Along The Way (May 5th - 11th)
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May 5th
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Psalm 76 & 77
Israel’s God—Judge of All the Earth
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains. The courageous were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; none of the troops was able to lift a hand. At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.
But you indeed are awesome! Who can stand before you when your anger is roused? From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth.
Human wrath serves only to praise you, when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you. Make vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all who are around him bring gifts to the one who is awesome, who cuts off the spirit of princes, who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
God’s Mighty Deeds Recalled
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints.
You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old and remember the years of long ago. I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit: “Will the Lord spurn forever and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love ceased forever? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work and muse on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have displayed your might among the peoples. With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
When the waters saw you, O God when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea and the mighty waters, yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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Psalm 76 was probably written as a song of praise following an important victory for Israel over an invading enemy. The Psalm is a celebration of God's sovereign protection. One of the main themes of Psalm 76 is that God will get glory both from His people's deliverance and those who oppose God. God is eternal and has eternal power to match His word. He made heaven and earth and can unmake them. He has the highest throne, the richest crown, and the largest dominion.
Psalm 77 is an example from Scripture of God's people asking Him, “Why?” – Why do we suffer? Why does God not come to our aid when we are faced with adversity? Why did God allow this terrible thing to happen? – has God neglected His responsibilities in our covenantal relationship with Him? The main theme of the Psalm is perplexity about the mercy and goodness of God.
May 6th
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Psalm 78:1-33
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude
A Maskil of Asaph.
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might and the wonders that he has done.
He established a decree in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle. They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to walk according to his law. They forgot what he had done and the miracles that he had shown them. In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it and made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all night long with a fiery light. He split rocks open in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”
Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger mounted against Israel, because they had no faith in God and did not trust his saving power. Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven; he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance. He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; he let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings. And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths, the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the flower of Israel.
In spite of all this they still sinned; they did not believe in his wonders. So he made their days vanish like a breath and their years in terror.
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The main message of Psalm 78 is that we must remember God's mercy and faithfulness. The temptation is to forget, which leads to doubt, which turns to unbelief and rebellion. If we are going to remain faithful to God, especially in difficult times, it is important that we remember who God is and all that He has done on our behalf.
May 7th
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Psalm 78:34-72
When he killed them, they searched for him; they repented and sought God earnestly. They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger and did not stir up all his wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not come again. How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not keep in mind his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe, when he displayed his signs in Egypt and his miracles in the fields of Zoan. He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams. He sent among them swarms of flies that devoured them and frogs that destroyed them. He gave their crops to the caterpillar and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost. He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts. He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels. He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave their lives over to the plague. He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham. Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them in safety so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And he brought them to his holy hill, to the mountain that his right hand had won. He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
Yet they tested the Most High God and rebelled against him. They did not observe his decrees but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors; they twisted like a treacherous bow. For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols. When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel. He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mortals, and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe. He gave his people to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage. Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior shouting because of wine. He put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting disgrace.
He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves. He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever. He chose his servant David and took him from the sheepfolds; from tending the nursing ewes he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel, his inheritance. With upright heart he tended them and guided them with skillful hand.
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The main message of Psalm 78 is that we must remember God's mercy and faithfulness. The temptation is to forget, which leads to doubt, which turns to unbelief and rebellion. If we are going to remain faithful to God, especially in difficult times, it is important that we remember who God is and all that He has done on our behalf.
May 8th
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Psalm 79 & 80
Plea for Mercy for Jerusalem
A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire? Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you and on the kingdoms that do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.
Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake. 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.
Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die. Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord! Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River. Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted. It has been burned with fire; it has been cut down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
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Psalm 79 is a communal lament complaining that the nations have defiled the Temple in Jerusalem and murdered the holy people, leaving their corpses unburied. The Psalm emphasizes the plight of the people rather than the destruction of the Temple.
Psalm 80 is a prayer to the Shepherd of Israel. This Psalm is a communal lament about the Babylonian captivity and calls on God to remember His former election of Israel.
May 9th
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Psalm 81 & 82
God’s Appeal to Stubborn Israel
To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.
Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our festal day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. He made it a decree in Joseph, when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a voice I had not known: “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I rescued you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 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.
“But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! Then I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their doom would last forever. I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
A Plea for Justice
A Psalm of Asaph.
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
They have neither knowledge nor understanding; they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals and fall like any prince.”
Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you!
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Psalm 81 is a song of deliverance. The Psalm begins like a hymn but moves to a long oracle of exhortation from God. The Psalm may have been sung at Passover or at the Feast of Tabernacles which was celebrated from the fifteenth of the month at full moon.
Psalm 82 is an oracle where God accuses the “gods” of having misgoverned the world. The identity of these “gods” is hard to determine and can be interpreted as spiritual powers that rule the world and others as human judges. Probably human powers are treated as the earthly counterparts to spiritual forces. God has determined to judge the powers and rulers who maintain a world system of oppression and injustice.
May 10th
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Psalm 83 & 84
Prayer for Judgment on Israel’s Foes
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, do not keep silent; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! Even now your enemies are in tumult; those who hate you have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against those you protect. They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more.” They conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant — the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.
Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon, who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take the pastures of God for our own possession.”
O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane. Fill their faces with shame, so that they may seek your name, O Lord. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace. Let them know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.
The Joy of Worship in the Temple
To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
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. Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.
Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed.
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 live in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
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Psalm 83 is a cry for judgment and is not a mere cry for vengeance. Rather it is a plea for the righteous God to demonstrate His sovereignty by defending His chosen people.
Psalm 84 is a processional hymn. The Psalmist celebrates the joy of worship in God’s house. Also, the mention of the “Valley of Baca” in the Psalm was apparently along the path the worshipers took to the Temple.
May 11th
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Psalm 85 – 87
Prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favor
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and will make a path for his steps.
Supplication for Help against Enemies
A Prayer of David.
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication. In the day of my trouble I call on you, for you will answer me.
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
O God, the insolent rise up against me; a band of ruffians seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of your maidservant. Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame, because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
The Joy of Living in Zion
Of the Korahites. A Psalm. A Song.
On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; Philistia, too, and Tyre, with Cush — “This one was born there,” they say.
And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in it,” for the Most High himself will establish it. The Lord records, as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.”
Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
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Psalm 85 is a communal lament. The problem the people faced is unclear. However, they prayed in an optimistic way, sure of God’s help as they believed God’s love was unfailing.
Psalm 86 is an individual lament where the Psalmist based his appeal on the kindness and the universal power of God.
Psalm 87 is an oracle where God has determined to bring even the Gentiles into His kingdom. Also, the mention of “This one was born in Zion” means that the Gentile has been adopted into the covenant.