Psalm 87 – “Praise for Zion”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist praises Zion.

II. Photo
Zion is the city for all people: “Indeed, it shall be said of Zion, ‘Every man was born there!’” (v. 5)

III. Select Verses
(the entire psalm)
1b-2: The LORD loves the gates of Zion, His foundation on the holy mountains, more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.
4-7: I mention Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge Me; Philistia, and Tyre, and Cush — each was born there. Indeed, it shall be said of Zion, “Every man was born there.” He, the Most High, will preserve it. The LORD will inscribe in the register of peoples that each was born there. Selah. Singers and dancers alike [will say]: “All my roots are in You.”

IV. Outline
1a. Superscription
1b-7. Praise/wish for Zion

V. Comment
Tate provides a fitting introduction to this short psalm: “Generally, Psalm 87 is a poem which praises Zion as the city of God and the center of life, eventually at least, for all peoples. This short psalm is, however, full of difficulties, and its exact reading and meaning are uncertain.” (387)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Tate, Marvin. “Psalms 51-100” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 20 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1990).
Photo copied from http://www.idividi.com.mk/zabava/Zanimlivosti/695662/index.html

Psalm 86 – “Petition”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist praises God and asks to be saved from his enemies.

II. Photo
The psalmist asks for strength: “Grant your strength to your servant and deliver the son of your maidservant!” (v. 16b)

III. Select Verses
2-5: Preserve my life, for I am steadfast; O You, my God, deliver Your servant who trusts in You. Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I call to You all day long; bring joy to Your servant’s life, for on You, LORD, I set my hope. For You, LORD, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on You.
8-10: There is none like You among the gods, O LORD, and there are no deeds like Yours. All the nations You have made will come to bow down before You, O LORD, and they will pay honor to Your name. For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.
11-12: Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; let my heart be undivided in reverence for Your name. I will praise You, O LORD, my God, with all my heart and pay honor to Your name forever.
14: O God, arrogant men have risen against me; a band of ruthless men seek my life; they are not mindful of You.
16-17: Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant Your strength to Your servant and deliver the son of Your maidservant. Show me a sign of Your favor, that my enemies may see and be frustrated because You, O LORD, have given me aid and comfort.

IV. Outline
1a. Superscription
1b-7. Invocation, petitions
8-10. Hymnic praise/wish/rationale
11a. Theophoric petition
11b-12. Vow to obey/praise
13. Rationale = account of past salvation
14. Complaint
15. Affirmation of confidence
16-17. Petition, imprecation

V. Comment
Psalm 86, which belongs to the petition/complaint genre, exhibits a great degree of righteousness: “I am righteous, I trust in you” (v. 2), “I call to you all day” (v. 3), “bring joy to Your servant’s life, for on You, Lord, I set my hope” (v. 4), “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; let my heart be undivided in reverence for Your name,” (v. 11) etc. The phrase “But You, O Lord, are a God compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” in v. 15 appears in similar forms throughout the Bible:

Ex. 34:6 – The LORD passed before him and proclaimed: “The LORD! the LORD! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness,
Num. 14:18 – ‘The LORD! slow to anger and abounding in kindness; forgiving iniquity and transgression; yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children, upon the third and fourth generations.’
Neh. 9:17 – Refusing to obey, unmindful of Your wonders that You did for them, they stiffened their necks, and in their defiance resolved to return to their slavery. But You, being a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, long-suffering and abounding in faithfulness, did not abandon them.
Psa. 103:8 – The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.
Psa. 145:8 – The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Jonah 4:2 – He prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD! Isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment.

Gerstenberger notes that the relative stability of this phrase might indicate its liturgical use.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Tate, Marvin. “Psalms 51-100” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 20 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1990).
Photo copied from http://www.typefreediabetes.com/v/vspfiles/templates/TypeFree/images/fotosearch_hom025.jpg

Psalm 85 – “Petition”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist recalls God’s kindness and asks him to revive the people.

