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PSALM 42
Thirsting for
the Living God
The
writer, in distress, yearns for God and the Temple in Jerusalem.
A Maskil
of the sons of Korah
1
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for
You, O God.
2
My soul thirsts for
Elohim, for the living God.
When shall I come and see
the Face of God?
3 My
tears have been my food day and night,
while
they say to me all day long, 'Where is your
God?'
4
These things I remember, and I
pour out my soul within me.
For
I used to go along with the throng;
I went with them to the
House of God,
with the voice of
joy and praise,
with a multitude keeping festival.
5
Why are you depressed, O my soul?
And
why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in
God and wait
expectantly for Him,
for
I shall again praise Him
-
for the salvation
and help
of His
Presence - my Elohim.
6 O
my God, my soul is
depressed within me;
therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan,
and
the heights of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep
calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
all Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
8 By
day YHWH commands
His lovingkindness;
and
by night His song is with me -
a
prayer to the God of my life.
9 I
will say to God my Rock,
'Why have You forgotten me?
Why
do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?'
10
Like a sword shattering my bones,
my adversaries have reviled me,
while
they say to me all day long, 'Where is your
God?'
11 Why
are you depressed, O my
soul?
And
why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in
God and wait
expectantly for Him,
for I shall yet praise Him
-
the salvation
of my countenance, my personality, my being;
for
He is
my Elohim.
r
PSALM 43
Prayer for Vindication
As in
Psalm 42, the psalmist in distress,
yearns for
God’s dwelling places, and cries out for vindication.
1
Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
deliver me from the
deceitful and unjust man!
2 For
You are the God of my strength;
why have You
rejected me?
Why
do I go about mourning because of the
oppression of the enemy?
3
Send out Your light
and Your truth! Let them lead me;
let them bring me to
Your holy hill,
and to Your dwelling
places,
4
that I might go in to the
altar of God,
to God my joy and
delight.
And
I will praise You on the harp,
O God, my God.
5
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
And why are you so disturbed within me?
Wait and hope in
God, for
I will yet praise Him
-
the
salvation
of my countenance, my personality, my being;
for
He is
my Elohim.
r
PSALM 44
Arise
O YHWH, Why Have You
Rejected Us?
In this
psalm of national lament because of their present defeat,
the
Israelites have confidence because of God’s past care for them,
and they
call on Him to redeem them.
To the
Chief Musician. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1
O God, we have heard
with our ears,
our fathers have told us
of
the work You did in
their days, in the days of old.
2
You drove out the nations with Your own
hand;
but you planted them - our fathers.
You afflicted the peoples, and sent them out.
3
For they - the Israelites - did not possess the
land by their sword,
and their own arm
did not save them
and bring
victory.
But it was
Your right hand, and Your arm, and the Light of Your
Face,
because You accepted and delighted in them.
4
You Yourself are my King, O God;
command
victories and deliverance
for Jacob.
5
Through
You we will push
back our adversaries;
through
Your Name
we will tread
down those who oppose us.
6
For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword will not
save
me.
7 But
You have saved us from our enemies,
and
You
have put to shame those who hate us.
8
In God
we make our boast all day long,
and
we will give thanks to
Your Name
forever. Selah.
9
Yet You
have rejected us and put us to shame,
and
You
do not go out with our armies.
10
You make us
retreat before the enemy,
and those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11
You turn us into
food just like sheep,
and
You
have scattered us among the nations.
12
You sell
Your people for
nothing,
and do not profit from their sale.
13
You make us a
reproach to our neighbours,
a scorn and a mockery to those all around us.
14
You make us a
byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15
All day long my disgrace is before me,
and my shame and humiliation has overwhelmed me,
16
because of the taunts of those who reproach and
revile,
because of the enemy and avenger.
17
All this has come upon us, but
we have not forgotten
You,
and we have not been false to
Your
Covenant.
18
Our heart has not turned back,
and our steps have not deviated from
Your way.
19
Yet You
have crushed us in a place of jackals,
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20
If we had forgotten
the Name of our God,
or extended our hands to a strange god;
21
would not Elohim
find this out?
For
He knows the secrets of the heart.
22
But for Your sake
we are killed all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
23
Awake, why do You sleep,
O Master?
Arise, do not reject
and cast us off forever.
24
Why do You hide Your
Face?
You are forgetting our affliction and our
oppression.
25
Rise up, be our help,
and
redeem us
for Your mercies'
sake. r
PSALM 45
The King Glorious in Majesty
In this
Messianic psalm, the psalmist extols the Eternal Throne of the King,
and
describes His glorious Bride.
To the
Chief Musician, according to the Shoshannim (Lilies).
A Maskil
of the sons of Korah.
A Song of
Love
1
My heart is overflowing with a good theme.
I
address my works, my psalm, to the King.
My
tongue is the pen of a profuse writer.
2
You are more handsome than the sons of men.
Grace is poured upon
Your lips;
therefore God has blessed You forever.
3
Gird Your sword on
Your thigh, O Mighty One;
Your glory and Your majesty!
4 And
in Your majesty,
prosper and ride on triumphantly,
because of
truth, humility
and
righteousness;
let Your right hand
show You awesome things.
5
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's
enemies;
the peoples fall under
You.
6
^Your throne, O
God, is forever and ever;
The sceptre of
Your kingdom
is a sceptre of righteousness.
7
You have loved
righteousness, and hated wickedness;
Therefore
God, Your God,
has anointed You
with the oil of gladness above Your companions.^ [Heb 1:8-9]
8
All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh,
aloes and cassia.
Out of ivory palaces,
stringed instruments have made
You glad.
9
Daughters of kings are among Your precious ones.
At
Your right hand
stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
10
Listen, O daughter, and see; incline your ear.
Forget your people and your father's house;
11
and let the King
delight in your beauty;
because He is your
Master - bow down to Him.
12
And the daughter of Tyre come with a gift.
The rich among the people entreat your favor.
13
The King's daughter is all glorious within the
palace;
her clothing is embroidered with gold.
14
She is led to the King in robes of many colours.
