16" With the finest of the wheat I would have fed them, "And with honey out of the rock would I have sat isfied them.' V. 7. Meribah, i. e. of Contention. PSALM LXXXII. Against unjust Jewish magistrates; or, against tyrannical foreign kings, who oppressed the Jewish nation. A psalm of Asaph. GOD standeth in his holy assembly, He judgeth in the midst of the gods. 2 "How long will ye judge unjustly, "And favor the cause of the wicked? 3 Defend the poor, and the fatherless; "Do justice to the wretched and the needy! 4 "Deliver the poor and destitute, "Save them from the hand of the wicked! 5They are without knowledge and without under 6 "I have said, Ye are gods, "And all of you children of the Most High; 7 "But shall die like men, 8 ye "And fall like the rest of the princes." Arise, O God, judge the earth! For all the nations are thy possession. V. 1. Holy assembly, i. e. either, amid the heavenly host; or, amid his pe culiar people Israel. Gods, i. e. angels, or kings, as in v. 6. PSALM LXXXIII. Prayer for aid against the enemies of the Jewish nation; commonly supposed to have been composed in the days of Jehoshaphat, when a combination of the neighbouring kings was formed against Judah. 1 A psalm of Asaph. O GOD, keep not silence! Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God! 2 For lo! thine enemies begin to rage, And they, who hate thee, lift up their heads. 3 For they form secret plots against thy people, And consult together against thy chosen ones. 4 "Come," say they, "let us blot them out from the number of the nations, "That the name of Israel may no more be remembered! 5 With one consent they consult together, Against thee do they form a league ; 6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites s; Of Moab and the Hagarenes; 7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; The Philistines, with the inhabitants of Tyre. 8 The Assyrians also are joined with them; They lend their strength to the children of Lot. 9 Do to them as to the Midianites, As to Sisera, as to Jabin at the brook Kison, 10 Who perished at Endor, And were trampled like dung to the earth. 11 Make their chiefs like Oreb and Zeeb; Yea, all their princes as Zeba and Zalmunna! 12 Who said, "Let us seize on God's habitations! 13 Make them, O my God, like whirling chaff, Like stubble before the wind! 14 As fire consumeth the forest, And as flame setteth the mountains in a blaze, 15 So pursue them with thy tempest, And terrify them with thy storm! 16 Cover their faces with shame, That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah! 17 Let them be confounded! Yea, let them be put to shame, and perish! 18 That they may know that thy name alone is Jehovah; That thou art the most high over all the earth. PSALM LXXXIV. Aspirations after the worship of God in the sanctuary. They, who suppose the psalm to have been composed by or for David, refer it to the time of his exile, caused by the rebellion of Absalom. But it is more probable that it was written after the completion of the temple. For the leader of the music. On the Gittith. A psalm of the sons of Korah. 1 How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longeth, yea, fainteth for the courts of Jeho vah ; My heart and my flesh cry aloud for the living God. 3 The very sparrow finds an abode, And the swallow a nest, where they may lay their young, By thine altars, O Lord of hosts, My king and my God! 4 Happy they, who dwell in thy house; Who are continually praising thee! 5 Happy the man, whose glory is in thee; In whose heart are the ways of Zion! 6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a fountain, And the early rain covereth it with blessings. 7 They go on from strength to strength, 8 Until they appear before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, O Lord of hosts, Give ear, O God of Jacob! 9 Look down, O God, our shield, And behold the face of thine anointed! 10 For a day spent in thy courts is better than a thou sand; I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of God, Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord Jehovah is a sun and a shield; Jehovah giveth grace and glory; No good thing doth he withhold 12 O Lord of hosts, Happy the man, who trusteth in thee! V. 5. In whose heart are the ways of Zion, i. e. who takes delight in going to the sanctuary for the purpose of worship.-V. 6. Of Baca, i. e. of weeping. The meaning is, that however parched and barren may be the desert through which they pass, they, through their piety and the blessing of God, shall find abundant refreshment. In the most calamitous circumstances the favor of God is their never-failing refuge and support. PSALM LXXXV. A prayer for the establishment and prosperity of the Jewish nation after their return from captivity. For the leader of the music. A psalm of the sons of Ko rah. 1 O LORD, thou hast been favorable to thy land; 3 Thou didst take away all thy displeasure, 4 Restore us, O God, our saviour, And let thine anger towards us cease! 5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou continue thy wrath from generation to gen eration? 6 Wilt thou not revive us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee? 7 Show us thy compassion, O Jehovah, And grant us thy powerful aid! 8 I will hear what God Jehovah saith; Truly he speaketh peace to his people, and to his servants, Only let them not turn again to folly! 9 Yea, his aid is near to them that fear him, That glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth shall meet together, Righteousness and peace shall kiss each other; 11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; Righteousness shall look down from heaven. |