II. Photo
Truth and justice unite: “Truth springs up from the earth; justice looks down from heaven.” (v. 12)

III. Select Verses
2-4: O LORD, You will favor Your land, restore Jacob’s fortune; You will forgive Your people’s iniquity, pardon all their sins; Selah. You will withdraw all Your anger, turn away from Your rage.
6: Will You be angry with us forever, prolong Your wrath for all generations?
9: Let me hear what God, the LORD, will speak; He will promise well-being to His people, His faithful ones; may they not turn to folly.
11-14: Faithfulness and truth meet; justice and well-being kiss. Truth springs up from the earth; justice looks down from heaven. The LORD also bestows His bounty; our land yields its produce. Justice goes before Him as He sets out on His way.

IV. Outline
1. Superscription
2-4. Account of salvation
5-8. Petition, rationale
9. Wish
10-14. Hymnic sermon/wish

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

Psalm 84 – “Zion Song”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist praises Zion, blesses its people, and asks God for his consideration.

II. Photo
The psalmist praises Zion: “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself in which to set her young, near your altar, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God.” (v. 4)

III. Select Verses
3: I long, I yearn for the courts of the LORD; my body and soul shout for joy to the living God.
4-5: Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself in which to set her young, near Your altar, O LORD of hosts, my king and my God. Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they forever praise You. Selah.
6-8: Happy is the man who finds refuge in You, whose mind is on the [pilgrim] highways. They pass through the Valley of Baca, regarding it as a place of springs, as if the early rain had covered it with blessing. They go from rampart to rampart, appearing before God in Zion.
10: O God, behold our shield, look upon the face of Your anointed.
11: Better one day in Your courts than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather stand at the threshold of God’s house than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
13: O LORD of hosts, happy is the man who trusts in You.

IV. Outline
1. Superscription
2-4. Invocation, praise of Zion
5-8. Blessing/guarantee
9. Initial petition
10. Petition
11-12a. Rationale = praise/commitment
12b-13. Blessing/guarantee

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

Psalm 83 – “Hostile Petition”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist describes God’s enemies and asks him to destroy them.

II. Photo
The psalmist petitions God: “Deal with them as You did with Midian, with Sisera, with Jabin, at the brook Kishon — who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the field.” (vv. 10-11)

III. Select Verses
2-9: O God, do not be silent; do not hold aloof; do not be quiet, O God! For Your enemies rage, Your foes assert themselves. They plot craftily against Your people, take counsel against Your treasured ones. They say, “Let us wipe them out as a nation; Israel’s name will be mentioned no more.” Unanimous in their counsel they have made an alliance against You — the clans of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria too joins forces with them; they give support to the sons of Lot. Selah.
10-12: Deal with them as You did with Midian, with Sisera, with Jabin, at the brook Kishon — who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the field.
17-18: Cover their faces with shame so that they seek Your name, O LORD. May they be frustrated and terrified, disgraced and doomed forever.
19: May they know that Your name, Yours alone, is the LORD, supreme over all the earth.

IV. Outline
1. Superscription
2. Invocation, introductory petition
3-9. Rationale/complaint
10-17a. Petition/imprecation
17b. Anticipated praise
18. Imprecation
19. Anticipated praise

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Tate, Marvin. “Psalms 51-100” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 20 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1990).
Photo copied from http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/Toilet%20paper%20rolls.jpg

Psalm 82 – “Oracle/Petition”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God censures the assembly of gods and the psalmist asks God to judge the earth.

II. Photo
God judges the gods: “I had taken you for divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince.” (vv. 6-7)

III. Select Verses
1b: God stands in the divine assembly; among the divine beings He pronounces judgment.
2-4: How long will you judge perversely, showing favor to the wicked? Selah. Judge the wretched and the orphan, vindicate the lowly and the poor, rescue the wretched and the needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.
6-7: I had taken you for divine beings, sons of the Most High, all of you; but you shall die as men do, fall like any prince.
8: Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your possession.