Her companions, the virgins, following her,
are brought to You.
15
They are led in with gladness and rejoicing;
they enter into
the King's palace.
16
In the place of Your fathers are
Your sons;
whom
You appoint as princes
in all the earth.
17
I will cause Your
Name to be remembered in all generations.
Therefore the peoples will give thanks to
You for ever and
ever. r
PSALM 46
Elohim
our Refuge and Strength
This psalm
expresses confidence in God who is in the midst of His city.
He is
Israel’s Stronghold!
To the
Chief Musician.
A Psalm of
the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song.
1
God is
our Refuge and Strength,
a very definite help in times of adversity.
2
Therefore we do not fear, though the earth be moved,
and mountains topple into the heart of the sea;
3
though its waters
are turbulent and roar,
and though the mountains shake at its pride and inflation. Selah.
4
There is a river
whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the
Most High.
5
God is
in the midst of her, she will not be moved.
God will help her
at the break of dawn.
6
The nations are turbulent, the kingdoms totter;
He proclaims with His voice,
the earth melts.
7
YHWH of Hosts is
with us;
the God of Jacob
is a
Refuge, a High Tower for us. Selah.
8
Come, see the
works of YHWH,
what desolations He has brought on the earth;
9
causing wars to cease to the end of the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10
'Cease striving, be still and know that
I am God:
I am exalted among
the nations,
I am exalted
in the earth.'
11
YHWH of Hosts is
with us;
The God of Jacob
is a Refuge, a
High Tower for us. Selah.
r
PSALM 47
YHWH, the King
of All the Earth
This psalm
celebrates Yahweh the King over all the earth.
It looks
forward to God’s reign, through the Messiah,
during the
Millennial Kingdom.
A Psalm of
the sons of Korah
1
O clap your hands,
all you peoples!
Shout to God
with the voice of triumphant singing.
2
For YHWH Elyon, the Most High, is awesome -
a great King
over all the earth.
3
He subdues peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4
He chooses our inheritance for us,
the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.
5
God has ascended
with a shout;
YHWH with the sound
of a trumpet.
6
Sing praises to
God, sing praises!
Sing praises to
our King,
sing praises!
7 For
Elohim is King of
all the earth.
Sing praises to Him with understanding.
8
God reigns over the
nations,
God sits on His holy Throne.
9
The noble and willing of the peoples have been
assembled
with the people of the
God of Abraham;
for the shields of the earth belong to
God.
He is greatly exalted!
r
PSALM 48
Mount Zion the City of
the Great King
The
psalmist praises God and Zion (Jerusalem) His dwelling place,
and
describes the defeat of their enemies. He offers thanksgiving
and
exhorts the people to praise God who is their Guide until death.
A Psalm of
the sons of Korah
1
Great is YHWH;
and greatly to be praised,
in the city of our God,
in His holy Mountain.
2
Beautiful in its elevation, the joy of the whole
earth,
is
Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
the City of the Great King.
3
God is known in her
palaces as a tower -
a refuge and stronghold.
4
For look, the kings assembled;
they passed by together.
5
They saw, and so they were amazed.
They were alarmed; they fled away.
6
Trembling seized them there -
and pain as of a woman in labour;
7
and as when
You shatter the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
8
As we have heard, so we have seen,
in
the city of YHWH of Hosts, in the city of our God.
God establishes her forever. Selah.
9
We have thought on
Your lovingkindness, O God,
in the midst of Your
Sanctuary.
10
As is Your Name,
O God,
so is Your praise to
the ends of the earth.
Your Right Hand is
filled with righteousness.
11
Let Mount Zion rejoice.
Let the daughters of Judah be joyful,
because of
Your judgments.
12
Walk about Zion, and go all around her.
Count her towers.
13
Consider her fortifications.
Go through her citadels,
so that you may report to the next generation,
14 for this is
God, our Elohim forever and ever.
He Himself guides
us even to death.
r
PSALM 49
Elohim
will Redeem
my Soul from Sheol
The
psalmist warns of the folly of trusting in temporal riches
which
cannot redeem a soul. The doom of the wicked rich is certain.
In
contrast the righteous will be redeemed and received by God.
To the
Chief Musician.
A Psalm of
the sons of Korah.
1
Hear this, all you peoples!
Listen, all you inhabitants of the world.
2
Both low and high, rich and poor alike.
3
My mouth speaks wisdom;
and the meditation of my heart brings
understanding.
4 I
incline my ear to a parable;
I
express my riddle on the harp.
5
Why should I fear in days of evil,
when the wickedness of my foes surrounds me -
6
those who trust in their wealth,
and boast in the abundance of their riches?
7
No man can by any means
redeem his brother,
or give to
God a ransom
for him -
8
for the redemption
of their souls is costly,
and it shall cease forever –
the price one can pay will never suffice -
9
that he should live on eternally;
and not see the pit - the grave and decay.
10
For he sees that even wise men die.
The foolish and the senseless alike perish,
and leave their wealth to others.
11
Their inner thought is that their houses are
forever,
and their dwelling places will last for all generations.
They have called their lands after their own names.
12
But man with all his honour and pomp
will not endure;
he is like the beasts that perish.
13
This way of theirs is folly to them,
and their descendants are pleased and approve their words. Selah.
14
As sheep they are appointed for Sheol - the place
of the dead.
Death shall feed on them,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning;
their form and beauty shall be consumed.
Sheol will be their dwelling place.
15
But God will redeem
my soul from the power of Sheol;
for He will receive me. Selah.
16
Do not be afraid
when one becomes rich,
when the glory and honour of his house increases;
17
for when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not descend after him.
18
Though while he lives he blesses and
congratulates himself
- and men will praise you when you do well for yourself -
19
he shall join the generation of his fathers;
they shall never see the light.
20
Man who in honour and pomp, does not
understand,
is like the beasts that perish.
r
PSALM 50
YHWH, El Elohim
is Judge
The Mighty
One summons the heavens and the earth to judge His people.
He indicts
His people for their insincere sacrifices and unethical practices,
but
promises to rescue and save them if they honour and call upon Him.
A Psalm of
Asaph
1
The Mighty One, El Elohim, YHWH,
speaks
and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty.
God shines forth.
3
Our God comes and
will not keep silent;
fire consumes before Him,
and a tempest rages round about Him.
4
He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, to judge
His people:
5 'Gather
My set-apart, righteous ones to Me,
those who have made a
covenant with Me by sacrifice.'
6
Let the heavens declare
His righteousness
for God Himself
is Judge. Selah.
7
'Hear, O My people,
and I will speak;
O Israel, and I will testify against you,
I am God, your God.
8
'I do not reprove you for your sacrifices;
yes, your burnt offerings are ever before Me.
9
'I have no need to take a young bull from your house,
or male goats out of your folds;
10
for every animal of
the forest is Mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11
'I know every bird and fowl of the mountains,
and
every creature in the field is Mine.
12
'If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
for
the world is Mine,
and all it contains.
13
'Shall I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of male goats?
14
'Offer to
God a sacrifice
of thanksgiving,
and fulfil your vows to
the Most High;
15
'And call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will rescue you,
and you will honour Me.'
16
But to the wicked God says,
'What right have you to recite My statutes,
and to take
My covenant
in your mouth?
17
You have hated instruction and correction,
and you cast
My Words behind you.
18
When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and you cast in your lot with adulterers.
19
You use your mouth for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20
You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother's son.
21
These things you have done, and I kept silence;
you thought that I was just like you.
I rebuke you, and accuse you to your face.
(lit. set in array before your eyes.)
22
Now consider this, you who forget
God,
lest I tear you in pieces, and there be no one
to deliver.
23
He who offers a
sacrifice of thanksgiving honours Me;
and to him who orders
his way aright
I will show
the salvation of
God.'
r
PSALM 51
Cleanse My Heart,
O God
In this
penitential psalm, David confesses his guilt
and pleads
for forgiveness, cleansing and restoration.
A Psalm of
David, when Nathan the prophet came to him,
after he
had gone in to Bathsheba.
(2 Samuel
11 & 12)
1
Be gracious to me, O
God,
according to Your
lovingkindness.
According to the greatness of
Your compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2
Wash me completely from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4
Against You, You
only, have I sinned,
and done this evil in
Your sight;
I fully concur that
You are righteous in Your words,
and pure and blameless in
Your judgments.
5
Look, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin my mother conceived me.
6
It's true!
You desire truth in
the inner being;
and in the hidden part
You teach me wisdom.
7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I
shall be whiter than snow.
8
Make me to hear joy and gladness,
let the bones
You have broken
rejoice.
9
Hide Your Face
from my sins,
and
blot out all my iniquities.
10
Create in me a clean heart,
O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11
Do not cast me away from
Your Presence,
and do not take Your
Holy Spirit from me.
12
Restore to me the
joy of Your
salvation,
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13
Then I will teach
transgressors Your ways,
and sinners will return to
You.
14
Deliver me from bloodguilt,
O Elohim,
God of my salvation.
and my tongue
will sing of Your righteousness.
15
O YHWH, open my
lips,
that my mouth may declare Your praise.
16
For You do not delight in sacrifice,
otherwise I would give it.
You find no pleasure in burnt offering.
17
The sacrifices of
God are a
broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, You do not
despise.
18
In Your good
pleasure do good to Zion;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19
Then You will
delight in righteous sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and the whole burnt offering;
then they shall offer bullocks on
Your altar.
r
PSALM 52
God
will Destroy the Boastful Deceiver
Here David
contrasts the doom of the wicked and the delight of the righteous.
The
background to the psalm is 1 Samuel 21:1 to 22:19.
To the
Chief Musician. A Maskil of David,
when Doeg
the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him,
"David has
come to the house of Ahimelech."
1
Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man,
and despise
the lovingkindness of God,
all day long?
2
Your tongue devises destruction,
like a sharp razor, practising deceit.
3
You have loved evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking
righteousness. Selah.
4
You have loved all destroying and devouring
words,
O you deceitful tongue!
5
Surely God
will break you down and destroy you forever.
He will snatch you, and tear you from your tent,
and uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6
The righteous will see and fear,
and will laugh at him, saying,
7
'See! the man who would not make
God his
stronghold,
but trusted in his
own great wealth,
and was strong in his
evil
desires.'
8
But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in
the House of God;
I have trusted in
the kindness of God forever and ever.
9
I will give You thanks forever, because You have
done it,
and in the presence of
Your set apart people
I will wait on
Your Name, for it is good.
r
PSALM 53
The Fool and the Wicked
This psalm
is essentially identical to Psalm 14.
David
laments the moral foolishness and corruption of the human race,
and longs
for the establishment of the righteous kingdom of God.
To the
Chief Musician; according to Mahalath.
A Maskil
of David.
1
The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no
God.'
They are corrupt, and have committed most wicked deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2
God has looked
down from the heavens on the sons of men,
to see if there is anyone who understands,
and who is seeking
God.
3
Every one of them has turned aside;
together they have become filthy and corrupt;
there is no one who does good, not even one.
4
Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge,
who eat up
My people
just as they eat bread,
and have not called upon
God?
5
There they were, overwhelmed with fear,
where
there was no fear to dread;
for God
has scattered the bones of him who encamps against
you;
you have put them to shame,
because God
has despised and rejected them.
6
O that the salvation
of Israel would be given out of Zion!
When God
restores His captive people,
let Jacob rejoice, and Israel be glad.
r
PSALM 54
Your Name
Has Delivered Me!
When David
was in the wilderness of Ziph, hiding from King Saul,
some of
the Ziphites promised to help the king capture David.
( 1 Samuel 23:19-29).
An attack
by the Philistines at that moment, diverted Saul’s pursuit of David.
In this
psalm David gives thanks for deliverance.
To the
Chief Musician; on stringed instruments.
A Maskil
of David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul,
"Is not
David hiding himself among us?"
1
O God, save me by
Your Name,
and vindicate me by
Your power.
2
Hear my prayer, O
God;
listen to the words of my mouth,
3
for strangers have risen up against me,
and ruthless men have sought after my life;
they have not set
God before them. Selah
4
See, God
is my Helper!
Adonai the Sovereign Master
is with those who
sustain my soul.
5
He will repay evil to my enemies!
Cut them off in
Your truth.
6
I sacrifice a freewill offering to You;
I give thanks to
Your Name,
O YHWH, for it is good.
7
For He has delivered
me from all adversity;
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
r
PSALM 55
YHWH
will Sustain the Righteous
David
prays in anguish because of the treachery of an intimate friend,
but
expresses confidence that Yahweh will save and sustain the righteous,
and will
bring men of bloodshed down to the pit.
To the
Chief Musicians; on stringed instruments.
A Maskil
of David.
1
Listen to my prayer,
O God;
and do not hide from my plea.
2
Give heed to me, and answer me;
I am distraught because of my thoughts, and cry aloud
3
because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering upon me,
and in anger they hate and oppose me.
4
My heart is in anguish within me,
and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5
Fear and trembling have come upon me;
and horror has overwhelmed me.
6
And I said, 'Who will give me wings like a dove,
that I may fly away and be at rest?
7
Oh, I would flee far away,
I would live in the wilderness.
8
I would quickly escape
from the raging wind and tornado.'
9
Confuse them,
O Adonai, divide their tongues,
for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10
Day and night they go around it on its walls;
wickedness and mischief are also in its midst.
11
Destructive forces are at work in her
midst;
fraud and deceit do not leave its streets.
12
It is not an enemy who reproaches me - that I
could bear;
nor is it one who hates me and who has raised himself against me -
I could hide from him.
13
But it is you, a man my equal,
my companion and my close friend.
14
When we had sweet fellowship together,
we walked together into
the House of God.
15
Let death come upon them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,
for evil is in their dwellings, and in their midst.
16
As for me, I call upon
God,
and
YHWH saves me.
17
Evening, morning and at noon, I pray and cry aloud,
and
He hears my voice.
18
He has redeemed my soul in peace
from the battle waged against me,
for there were many who strove with me.
19
God, He who sits enthroned from of old -
from eternity -
will hear and
answer them,
Selah,
for they do not change, and do not fear
God.
20
He has put forth his hands against those who were at
peace with him;
he has violated his covenant.
21
The words of his
mouth were smoother than butter,
but war was in his heart.
His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
22
Cast your burden, your cares, upon
YHWH, and He will
sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken so as to fall.
23
But You, O God,
will bring them down to the pit of destruction.
Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days.
But I will trust in
You! r
PSALM 56
I will Trust in
Elohim;
He bottles my Tears, and Keeps my Feet from Stumbling!
David
prays for grace in view of the enemies who trample upon him;
and he
expresses his confidence that God is for him.
To the
Chief Musician;
according
to Jonath elem rehokim, which probably means,
“The tune
of “The silent dove in distant lands.”
A Mikhtam
of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
1
Be gracious, O God,
for man has pursued me,
fighting all day long, he oppresses me.
2
My foes would trample upon me and devour me all
day long,
for many are fighting against me,
O Elyon, Most High.
3
In the day when I am afraid, I trust
and am confident in You.
4
In God - I praise
His Word - in God
I have put my trust;
I do not fear; what can man do to me?
5
All day long they twist my words;
all their thoughts plot evil against me.
6
They assemble and conspire, they hide,
they watch my steps, as they are eager to take my life.
7
By wickedness shall they escape?
In Your anger,
O God, put down
the peoples!
8
You have taken account of my wanderings;
You put my tears in Your bottle;
are they not in
Your book?
9
Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I
call to You.
This I know, that
God is for me.
10
In God - I praise
His Word,
in YHWH - I
praise His
Word,
11
in Elohim I have put
my trust,
I do not fear what man can do to me.
12
Your vows are binding upon me,
O God;
I render thankful praises to You,
13
for You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from stumbling,
so that I may walk before
God
in the light of the living?
r
PSALM 57
My Cry to
El Elyon
While
fleeing from Saul, David takes refuge in God Most High,
and exalts
and praises God for His lovingkindness.
To the
Chief Musician; set to Al-tashcheth (Do not Destroy).
A Mikktam,
of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
1
Be gracious to me, O
God, be gracious to me,
for my soul is trusting in
You;
and in the shadow of
Your wings I take
refuge,
until the calamities pass by.
2
I will cry to El
Elyon - God Most High,
to God
who is accomplishing all things for me.
3
He sends from heaven and
saves me;
He rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah.
God sends forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
4
My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men who are aflame,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongues are sharp swords.
5
Be exalted above the heavens,
O God;
Let
Your glory be
above all the earth.
6
They have prepared a net for my footsteps;
my soul is bowed down.
They have dug a pit before me;
but they themselves have fallen into it. Selah.
7
My heart is steadfast,
O God, my heart is
steadfast;
I sing and give praise to You!
8
Awake, my glory - my whole being!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn!
9
I will give thanks to You,
O Adonai, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to
You among the
nations.
10 For
Your mercy and lovingkindness
reaches to
the heavens,
and
Your truth
and
faithfulness to the clouds.
11
Be exalted above the heavens,
O God;
Let Your
glory be
above all the earth.
r
PSALM 58
The Punishment of the Wicked
David
indicts unrighteous judges and calls for their swift destruction
so that
the righteous may rejoice in God’s justice.
To the
Chief Musician, set to Al-tashcheth ('Do not destroy').
A Mikhtam
of David.
1
Do you indeed speak righteousness, you dumb rulers?
Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?
2
No! In heart you
work unrighteousness;
on earth you think and mete out the violence of your hands.
3
The wicked are alienated from the womb;
they have gone astray from birth, speaking lies;
4
their poison is like the venom of a snake;
like a deaf adder that stops its ear,
5
so that it does not hear the voice of enchanters,
or listen to the most skilful of charmers.
6
O God, break
their teeth in their mouth!
Tear out the fangs of the young lions,
O YHWH!
7
Let them melt and flow away like water that
runs off;
when he bends his bow, let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8
Let them be
like a snail which melts away as it moves;
like a stillborn child of a woman;
let them not see the sun!
9
Before your pots can feel the heat of the burning
thorns,
He will sweep them away as with a whirlwind - the
green and the dry alike.
10
The righteous rejoices when he has seen the
vengeance;
He washes his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11
And men will say; 'Surely there is a reward for the
righteous;
surely there is a
God who judges on earth!'
r
PSALM 59
Deliverance from Enemies
David
appeals for deliverance from enemy nations, and prays that God will
scatter
and destroy them. He praises God who is his Stronghold and Strength.
To the
Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth ('Do not destroy.')
A Mikktam
of David when Saul sent men,
and they
watched the house in order to kill him.
1
Deliver me from my enemies,
O my God;
Set me on high away from those who rise up
against me.
2
Deliver me from
evildoers,
and
save me
from bloodthirsty men.
3
For see, they have waited to ambush my life;
fierce men gather against me,
not for my transgression, nor for my sin,
O YHWH,
4
for no fault of mine, they run and set
themselves against me.
Arise to help me, and see my plight!
5
O YHWH, God of hosts, the Elohim of Israel,
rouse Yourself to punish all the nations;
Do not show favour to any treacherous evil-dealers.
Selah.
6
They return at evening, they snarl like a dog,
and prowl around the city.
7
See, they belch out from their mouth;
swords are in their lips,
for, they say, 'Who is listening?'
8
But You laugh at them,
O YHWH;
You scoff at all the nations.
9
O my Strength, I
wait and watch for You,
for God
is my Fortress, my High Tower, my loving God.
10
God will go before
me;
He will let me look triumphantly upon my enemies.
11 Do
not slay them, lest my people forget;
but scatter
them by Your power,
and bring them down,
O Master, our Shield.
12
For the sin of their mouth and the words of
their lips,
let them be captured in their pride;
and because of the curses and lies they utter.
13
Consume them in wrath, consume them,
that they may be no more;
that they may know that
God rules in Jacob,
to the ends of the earth. Selah.
14
And they return at evening, they snarl like a dog,
and go around the city.
15
They wander about for food,
and whine if they are not satisfied.
16
But as for me, I shall sing of
Your strength;
and in the morning I will sing of
Your lovingkindness,
for You
have been my Strong
Tower,
and a Refuge for me
in the day of distress.
17
O my Strength, I
will sing praises to You;
for
Elohim is my Strong Tower,
the God who shows me
lovingkindness.
r
PSALM 60
Through
God
we do Valiantly
The
background to this psalm is David’s the battles against Syria and Edom.
(2 Samuel 8, & 1 Chronicles
18). He declares victory through God.
To the
Chief Musician; according to Shushan Eduth.
A Mikhtam
of David, to teach; when he struggled with
Aram-Naharaim and with Aram-Zobah, (Syria and Mesopotamia) and Joab
returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
1
O God, You have
rejected us. You have broken us;
You have been angry. Now turn to us and
restore us.
2
You have made the land quake; You have torn it open.
Heal its breaches, for it is shaken.
3
You have let Your
people see hardship;
You have caused us to drink the wine that makes us stagger.
4
You have given a banner to those who fear
You,
that it might be lifted up because of the truth. Selah.
5
That those You dearly love
may be delivered,
save with Your right hand,
and answer us!
6
God has spoken
in His holiness:
"I triumph; I will portion out Shechem and I measure out the valley of Succoth.
7
"Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the defence of My head;
Judah is My lawgiver.
8
"Moab is My washbasin;
over Edom I cast My shoe;
Shout in triumph, O Philistia, because of
Me!"
9
Who would bring me into the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10
Is it not
You, O God?
Have You rejected us,
and will You not go forth with our armies,
O God?
11
O give us help against adversity,
for deliverance by man is worthless.
12
Through God
we do valiantly,
and
He treads down our adversaries.
r
PSALM 61
The Rock
that is Higher than I
Disheartened, David prays to God who has been his strength and security.
He
expresses his confidence that God will prolong his life.
To the
Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument.
A Psalm of
David
1
Hear my cry, O
Elohim.
Listen to my prayer.
2
From the end of the earth I call to
You,
when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting.
Lead me to
the Rock that is
higher than I.
3
For You
have been a refuge
for me,
a Tower of Strength
in the face of the enemy.
4
Let me dwell in Your
Tent forever.
I trust in the shelter of
Your wings.
Selah.
5
For You
have heard my vows,
O Elohim.
You have given me the inheritance of those who
reverence and stand in awe of
Your Name.
6
You add days to the days of the king;
his years as many generations.
7
Let him dwell forever before
God.
Appoint
lovingkindness and
truth to protect
him.
8
So I sing praise to Your Name
forever,
when I pay my vows day by day.
r
PSALM 62
Wait Quietly For
Elohim Alone
David
waits on God who is his Rock, his Salvation and Stronghold.
He calls
on people to trust in God and not in oppression and riches.
To the
Chief Musician; according to Jeduthun.
A Psalm of
David
1
Only in God
is my soul quiet
and at rest;
my
salvation is
from Him.
2
He alone is my
Rock and my Salvation,
my Fortress; I am
not greatly shaken.
3
How long will you assail a man,
that you may crush him, all of you,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4
They have plotted to topple him from his high position.
They delight in lies;
they bless with their mouth,
but in their heart they curse.
Selah.
5
My soul, wait quietly for
God alone,
for my expectation is from Him.
6
He alone is
my Rock and my Salvation,
my Fortress; I am
not greatly shaken.
7 My salvation
and glory depend on
Elohim;
the Rock of my Strength; my refuge is in God.
8
Trust in Him
at all times, you people.
Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
9
Men of low degree are emptiness,
and men of high degree are a lie.
If weighed in the scales,
they are altogether lighter than breath.
10
Do not trust in oppression,
and do not vainly hope in robbery.
If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
Once God has spoken, twice I have heard this;
that strength belongs to God;
12
and lovingkindness is Yours,
O Adonai,
for You reward each one according to his work.
r
PSALM 63
My Soul Thirsts For
Elohim
Far away
from Jerusalem, David communes with, and worships God.
