

21 The potter can make anything he wants to make. He can use the same clay to make one thing for special use and another thing for daily use.

22 It is the same way with God. He wanted to show his anger and to let people see his power. But he patiently stayed with those people he was angry with -- people who were made ready to be destroyed.

23 He waited with patience so that he could make known his rich glory to the people who receive his mercy. He has prepared these people to have his glory,

24 and we are those people whom God called. He called us not from the Jews only but also from those who are not Jews.

25 As the Scripture says in Hosea: "I will say, 'You are my people' to those I had called 'not my people.' And I will show my love to those people I did not love."

26 "They were called, 'You are not my people,' but later they will be called 'children of the living God.' "

27 And Isaiah cries out about Israel: "The people of Israel are many, like the grains of sand by the sea. But only a few of them will be saved,

28 because the Lord will quickly and completely punish the people on the earth."

29 It is as Isaiah said: "The Lord All-Powerful allowed a few of our descendants to live. Otherwise we would have been completely destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah."

30 So what does all this mean? Those who are not Jews were not trying to make themselves right with God, but they were made right with God because of their faith.

31 The people of Israel tried to follow a law to make themselves right with God. But they did not succeed,

32 because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did instead of trusting in God to make them right. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble.

33 As it is written in the Scripture: "I will put in Jerusalem a stone that causes people to stumble, a rock that makes them fall. Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed."