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God’s Goodness and Israel’s Waywardness.

To the Chief Musician; set to the [a]Philistine lute. A Psalm of Asaph.

81 Sing aloud to God our strength;
Shout for joy to the God of Jacob (Israel).

Raise a song, sound the timbrel,
The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.

Blow the trumpet at the New Moon,
At the [b]full moon, on our feast day.

For this is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

He established it for a testimony in [c]Joseph
When He went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard the language [of One whom] I did not know, saying,


“I removed the burden from his shoulder;
His hands were freed from the basket.

“You called in [the time of] trouble and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.(A) Selah.

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you—
O Israel, if you would listen to Me!

“Let there be no strange god among you,
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10 
“I am the Lord your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

11 
“But My people would not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not [consent to] obey Me.
12 
“So I gave them up to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in [the path of] their own counsel.(B)
13 
“Oh, that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
14 
“Then I would quickly subdue and humble their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries;
15 
Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him and cringe before Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
16 
“But I would feed Israel with the finest of the wheat;
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:1 A technical musical term, meaning uncertain.
  2. Psalm 81:3 Or New Moon, lit covering, i.e. when the moon is “covered” or hidden. This was taken by the ancient rabbis to refer to the festival of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana).
  3. Psalm 81:5 Curiously, in this one verse Joseph’s name has an extra letter, an “h.” In an example of rabbinic lore, the ancient rabbis said that because Joseph sanctified the divine name in private (by resisting Potiphar’s wife) he merited having one letter of the divine name (Yahweh) added to his. Another rabbinic explanation is that when Pharaoh was about to elevate Joseph to power, the astrologers demanded that Joseph speak the 70 languages of the world. The angel Gabriel came to teach him, but Joseph was unable until Gabriel added to his name the extra letter from the divine name.

Psalm 81[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] Of Asaph.

Sing for joy to God our strength;
    shout aloud to the God of Jacob!(A)
Begin the music, strike the timbrel,(B)
    play the melodious harp(C) and lyre.(D)

Sound the ram’s horn(E) at the New Moon,(F)
    and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
this is a decree for Israel,
    an ordinance of the God of Jacob.(G)
When God went out against Egypt,(H)
    he established it as a statute for Joseph.

I heard an unknown voice say:(I)

“I removed the burden(J) from their shoulders;(K)
    their hands were set free from the basket.
In your distress you called(L) and I rescued you,
    I answered(M) you out of a thundercloud;
    I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[c](N)
Hear me, my people,(O) and I will warn you—
    if you would only listen to me, Israel!
You shall have no foreign god(P) among you;
    you shall not worship any god other than me.
10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of Egypt.(Q)
Open(R) wide your mouth and I will fill(S) it.

11 “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.(T)
12 So I gave them over(U) to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me,(V)
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue(W) their enemies
    and turn my hand against(X) their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe(Y) before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;(Z)
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:1 In Hebrew texts 81:1-16 is numbered 81:2-17.
  2. Psalm 81:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  3. Psalm 81:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

A Petition to Be Saved from Death.

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician; set to chant mournfully. A didactic or reflective poem of Heman the Ezrahite.

88 O Lord, the God of my salvation,
I have cried out [for help] by day and in the night before You.(A)

Let my prayer come before You and enter into Your presence;
Incline Your ear to my cry!

For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near the grave (Sheol, the place of the dead).

I am counted among those who go down to the pit (grave);
I am like a man who has no strength [a mere shadow],

[a]Cast away [from the living] and abandoned among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in a [nameless] grave,
Whom You no longer remember,
And they are cut off from Your hand.

You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In dark places, in the depths.

Your wrath has rested heavily upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.(B) Selah.

You have put my friends far from me;
You have made me an [b]object of loathing to them.
I am shut up and I cannot go out.

My eye grows dim with sorrow.
O Lord, I have called on You every day;
I have spread out my hands to You [in prayer].

10 
Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Shall the departed spirits arise and praise You? Selah.
11 
Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave
Or Your faithfulness in Abaddon (the underworld)?
12 
Will Your wonders be known in the darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness [where the dead forget and are forgotten]?

13 
But I have cried out to You, O Lord, for help;
And in the morning my prayer will come to You.
14 
O Lord, why do You reject me?
Why do You hide Your face from me?(C)
15 
I was afflicted and close to death from my youth on;
I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome.
16 
Your fierce wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 
They have surrounded me like flood waters all day long;
They have completely encompassed me.
18 
Lover and friend You have placed far from me;
My familiar friends are in darkness.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 88:5 Lit Set free. The ancient rabbis understood this to mean that once a man is dead, he is free from all religious duties.
  2. Psalm 88:8 Lit abomination to them.

Psalm 88[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.

Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
    day and night I cry out(B) to you.
May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
    and my life draws near to death.(D)
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
    I am like one without strength.(F)
I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off(G) from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.(H)
Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
    my eyes(N) are dim with grief.

I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
    in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
    and hide your face(W) from me?

15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
    your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
  2. Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
  3. Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  4. Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
  5. Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon

Praise for the Lord’s Goodness.

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.

92 It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord,
To sing praises to Your name, O Most High,

To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,

With an instrument of ten strings and with the harp,
With a solemn sound on the lyre.

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works;
At the works of Your hands I joyfully sing.


How great are Your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding].

A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing,
Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:

That though the wicked sprout up like grass
And all evildoers flourish,
They will be destroyed forever.

But You, Lord, are on high forever.

For behold, Your enemies, O Lord,
For behold, Your enemies will perish;
All who do evil will be scattered.

10 
But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox;
I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service].
11 
My eye has looked on my foes;
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 
The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful];
They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable].
13 
Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 
[Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age;
They will flourish and be [a]vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment];
15 
[They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises];
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.(A)

The Majesty of the Lord.

93 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor;
The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength;
the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.

Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.


The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their pounding waves.

More than the sounds of many waters,
More than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord on high is mighty.

Your precepts are fully confirmed and completely reliable;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O Lord, forever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 92:14 Lit fat and very green.

Psalm 92[a]

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music(A) to your name,(B) O Most High,(C)
proclaiming your love in the morning(D)
    and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre(E)
    and the melody of the harp.(F)

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy(G) at what your hands have done.(H)
How great are your works,(I) Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!(J)
Senseless people(K) do not know,
    fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.(L)

But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

For surely your enemies(M), Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.(N)
10 You have exalted my horn[b](O) like that of a wild ox;(P)
    fine oils(Q) have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.(R)

12 The righteous will flourish(S) like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;(T)
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.(U)
14 They will still bear fruit(V) in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.(W)

Psalm 93

The Lord reigns,(X) he is robed in majesty;(Y)
    the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;(Z)
    indeed, the world is established,(AA) firm and secure.(AB)
Your throne was established(AC) long ago;
    you are from all eternity.(AD)

The seas(AE) have lifted up, Lord,
    the seas have lifted up their voice;(AF)
    the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.(AG)
Mightier than the thunder(AH) of the great waters,
    mightier than the breakers(AI) of the sea—
    the Lord on high is mighty.(AJ)

Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
    holiness(AK) adorns your house(AL)
    for endless days.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 92:1 In Hebrew texts 92:1-15 is numbered 92:2-16.
  2. Psalm 92:10 Horn here symbolizes strength.