And he is
confident that his enemies will be defeated.
A Psalm of
David,
when he
was in the wilderness of Judah.
1
O Elohim, You
are my God;
I earnestly seek You;
my soul has thirsted for
You, my flesh has
longed for You,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2
I have gazed upon
You in the sanctuary,
to see Your power
and Your glory.
3
Because
Your lovingkindness
is better than life,
my lips praise You.
4
So I bless You
as long as I live.
In
Your Name I
lift up my hands.
5
My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
and
my mouth praises You with singing, joyful
lips.
6
When I remember
You on my bed,
I meditate on
You
through the watches of the night.
7
For You have been my help,
and in the shadow of
Your wings I sing
for joy.
8
My soul clings closely to You;
Your Right Hand
upholds me.
9
But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
will go into the lower parts of the earth.
10
They will be handed over to the power of the sword;
they will become food for foxes.
11
But the king rejoices in
Elohim!
Let everyone who swears by
Him exult,
for the mouths of those who speak lies are stopped.
r
PSALM 64
Guard Me From the Threats of Enemies
David
recounts the schemes of his enemies, but expresses confidence that
God will
deal with them, and that the righteous man will be glad in YHWH.
To the
Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1
Hear me, O God,
as I voice my complaint;
guard my life from fear of the enemy.
2
Hide me from the conspiracy of evil-doers,
from the commotion of the workers of wickedness,
3
who have sharpened their tongues like a swords.
They have aimed bitter words as their arrows,
4
to ambush and shoot the blameless.
They shoot him suddenly, and do not fear.
5
They encourage themselves in an evil purpose.
They talk of laying snares secretly;
they say, "Who will see them?"
6
They devise acts of injustice, saying,
"We have perfected a well searched out plan";
Indeed the inward part of man, and heart, are deep.
7
But God
will shoot them with an arrow;
suddenly they will be wounded.
8
They cause a man to stumble,
but their own
tongue is against them.
All who see them will flee away,
9
and all men will fear,
and declare the
work of God,
and shall wisely consider
what He has done.
10
The righteous rejoice in
YHWH,
and take refuge in
Him;
and all the upright in heart will praise Him.
r
PSALM 65
Elohim
Blesses the Earth
This is a
hymn of thanksgiving and praise.
God is
magnified as Redeemer, Creator and Provider.
To the
Chief Musician.
A Psalm of
David. A Song.
1
Let there be silence before You;
praise is in Zion,
O Elohim;
and to You
the vow will be fulfilled.
2
All men come to You,
the One who hears prayer.
3
Iniquities were mightier than I;
as for our transgressions,
You forgive and cover them.
4
How blessed and happy is the one whom
You choose,
and bring near to dwell in
Your courts.
We are satisfied with the goodness of
Your House,
Your holy temple.
5
By awesome deeds in righteousness You answer
us,
O God of our salvation -
You who are the
confidence of all the ends of the earth and distant seas;
6
who establishes the mountains by His strength,
being girded with might;
7
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the peoples.
8
They who live in the farthest parts stand in awe of
Your signs.
You cause the outgoings of morning and evening - the dawn and sunset -
to sing for joy.
9
You have visited the earth, and watered it;
You greatly enrich it.
The stream of God
is full of water.
You provide their grain, for so You prepare the earth.
10
Its ridges have been filled,
its furrows have been deepened;
You soften it with showers;
You
bless its growth.
11
You have crowned the year with
Your goodness,
and Your paths drop
fatness -
they overflow with abundance.
12
The pastures of the wilderness flourish,
and
You
clothe the hills with rejoicing.
13
The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are filled with corn;
they shout for joy, yes, they sing.
r
PSALM 66
Elohim
Has Heard My Prayer
The
psalmist celebrates the awesome works of God, and calls on the whole earth
to praise
Him. The Lord brought the nation into many trials, but He brought
also them
out into a place of abundance. Certainly God answers prayer!
To the
Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
1
Shout joyfully to
Elohim, all the
earth!
2 Sing
out to the splendour of His Name;
make His praise glorious.
3
Say to God,
'How awesome are
Your works!
Because of the greatness of
Your power,
Your enemies will feign submission to You.
4
'All the earth bows and worships
You;
they sing praises to
You;
they praise
Your Name.' Selah.
5
Come and see the
works of God;
such awesome
acts towards the sons of men.
6
He has turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in Him!
7
He rules by
His might forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations.
Let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah.
8
Bless our Elohim,
you peoples,
and let the sound of His praise be heard,
9
He who keeps our
soul in life,
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10
For You have proved us,
O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11
You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12
You made men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water,
yet You brought us out into
a place of
abundance.
13
I enter Your House
with burnt offerings;
I will pay my vows to
You
-
14
the vows which my lips uttered
and which my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15
I offer to You
burnt offerings of fat beasts,
with the incense of rams;
I offer a bull with male goats. Selah.
16
Come and hear, all you who fear
God,
and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17
I cried to Him with my mouth,
and
praised Him with my tongue.
18
If I had regarded wickedness in my heart,
the Sovereign Master
would not have listened.
19
But certainly
God has listened,
and has given heed to my voice in prayer.
20
Blessed be
God, who has not turned away my prayer,
nor
His lovingkindness
from me.
r
PSALM 67
Elohim
Blesses us so that
all the Ends of the Earth will stand in awe of Him
In this
psalm of thanksgiving, the writer prays for God’s blessing, so that
the
nations will know the salvation and justice of God, and stand in awe of Him.
To the
Chief Musician; with stringed instruments.
A Psalm. A
Song.
1
May
God
be merciful to us and bless us,
and make
His face to shine
upon us - Selah.
2
that Your way
may be known on the earth;
Your salvation
among all nations.
3
Let the peoples praise
You, O Elohim;
let all the peoples praise You.
4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
for You
judge the peoples justly,
and lead the nations on the earth. Selah.
5
Let the peoples praise
You, O Elohim;
let all the peoples praise You.
