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Tell the Coming Generation

A Maskil ^{1 78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term} of Asaph.

1  Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2  I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3  things that we have heard and known,
    that our fathers have told us.
4  We will not hide them from their children,
    but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
    and the wonders that he has done.

5  He established a testimony in Jacob
    and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
    to teach to their children,
6  that the next generation might know them,
    the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7      so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
    but keep his commandments;
8  and that they should not be like their fathers,
    a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
    whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9  The Ephraimites, armed with ^{2 78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting} the bow,
    turned back on the day of battle.
10  They did not keep God's covenant,
    but refused to walk according to his law.
11  They forgot his works
    and the wonders that he had shown them.
12  In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
    in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13  He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
    and made the waters stand like a heap.
14  In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
    and all the night with a fiery light.
15  He split rocks in the wilderness
    and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16  He made streams come out of the rock
    and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17  Yet they sinned still more against him,
    rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18  They tested God in their heart
    by demanding the food they craved.
19  They spoke against God, saying,
    “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20  He struck the rock so that water gushed out
    and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
    or provide meat for his people?”

21  Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
    a fire was kindled against Jacob;
    his anger rose against Israel,
22  because they did not believe in God
    and did not trust his saving power.
23  Yet he commanded the skies above
    and opened the doors of heaven,
24  and he rained down on them manna to eat
    and gave them the grain of heaven.
25  Man ate of the bread of the angels;
    he sent them food in abundance.
26  He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
    and by his power he led out the south wind;
27  he rained meat on them like dust,
    winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28  he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
    all around their dwellings.
29  And they ate and were well filled,
    for he gave them what they craved.
30  But before they had satisfied their craving,
    while the food was still in their mouths,
31  the anger of God rose against them,
    and he killed the strongest of them
    and laid low the young men of Israel.

32  In spite of all this, they still sinned;
    despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33  So he made their days vanish like ^{3 78:33 Hebrew in} a breath, ^{4 78:33 Or vapor}
    and their years in terror.
34  When he killed them, they sought him;
    they repented and sought God earnestly.
35  They remembered that God was their rock,
    the Most High God their redeemer.
36  But they flattered him with their mouths;
    they lied to him with their tongues.
37  Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
38  Yet he, being compassionate,
    atoned for their iniquity
    and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
    and did not stir up all his wrath.
39  He remembered that they were but flesh,
    a wind that passes and comes not again.
40  How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and grieved him in the desert!
41  They tested God again and again
    and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42  They did not remember his power ^{5 78:42 Hebrew hand}
    or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43  when he performed his signs in Egypt
    and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
44  He turned their rivers to blood,
    so that they could not drink of their streams.
45  He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
    and frogs, which destroyed them.
46  He gave their crops to the destroying locust
    and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47  He destroyed their vines with hail
    and their sycamores with frost.
48  He gave over their cattle to the hail
    and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49  He let loose on them his burning anger,
    wrath, indignation, and distress,
    a company of destroying angels.
50  He made a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death,
    but gave their lives over to the plague.
51  He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,
    the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52  Then he led out his people like sheep
    and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53  He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,
    but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54  And he brought them to his holy land,
    to the mountain which his right hand had won.
55  He drove out nations before them;
    he apportioned them for a possession
    and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

56  Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God
    and did not keep his testimonies,
57  but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
    they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58  For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
    they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59  When God heard, he was full of wrath,
    and he utterly rejected Israel.
60  He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
    the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61  and delivered his power to captivity,
    his glory to the hand of the foe.
62  He gave his people over to the sword
    and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63  Fire devoured their young men,
    and their young women had no marriage song.
64  Their priests fell by the sword,
    and their widows made no lamentation.
65  Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
    like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66  And he put his adversaries to rout;
    he put them to everlasting shame.

67  He rejected the tent of Joseph;
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68  but he chose the tribe of Judah,
    Mount Zion, which he loves.
69  He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
    like the earth, which he has founded forever.
70  He chose David his servant
    and took him from the sheepfolds;
71  from following the nursing ewes he brought him
    to shepherd Jacob his people,
    Israel his inheritance.
72  With upright heart he shepherded them
    and guided them with his skillful hand.

How Long, O LORD?

A Psalm of Asaph.

1  O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
    they have defiled your holy temple;
    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2  They have given the bodies of your servants
    to the birds of the heavens for food,
    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3  They have poured out their blood like water
    all around Jerusalem,
    and there was no one to bury them.
4  We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
    mocked and derided by those around us.

5  How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
    Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6  Pour out your anger on the nations
    that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
    that do not call upon your name!
7  For they have devoured Jacob
    and laid waste his habitation.

8  Do not remember against us our former iniquities; ^{6 79:8 Or the iniquities of former generations}
    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
    for we are brought very low.
9  Help us, O God of our salvation,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
    for your name's sake!
10  Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
    be known among the nations before our eyes!

11  Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
12  Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors
    the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13  But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will give thanks to you forever;
    from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

1  Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
2      Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
    and come to save us!

3  Restore us, ^{7 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19} O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

4  O LORD God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5  You have fed them with the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6  You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.

7  Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

8  You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
9  You cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
10  The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11  It sent out its branches to the sea
    and its shoots to the River. ^{8 80:11 That is, the Euphrates}
12  Why then have you broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13  The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.

14  Turn again, O God of hosts!
    Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15      the stock that your right hand planted,
    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16  They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
17  But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18  Then we shall not turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call upon your name!

19  Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
    Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. ^{9 81:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term} Of Asaph.

1  Sing aloud to God our strength;
    shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2  Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
    the sweet lyre with the harp.
3  Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our feast day.

4  For it is a statute for Israel,
    a rule ^{10 81:4 Or just decree} of the God of Jacob.
5  He made it a decree in Joseph
    when he went out over ^{11 81:5 Or against} the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known:
6  “I relieved your ^{12 81:6 Hebrew his; also next line} shoulder of the burden;
    your hands were freed from the basket.
7  In distress you called, and I delivered you;
    I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
    I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8  Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9  There shall be no strange god among you;
    you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10  I am the LORD your God,
    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11  But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel would not submit to me.
12  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels.
13  Oh, that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would walk in my ways!
14  I would soon subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes.
15  Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,
    and their fate would last forever.
16  But he would feed you ^{13 81:16 That is, Israel; Hebrew him} with the finest of the wheat,
    and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of Asaph.

1  God has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2  “How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3  Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4  Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5  They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    they walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6  I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
7  nevertheless, like men you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.” ^{14 82:7 Or fall as one man, O princes}

8  Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall inherit all the nations!

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1  O God, do not keep silence;
    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2  For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
3  They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
4  They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5  For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
6  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
7  Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8  Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah

9  Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10  who were destroyed at En-dor,
    who became dung for the ground.
11  Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12  who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

13  O my God, make them like whirling dust, ^{15 83:13 Or like a tumbleweed}
    like chaff before the wind.
14  As fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15  so may you pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
16  Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17  Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
18  that they may know that you alone,
    whose name is the LORD,
    are the Most High over all the earth.

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the LORD

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. ^{16 84:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term} A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1  How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O LORD of hosts!
2  My soul longs, yes, faints
    for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.

3  Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
    my King and my God.
4  Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever singing your praise! Selah

5  Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion. ^{17 84:5 Hebrew lacks to Zion}
6  As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
7  They go from strength to strength;
    each one appears before God in Zion.

8  O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9  Behold our shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!

10  For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
    the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.
12  O LORD of hosts,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you!