Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 15

Psalms 81 – 83

Through My Bible – June 15

Psalms 81 – 83 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Psalm 81

If Only

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For the choir director. According to gittith. [1] By Asaph.

Invitation to Worship

1Ā Sing a loud song to God, our strength.
Shout to the God of Jacob!
2Ā Begin the music, and play the hand drum.
Play the sweet-sounding lyre along with the harp.
3Ā Sound the ram’s horn at the new moon
and at the full moon for our festival day.
4Ā Yes, this is an order for Israel,
a regulation from the God of Jacob.
5Ā God established it as a testimony for Joseph
when he went out against the land of Egypt.
There I heard a language I did not know. [2]

A Warning From the Lord

6Ā The Lord says:
I relieved Israel’s shoulders from the burden.
His hands were set free from carrying buckets.
7Ā In distress you called and I rescued you.
I answered you from the hiding place of thunder. Interlude
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
8Ā Listen, my people, and I will warn you.
If only you would listen to me, Israel!
9Ā There shall be no foreign god among you!
You shall not bow down to a strange god.
10Ā 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.
11Ā But my people would not listen to my voice,
and Israel was not willing to obey me.
12Ā So I sent them off in the stubbornness of their hearts.
They walked according to their own plans.

13Ā If only my people would listen to me,
if only Israel would walk in my ways,
14Ā I would subdue their enemies quickly.
I would turn my hand against their foes.
15Ā Those who hate the Lord would cower before him,
and their time of punishment would last forever.
16Ā But he would feed Israel with the best wheat.
With honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

Psalm 82

Woe to Corrupt Rulers

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A psalm by Asaph.

Judgment on Corrupt Rulers

1Ā God is standing in the assembly of God.
In the midst of the gods [3] he renders judgment.

God’s Verdict

2Ā How long will you judge unjustly Interlude
and show favoritism to the wicked?
3Ā Judge in favor of the weak and the fatherless.
Acquit the oppressed and the poor.
4Ā Rescue the weak and the needy.
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5Ā They do not know. They do not understand.
They walk around in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6Ā I myself said, ā€œYou are ā€˜gods,’
and you are all ā€˜sons of the Most High.’
7Ā But you will die like men.
You will fall like any other ruler.ā€

Prayer

8Ā Rise up, O God. Judge the earth,
for you will take possession of all the nations.

Psalm 83

Surrounded by Enemies

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A song. A psalm by Asaph.

Opening Plea

1Ā God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, God.

A Catalog of Enemies

2Ā Look! Your enemies are in an uproar,
and those who hate you have raised their head.
3Ā Against your people they devise deceptive schemes,
and they plot together against the people you treasure.
4Ā They say, ā€œCome, let us wipe them out as a nation,
so the name of Israel will not be remembered anymore.ā€
5Ā Indeed, with one mind they plot together.
They form an alliance against you—
6Ā the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7Ā Gebal [4] and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the inhabitants of Tyre.
8Ā Even Ashshur has joined with them. Interlude
They have become the arm of the sons of Lot. [5]

Prayer for Destruction of the Enemies

9Ā Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the stream Kishon.
10Ā They perished at Endor.
They became like manure for the ground.
11Ā Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12Ā who said, ā€œLet us take possession of God’s pastures for ourselves.ā€
13Ā My God, make them like tumbleweed,
like chaff before the wind.
14Ā As fire burns the forest,
or as a flame sets the mountains on fire,
15Ā so pursue them with your violent wind,
and terrify them with your storm.
16Ā Fill their faces with shame
so that they will seek your name, O Lord.
17Ā May they be ashamed and terrified forever.
May they be disgraced and perish.
18Ā Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord,
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:1 Gittith means in the style of Gath. It may refer to music associated with one of the cities of that name or with a winepress.
  2. Psalm 81:5 Or I heard a voice I did not know. This would refer to the voice of God, who speaks in the next section. In verse 6 the identification of the speaker, the Lord says, has been added for clarity.
  3. Psalm 82:1 The term gods, which in Hebrew refers to mighty ones, may refer to heathen gods (which really are demons) or occasionally to angels or to rulers, who act as God’s representatives. Verses 6 and 7 suggest that in this psalm it is the last of these options. Jesus makes use of this interpretation of this psalm in John 10:34.
  4. Psalm 83:7 Also called Byblos
  5. Psalm 83:8 The Moabites and Ammonites

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage VersionĀ®, EHVĀ®, Ā© 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.