6
The earth has yielded her harvest;
Elohim, our God,
blesses us.
7
Elohim blesses us,
and all the ends of the earth will stand in awe of
Him.
r
PSALM 68
Elohim
is a God of Deliverances
In this
psalm of victory, David calls for God’s enemies to be scattered.
It praises
the ‘God of Deliverances,’ and celebrates His victorious march
from Egypt
to Jerusalem; and the procession into the Sanctuary
where the
Lord is majestic and awesome.
To the
Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1
God arises, His
enemies are scattered;
and those who hate Him flee before Him.
2
As smoke is driven away, so
You drive them
away;
as wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked perish at
the Presence of God.
3
But the righteous rejoice; they glory before
God;
and they are filled with gladness and joy.
4
Sing to God;
proclaim His
Name in song!
Extol Him who rides on the clouds -
(alternate reading - Raise up a highway for Him who rides through the deserts) -
His Name is YAH -
and rejoice before Him.
5
A Father of the fatherless and a Defender of widows,
is God in His holy
dwelling.
6
God makes a home for the lonely.
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7
O God, when
You went forth before Your people,
when You marched through the wilderness, Selah.
8
the earth shook; even the heavens dropped before
God;
Sinai itself shook before
God, the Elohim of Israel.
9
You poured out a plentiful rain,
O God;
You restored Your
inheritance when it was weary and
parched.
10
Your company of people and flocks dwelt in it;
You provided in
Your goodness for the poor,
O God.
11
The Sovereign Master
gives the command;
great was the company of women who proclaimed the
word:
12
"Kings of great armies flee, they flee away,
and she who remains at home divides the spoil!"
13
When you lie down among the sheepfolds,
you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and its feathers with yellow, glistening gold.
14
When the Almighty
scattered the kings there,
it was snowing in Zalmon.
15
A mountain of God is
the mountain of Bashan;
a mountain of peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16
Why do you gaze with envy, you mountains of many
peaks,
at
the mountain which God has desired to dwell in?
Yes, YHWH will dwell
there forever.
17 The
chariots of God are
myriads, thousands upon thousands;
Adonai is among them
as at Sinai, in the holy place.
18
You have ascended on high,
You have led captivity captive;
You have received gifts among men,
even
among the rebellious,
that
Yah Elohim may
dwell there.
19
Blessed be YHWH
Adonai, who daily bears our burden,
the God who
is our salvation.
20
God is to us a
God of deliverances;
and from YHWH
Adonai comes escape from death.
21
Indeed God will smite the head of His enemies,
the hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
22
Adonai said, "I
will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
23
that your foot may crush them in blood,
while the tongues of your dogs have their portion from your
enemies."
24
They have seen Your
goings, O God,
the processions of
my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25
The singers went in front, the musicians after
them;
and among them were maidens playing tambourines.
26
Bless God
in the assemblies,
bless
YHWH, from
the fountain of Israel.
27
There is Benjamin, the smallest, ruling them,
the princes of Judah in their company,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28
Your God has
commanded your strength! Be strong!
O God, this You
have worked out for us!
29
Because of Your
Temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring gifts to You.
30
Rebuke the beasts of the reeds,
the herd of bulls, with the calves of the peoples,
each one humbling himself with pieces of silver.
Scatter the peoples who delight in conflicts.
31
Envoys come out of Egypt;
Cush (Ethiopia) stretches out her hands to
God.
32
Sing to Elohim,
kingdoms of the earth;
Praise
YHWH
the Lord. Selah.
33
To Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old;
See, He sends out
His voice, a mighty voice.
34
Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over
Israel,
and His strength
is in the clouds.
35
O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself
gives strength and power to the people.
Blessed be
Elohim!
r
PSALM 69
Reproach Has Broken My Heart
In this
psalm David is in despair because of persecution.
He prays
for deliverance, and that God’s anger will overtake his adversaries.
He
concludes with a song of praise.
Much of
the psalm is a prophecy about the sufferings of the Messiah.
To the
Chief Musician. According to Shoshannim 'Lilies.'
A Psalm of
David.
1
Save me, O God,
for the waters have come over my soul.
2
I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no place
to stand;
I have come into deep waters, and a flood overwhelms me.
3
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
my eyes fail while I wait for
my God.
4
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the
hairs of my head.
They are mighty who would destroy me - my lying enemies!
What I did not steal, I am forced to restore.
5
O God, You Yourself
know my blunders and folly,
and my Prophecy and sins are not hidden from
You.
6
Let not those who wait for You be ashamed because of
me,
O Adonai YHWH of hosts.
Let not those who seek
You be dishonoured
through me, O God of Israel.
7
Because I have borne reproach for
Your sake;
shame has covered my face.
8
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
and an alien to my mother's sons,
9
^for zeal for Your
House has consumed me,^
[John 2:13-17]
and the reproaches of those who reproach You have
fallen on me.
10
And I weep in my soul with fasting,
for it has become my reproach.
11
When I make sackcloth my clothing,
I become a proverb and taunt to them.
12
Those who sit in the gate talk about me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
13
But as for me, my prayer is to
You, O YHWH,
at an acceptable time;
in the greatness of
Your lovingkindness,
O God,
answer me in the
truth of Your salvation.
14
Rescue me from the mire,
and do not let me sink;
let me be delivered from those who hate me,
and out of the deep waters.
15
Do not let a flood of waters engulf me,
or the deep to swallow me up;
do not let the pit shut its mouth on me.
16
Answer me, O YHWH,
for Your lovingkindness is good;
according to the
greatness of Your compassion,
turn to me,
17
and do not hide Your
Face from
Your servant,
for I am in distress; answer me quickly.
18
Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;
ransom me
because of my enemies!
19
You, yes
You know my
reproach
and my shame and my confusion;
all my adversaries are before You.
20
^Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so
sick.
I look for sympathy, but there is none;
and for comforters, but I find none.
21
They also give me gall for my food,
and for my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.^
[Matt 27:34,48]
22
Let their table before them become a snare,
and let their reward be a trap.
23
Let their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
and make their loins shake continually.
