Psalms 75-76

Psalms 75-76 share about 33% of their words. Both psalms of Asaph, they have several shared roots, notably: thanks, name, judgment, earth, all, pillars / stand, announce / aristocrats. The last two are puns. The use of hand is contrasted, the hand of Yahweh in 75, hands failing in 76.

The role of the psalmist is magnified as a herald for ever. Who is the speaker in each phrase? Verse 7 has two of the four cardinal points (east, the going forth, west, the setting).

I ask this question in Seeing the Psalter. 

Who is the mysterious subject I who judges the upright and stabilizes the pillars of the earth and gives instruction to the boastful? On resumption in verse 10, does the psalmist become the subject I since the psalmist clearly can sing a psalm? But we would hardly expect the psalmist to chop off the horns of the wicked. If we did, then the poet would be acting in the place of God. But perhaps that is part of the mystery or perhaps there are two voices in these verses. Who are we that our words might have such an effect?

Tate summarizes psalm 75 around the three metaphors: the pillars, the foaming cup, and the horns. He notes that others have wrestled with the abrupt changes of speaker in the poem. He separates the speakers of verses 10 (human praise) and 11 (a closing oracle, i.e. God speaking). I would not use the term oracle (nvm) here since technically it is explicit in two psalms only, 37 and 110. Tate then cites Gunkel that "the speaker is cooperating with God in the divine judgment". 

	spr thlim		Book of Psalms
	yh		75
a	lmnxk al-twkt. mzmor lasf wir.	1	For the leader. Do not destroy. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
b	hodinu lç alohim hodinu vqrob wmç, sipru nplaotiç.	2	We give thanks to you O God we give thanks. And your name is near, your wonders recount.
g	ci aqk moyd, ani miwrim awpo't.	3	For I will receive at the appointed time, I myself the upright will judge.
d	nmogim arx vcl-iowbih. anoci ticnti ymudih slh.	4	Softened is earth and all those sitting in her. I even I stabilize her pillars. Selah.
h	amrti lhollim al-tholu, vlrwyim al-trimu qrn.	5	I said to the boastful, Do not boast, and to the wicked, Do not exalt the horn.
v	al-trimu lmrom qrncm, tdbru bxvvar ytq.	6	Do not exalt on high your horn, or speak with a stiff neck.
z	ci la mmoxa ummyrb, vla mmdbr hrim.	7	For not from the going forth or from the setting, nor from the wilderness, is exaltation.
k	ci-alohim wop't. zh iwpil vzh irim.	8	For God is judge. This one he humbles and this one he exalts.
't	ci cos bid-ihvh viin kmr mla msç vigr mzh. aç-wmrih imxu iwtu, col rwyi-arx.	9	For there is a cup in the hand of Yahweh and the wine is red, full of mixture, and he wrings out from it. Surely the dregs they will suck, will imbibe, all the wicked of the earth.
i	vani agid lyolm. azmrh lalohi iyqob.	10	But I myself, I will announce forever. I will sing a psalm to the God of Jacob.
ia	vcl-qrni rwyim agdy. trommnh qrnot xdiq.	11	And all the horns of the wicked I will chop off. I will exalt the horns of one who is righteous.

	yv		76
a	lmnxk bnginot. mzmor lasf wir.	1	For the leader. On strings. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
b	nody bihudh alohim. biwral gdol wmo.	2	Renowned in Judah is God. In Israel great is his name.
g	vihi bwlm suco, umyonto bxion.	3	And there is in Salem his booth, and his habitation in Zion.
d	wmh wibr rwpi-qwt, mgn vkrb umlkmh slh.	4	There he shatters the fire-brands of bow, shield, and sword, and battle. Selah.
h	naor ath adir mhrri-'trf.	5	Light-giving you are more excellent than mountains of prey.
v	awtollu abiri lb nmu wntm, vla-mxau cl-anwi-kil idihm.	6	Taken as spoil are the mighty of heart. They have slumbered their sleep, and all forceful persons fail to find their hands.
z	mgyrtç alohi iyqob, nrdm vrcb vsus.	7	From your rebuke O God of Jacob, stupefied are both chariot and horse.
k	ath nora ath umi-iymod lpniç maz apç?	8	You are to be feared, you yourself, and who can stand in your presence at the onset of your anger?
't	mwmiim hwmyt din. arx irah vwq'th,	9	From heaven you made sentence heard. Earth feared and was quiet,
i	bqum-lmwp't alohim, lhowiy cl-ynvvi-arx slh.	10	When God arose to judgment, to save all the afflicted of the earth. Selah.
ia	ci-kmt adm todç. warit kmot tkgor.	11	For human heat will thank you. The residue of heat you will wear.
ib	ndru vwlmu lihvh alohicm. cl-sbibiv, iobilu wi lmora.	12	Vow and pay to Yahweh your God. All round about him, convey tribute fearfully.
ig	ibxor ruk ngidim. nora lmlci-arx.	13	He will enclose the spirit of aristocrats. He will be feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 76 is not one of the Do Not Destroy psalms as is Psalm 75. According to Tate, it is classed with other Psalms of Zion (46, 48, 84, 87). It seems to divide nicely into 4 three verse stanzas. I think this should be verified from the music. At first glance, such a simple form does not seem to stand. 

Verse 5 is connected through its opening note (g) as a comment on the prior verse. (Perhaps it is the content of the Selah!) Verses 6 and 7 are similarly connected. Verses 8 and 9 also. The second verse of each pair makes the connection by starting the verse on a g rather than the usual tonic e. So I would divide, based on the music 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-10, 11-13. Fear dominates the last 6 verses. (Earth quiet has been observed in the past year.)

This is not how I divided the psalm in Seeing the Psalter, which I wrote when I had only 3 years experience with the music.

• Only verse 12 is a tricolon. 
• Verses 5 has no rest. It is a single thought complementing verse 4. Pace the Selah. 
• Verse 8, also without a rest, is a fearfully wrought line with a stark sudden rise to the sixth, and then a recitation alternating between the super-tonic and the tonic.