1. Look for significant words, phrases, or themes.
2. Look for areas where you identify with the psalmist.
3. Look for God’s attributes and demonstrations of his character.
4. Look for guidance in ways you can reflect God’s likeness.

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Psalm 73

God is truly good to Israel.
    He is good to those who have pure hearts.

² But my feet had almost slipped.
    I had almost tripped and fallen.
³ I saw that proud and sinful people were doing well.
    And I began to long for what they had.

⁴ They don’t have any troubles.
    Their bodies are healthy and strong.
⁵ They don’t have the problems most people have.
    They don’t suffer as other people do.
⁶ Their pride is like a necklace.
    They put on meanness as if it were their clothes.
⁷ Many sins come out of their hard and stubborn hearts.
    There is no limit to the evil things they can think up.
⁸ They laugh at others and speak words of hatred.
    They are proud. They warn others about the harm they can do to them.
⁹ They brag as if they owned heaven itself.
    They talk as if they controlled the earth.
¹⁰ So people listen to them.
    They lap up their words like water.
¹¹ They say, “How would God know what we’re doing?
    Does the Most High God know anything?”

¹² Here is what sinful people are like.
    They don’t have a care in the world.
    They keep getting richer and richer.

¹³ It seems as if I have kept my heart pure for no reason.
    It didn’t do me any good to wash my hands
    to show that I wasn’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
¹⁴ Day after day I’ve been in pain.
    God has punished me in a new way every morning.

¹⁵ What if I had talked like that?
    Then I wouldn’t have been faithful to God’s children.
¹⁶ I tried to understand it all.
    But it was more than I could handle.
¹⁷ It troubled me until I entered God’s temple.
    Then I understood what will finally happen to bad people.

¹⁸ God, I’m sure you will make them slip and fall.
    You will throw them down and destroy them.
¹⁹ It will happen very suddenly.
    A terrible death will take them away completely.
²⁰ A dream goes away when a person wakes up.
    Lord, it will be like that when you rise up.
    It will be as if those people were only a dream.

²¹ At one time my heart was sad
    and my spirit was bitter.
²² I didn’t have any sense. I didn’t know anything.
    I acted like a wild animal toward you.

²³ But I am always with you.
    You hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You give me wise advice to guide me.
    And when I die, you will take me away
    into the glory of heaven.
²⁵ I don’t have anyone in heaven but you.
    I don’t want anything on earth besides you.
²⁶ My body and my heart may grow weak.
    God, you give strength to my heart.
    You are everything I will ever need.

²⁷ Those who don’t want anything to do with you will die.
    You destroy all those who aren’t faithful to you.
²⁸ But I am close to you. And that’s good.
    Lord and King, I have made you my place of safety.
    I will talk about everything you have done.

Psalm 74

 God, why have you turned your back on us for so long?
    Why are you so angry with us? We are your very own sheep.
² Remember the nation that you chose as your own so long ago.
    Remember that you set us free from slavery to be your very own people.
    Remember Mount Zion, where you lived.
³ Walk through this place that has been torn down beyond repair.
    See how completely your enemies have destroyed the temple!

⁴ In the place where you used to meet with us,
    your enemies have shouted, “We’ve won the battle!”
    They have set up their flags to show they have beaten us.
⁵ They acted like people cutting down a forest with axes.
⁶     They smashed all the beautiful wooden walls
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷ They burned your temple to the ground.
    They polluted the place where your Name is.
⁸ They had said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
    They burned every place where you were worshiped in the land.
⁹ We don’t get signs from God anymore.
    There aren’t any prophets left.
    None of us knows how long that will last.

¹⁰ God, how long will your enemies make fun of you?
    Will they attack you with their words forever?
¹¹ Why don’t you help us? Why do you hold back your power?
    Use your strong power to destroy your enemies!

¹² God, you have been my king for a long time.
    You are the only God who can save anyone on earth.
¹³ You parted the waters of the Red Sea by your power.
    You broke the heads of that sea monster in Egypt.
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of the sea monster Leviathan.
    You fed it to the creatures of the desert.
¹⁵ You opened up streams and springs.
    You dried up rivers that flow all year long.
¹⁶ You rule over the day and the night.
    You created the sun and the moon.
¹⁷ You decided where the borders of the earth would be.
    You made both summer and winter.

¹⁸ Lord, remember how your enemies have made fun of you.
    Remember how foolish people have attacked you with their words.
¹⁹ Don’t hand over Israel, your dove, to those wild animals.
    Don’t forget your suffering people forever.
²⁰ Honor the covenant you made with us.
    Horrible things are happening in every dark corner of the land.
²¹ Don’t let your suffering people be put to shame.
    May those who are poor and needy praise you.

²² God, rise up. Stand up for your cause.
    Remember how foolish people make fun of you all day long.
²³ Pay close attention to the shouts of your enemies.
    The trouble they cause never stops.

Psalm 75

 God, we praise you.
    We praise you because you are near to us.
    People talk about the wonderful things you have done.

² You say, “I choose the appointed time to judge people.
    And I judge them fairly.
³ When the earth and all its people tremble,
    I keep everything from falling to pieces.
⁴ To the proud I say, ‘Don’t brag anymore.’
    To sinners I say, ‘Don’t show off your power.
⁵ Don’t show it off against me.
    Don’t talk back to me.’ ”

⁶ No one from east or west or north or south
    can judge themselves.
⁷ God is the one who judges.
    He says to one person, “You are guilty.”
    To another he says, “You are not guilty.”
⁸ In the hand of the Lord is a cup.
    It is full of wine mixed with spices.
    It is the wine of his anger.
He pours it out. All the evil people on earth
    drink it down to the very last drop.

⁹ I will speak about this forever.
    I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
¹⁰ God says, “I will destroy the power of all sinful people.
    But I will make godly people more powerful.”

Psalm 76

 In the land of Judah, God is well known.
    In Israel, his name is great.
² His tent is in Jerusalem.
    The place where he lives is on Mount Zion.
³ There he broke the deadly arrows of his enemies.
    He broke their shields and swords.
    He broke their weapons of war.

⁴ God, you shine like a very bright light.
    You are more majestic than mountains full of wild animals.
⁵ Brave soldiers have been robbed of everything they had.
    Now they lie there, sleeping in death.
    Not one of them can even lift his hands.
⁶ God of Jacob, at your command
    both horse and chariot lie still.
⁷ People should have respect for you alone.
    Who can stand in front of you when you are angry?
⁸ From heaven you handed down your sentence.
    The land was afraid and became quiet.
⁹ God, that happened when you rose up to judge.
    It happened when you came to save all your suffering people in the land.
¹⁰ Your anger against sinners brings you praise.
    Those who live through your anger gather to worship you.

¹¹ Make promises to the Lord your God and keep them.
    Let all the neighboring nations
    bring gifts to the God who should be respected.
¹² He breaks the proud spirit of rulers.
    The kings of the earth have respect for him.