24
Pour out Your
wrath upon them,
and let
Your burning anger
overtake them.
25
Let their encampments be desolate;
Let no one dwell in their tents,
26
for they have persecuted him whom
You have smitten,
and talk of the pain of those
You have wounded.
27
Add iniquity to their iniquity,
and let them not enter into
Your righteousness.
28
Let them be blotted out of
the Book of Life,
and not be recorded along with the righteous.
29
But I am afflicted and in pain.
Let Your salvation,
O God, set me up on
high.
30
I praise the
Name of God with a song,
and I magnify
Him with
thanksgiving,
31
for this pleases
YHWH more than an ox
or a young bull with horns and hooves.
32
The humble have seen and they rejoice.
You who seek
God,
let your hearts
revive and live.
33
For YHWH
hears the needy,
and does not despise His captive people.
34
Let heavens and earth praise Him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35
For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
that they may dwell there and possess it.
36
And the descendants of
His servants will
inherit it,
and those who love
His Name
will dwell in it.
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PSALM 70
Elohim
My Help and Deliverer
This psalm
is an urgent prayer for help.
It is
basically identical to Psalm 40:13-17.
To the
Chief Musician. A Psalm of David for a memorial.
1
O Elohim,
hasten to deliver me;
come quickly to help me,
O YHWH!
2
Let those who seek my life be ashamed and put to
confusion.
Let those who are desiring my hurt be turned back and dishonored.
3
Let those who say,
'Aha, aha!',
be turned back because of their shame.
4
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
and let those who love
Your salvation
say continually,
'Elohim is magnified.'
5
But I am poor and needy; hasten to me,
O God!
You are my Help and
Deliverer;
O YHWH, do not
delay. r
PSALM 71
Prayer of an Old Man for
Deliverance
This psalm
by an aged writer, prays for deliverance,
expressing
confidence based on God’s life-long care for him.
God will
revive him again! He resolves to continue
praising
the Holy One of Israel with shouts of joy.
1
In You, O YHWH,
I have taken refuge;
let me never be ashamed.
2
In Your
righteousness deliver me,
and rescue me;
incline Your ear
to me, and save me.
3
Be a Rock
for me,
a habitation to
which I may continually resort.
You have given the command
to save me,
for You are my Rock
and my
Fortress.
4
Rescue me, O my
God, out of the hand of the wicked,
out of the grasp of the evil and ruthless man.
5
For You are my
Hope, my expectation;
O Adonai YHWH,
You are
my confidence from my youth.
6
By You
I have been sustained from my birth;
You
brought me forth from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of
You.
7
I have become a marvel to many,
for
You are my strong
Refuge.
8
My mouth is filled with
Your praise,
declaring
Your splendour all day long.
9
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10
For my enemies have spoken against me;
and those who lie in wait for my life have conspired together,
11
saying, 'God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.'
12
O God, do not be far
from me;
Come quickly, O my
God, to help me!
13
Let those who are adversaries of my life be ashamed
and consumed;
let those who are seeking to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14
But as for me, I always wait expectantly,
and will praise
You more and more.
15
My mouth tells of
Your righteousness
and Your
salvation all day long;
though I have not measured them.
16
I come in the
strength of Adonai YHWH;
I proclaim Your
righteousness - Yours alone.
17
O God, You have
taught me from my youth;
and to this day I declare
Your marvellous works.
18
And even when I am old and grey,
O God, do not
forsake me,
until I declare
Your strength to
this generation,
Your power to all
who are to come.
19
For Your
righteousness, O God, reaches
to the skies,
You who have done great things;
O God,
who is like You?
20
Though You have showed me many troubles and
distresses,
You restore and
revive me,
and You bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
21
You increase my greatness;
You surround and comfort me on every side.
22
Also with a lute I praise
You,
and Your truth,
O my God;
I sing to You with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel.
23
My lips shout for joy when I sing praises to
You;
and my soul, which
You have redeemed.
24
My tongue also tells of
Your righteousness
all day long;
for those seeking to harm me,
have been put to shame and confusion.
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PSALM 72
The Reign of the Messiah
In this messianic psalm, King Solomon
prays that his reign will be
characterised by righteousness, peace,
power, compassion and prosperity.
While the psalm refers to Solomon and his
son, it contains prophetic messianic passages that have their fulfilment in the
perfect King – Y’shua the Messiah.
Solomon’s exultation of Yahweh in verses
18-19, brings a glorious end
to this Second book of Psalms.
A Psalm of Solomon
1
O Elohim, give
the king Your
judgments,
and Your
righteousness to
the king's Son.
2
He will rule and judge
Your people with
righteousness,
and Your poor
with justice.
3
The mountains will bring
peace to the people,
and the hills, by
righteousness.
4
He will bring
justice to the afflicted of the people;
He will
save
the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5
They will fear You
while the sun and moon endure,
throughout all generations.
6
He will come down
like rain upon mown grass,
like showers,
watering the earth.
7
In His days the righteous will
flourish,
and
peace
will abound till the moon is no more.
8
He will rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9
The nomads of the desert will bow before him;
and
His enemies will lick the dust.
10
The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring
presents;
the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
11
All kings will bow down before Him,
and all nations will serve him.
12
For
He will deliver the
needy when he cries for help,
and the afflicted who has no helper.
13
He will have
compassion on the poor and needy,
and will
save
the lives of the needy.
14
He will redeem
their life from oppression and violence;
and their blood will be precious in His sight.
15
And He will live, and the gold of Sheba will be given
to Him.
Prayer also will be made for him continually,
and
He will be blessed all day long.
16
There will be
abundance of
corn in the earth,
on the top of the mountains;
its
fruit
will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;
and those of the city will thrive
like the herbs and grass of the earth.
17
His Name
will endure forever;
His Name
will continue as long as the sun;
and all people will be blessed in Him.
All nations will call Him blessed.
18
Blessed be YHWH
ELOHIM, the God of Israel,
who alone is doing wonders.
19
And blessed be
His glorious Name
forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with
His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The
prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
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END OF PSALMS BOOK TWO |
