Psalm 28-30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 28[a]
Petition and Thanksgiving
1 Of David.
I
To you, Lord, I call;
my Rock, do not be deaf to me,(A)
Do not be silent toward me,
so that I join those who go down to the pit.(B)
2 Hear the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help
when I lift up my hands toward your holy place.[b](C)
3 Do not drag me off with the wicked,
with those who do wrong,(D)
Who speak peace to their neighbors
though evil is in their hearts.(E)
4 Repay them for their deeds,
for the evil that they do.
For the work of their hands repay them;
give them what they deserve.(F)
5 Because they do not understand the Lord’s works,
the work of his hands,(G)
He will tear them down,
never to rebuild them.
II
6 [c]Blessed be the Lord,
who has heard the sound of my pleading.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield,
in whom my heart trusts.
I am helped, so my heart rejoices;
with my song I praise him.
III
8 [d]Lord, you are a strength for your people,
the saving refuge of your anointed.
9 Save your people, bless your inheritance;
pasture and carry them forever!
Psalm 29[e]
The Lord of Majesty Acclaimed as King of the World
1 A psalm of David.
I
Give to the Lord, you sons of God,[f]
give to the Lord glory and might;
2 Give to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bow down before the Lord’s holy splendor!(H)
II
3 The voice of the Lord[g] is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is power;
the voice of the Lord is splendor.(I)
5 The voice of the Lord cracks the cedars;
the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon,
6 Makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
and Sirion[h] like a young bull.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes with fiery flame;
8 the voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh.
9 [i]The voice of the Lord makes the deer dance
and strips the forests bare.
All in his Temple say, “Glory!”
III
10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood
The Lord reigns as king forever!
11 May the Lord give might to his people;[k]
may the Lord bless his people with peace!(K)
Psalm 30[l]
Thanksgiving for Deliverance
1 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple.[m] Of David.
I
2 I praise you, Lord, for you raised me up
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3 O Lord, my God,
I cried out to you for help and you healed[n] me.
4 Lord, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
you let me live, from going down to the pit.[o](L)
II
5 Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful;
give thanks to his holy memory.
6 For his anger lasts but a moment;
his favor a lifetime.
At dusk weeping comes for the night;
but at dawn there is rejoicing.
III
7 Complacent,[p] I once said,
“I shall never be shaken.”
8 Lord, you showed me favor,
established for me mountains of virtue.
But when you hid your face
I was struck with terror.(M)
9 To you, Lord, I cried out;
with the Lord I pleaded for mercy:
10 [q]“What gain is there from my lifeblood,
from my going down to the grave?
Does dust give you thanks
or declare your faithfulness?
11 Hear, O Lord, have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper.”
IV
12 You changed my mourning into dancing;
you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness.(N)
13 So that my glory may praise you
and not be silent.
O Lord, my God,
forever will I give you thanks.
Footnotes
- Psalm 28 A lament asking that the psalmist, who has taken refuge in the Temple (Ps 28:2), not be punished with the wicked, who are headed inevitably toward destruction (Ps 28:1, 3–5). The statement of praise is exceptionally lengthy and vigorous (Ps 28:6–7). The Psalm ends with a prayer (Ps 28:8–9).
- 28:2 Your holy place: the innermost part of the Temple, the holy of holies, containing the ark, cf. 1 Kgs 6:16, 19–23; 8:6–8.
- 28:6 The psalmist shifts to fervent thanksgiving, probably responding to a priestly or prophetic oracle in Ps 28:5cd (not usually transmitted) assuring the worshiper that the prayer has been heard.
- 28:8 Your people…your anointed: salvation is more than individual, affecting all the people and their God-given leader.
- Psalm 29 The hymn invites the members of the heavenly court to acknowledge God’s supremacy by ascribing glory and might to God alone (Ps 29:1–2a, 9b). Divine glory and might are dramatically visible in the storm (Ps 29:3–9a). The storm apparently comes from the Mediterranean onto the coast of Syria-Palestine and then moves inland. In Ps 29:10 the divine beings acclaim God’s eternal kingship. The Psalm concludes with a prayer that God will impart the power just displayed to the Israelite king and through the king to Israel.
- 29:1 Sons of God: members of the heavenly court who served Israel’s God in a variety of capacities.
- 29:3 The voice of the Lord: the sevenfold repetition of the phrase imitates the sound of crashing thunder and may allude to God’s primordial slaying of Leviathan, the seven-headed sea monster of Canaanite mythology.
- 29:6 Sirion: the Phoenician name for Mount Hermon, cf. Dt 3:9.
- 29:9b–10 Having witnessed God’s supreme power (Ps 29:3–9a), the gods acknowledge the glory that befits the king of the divine and human world.
- 29:10 The flood: God defeated the primordial waters and made them part of the universe, cf. Ps 89:10–13; 93:3–4.
- 29:11 His people: God’s people, Israel.
- Psalm 30 An individual thanksgiving in four parts: praise and thanks for deliverance and restoration (Ps 30:2–4); an invitation to others to join in (Ps 30:5–6); a flashback to the time before deliverance (Ps 30:7–11); a return to praise and thanks (Ps 30:12). Two sets of images recur: 1) going down, death, silence; 2) coming up, life, praising. God has delivered the psalmist from one state to the other.
- 30:1 For the dedication of the Temple: a later adaptation of the Psalm to celebrate the purification of the Temple in 164 B.C. during the Maccabean Revolt.
- 30:3 Healed: for God as healer, see also Ps 103:3; 107:20; Hos 6:1; 7:1; 11:3; 14:5.
- 30:4 Sheol…pit: the shadowy underworld residence of the spirits of the dead, here a metaphor for near-death.
- 30:7 Complacent: untroubled existence is often seen as a source of temptation to forget God, cf. Dt 8:10–18; Hos 13:6; Prv 30:9.
- 30:10 In the stillness of Sheol no one gives you praise; let me live and be among your worshipers, cf. Ps 6:6; 88:11–13; 115:17; Is 38:18.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.