IV. Outline

1a. Superscription
1b. Description/praise of God
2-7. Oracle
    2. Accusation of other gods
    3-4. Command to other gods
    5. Description/disparagement
    6-7. Realization = sentence
8. Petition

V. Comment
Psalm 82, which describes God standing among the other gods, has generated a vast amount of scholarly literature. Tate writes that “it is sui generis in the Psalter; there is no other psalm like it.” (334) There are, however, other biblical passages that describe God relating with other divine powers:

1 Kings 22:19-23: But [Micaiah] said, “I call upon you to hear the word of the LORD! I saw the LORD seated upon His throne, with all the host of heaven standing in attendance to the right and to the left of Him. The LORD asked, ‘Who will entice Ahab so that he will march and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said thus and another said thus, until a certain spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘How?’ the LORD asked him. And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You will entice and you will prevail. Go out and do it.’ So the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; for the LORD has decreed disaster upon you.”
Job 1:6-2:6: One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD, and the Adversary came along with them. The LORD said to the Adversary, “Where have you been?” The Adversary answered the LORD, “I have been roaming all over the earth.” The LORD said to the Adversary, “Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil!” The Adversary answered the LORD, “Does Job not have good reason to fear God? Why, it is You who have fenced him round, him and his household and all that he has. You have blessed his efforts so that his possessions spread out in the land. But lay Your hand upon all that he has and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face.” The LORD replied to the Adversary, “See, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on him.” The Adversary departed from the presence of the LORD. One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD. The Adversary came along with them to present himself before the LORD. The LORD said to the Adversary, “Where have you been?” The Adversary answered the LORD, “I have been roaming all over the earth.” The LORD said to the Adversary, “Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. He still keeps his integrity; so you have incited Me against him to destroy him for no good reason.” The Adversary answered the LORD, “Skin for skin — all that a man has he will give up for his life. But lay a hand on his bones and his flesh, and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face.” So the LORD said to the Adversary, “See, he is in your power; only spare his life.”
Zech. 1:7-17: On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of the second year of Darius — the month of Shebat — this word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo: In the night, I had a vision. I saw a man, mounted on a bay horse, standing among the myrtles in the Deep, and behind him were bay, sorrel, and white horses. I asked, “What are those, my lord?” And the angel who talked with me answered, “I will let you know what they are.” Then the man who was standing among the myrtles spoke up and said, “These were sent out by the LORD to roam the earth.” And in fact, they reported to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtles, “We have roamed the earth, and have found all the earth dwelling in tranquility.” Thereupon the angel of the LORD exclaimed, “O LORD of Hosts! How long will You withhold pardon from Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, which You placed under a curse seventy years ago?” The LORD replied with kind, comforting words to the angel who talked with me. Then the angel who talked with me said to me: “Proclaim! Thus said the LORD of Hosts: I am very jealous for Jerusalem — for Zion — and I am very angry with those nations that are at ease; for I was only angry a little, but they overdid the punishment. Assuredly, thus said the LORD: I graciously return to Jerusalem. My House shall be built in her — declares the LORD of Hosts — the measuring line is being applied to Jerusalem. Proclaim further: Thus said the LORD of Hosts: My towns shall yet overflow with bounty. For the LORD will again comfort Zion; He will choose Jerusalem again.”
Is. 6:1-5: In the year that King Uzziah died, I beheld my Lord seated on a high and lofty throne; and the skirts of His robe filled the Temple. Seraphs stood in attendance on Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs, and with two he would fly. And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! The LORD of Hosts! His presence fills all the earth!” The doorposts would shake at the sound of the one who called, and the House kept filling with smoke. I cried, “Woe is me; I am lost! For I am a man of unclean lips And I live among a people Of unclean lips; Yet my own eyes have beheld The King LORD of Hosts.”

Gerstenberger notes in regards to God’s address in Psalm 82: “Hardly in any other passage, however, is the lack of social justice made the central point of accusation. Partly for this reason, modern exegetes have been mesmerized by the problem whether Ps 82 is talking about foreign gods or about dominant political powers acting in the name of their deities. Niehr is probably right when he evaluates this whole controversy as a ‘false alternative.’ Wherever justice was at stake in the [ancient Near East] the deities played an important role, but those humans in charge were always involved with the execution of the law.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Tate, Marvin. “Psalms 51-100” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 20 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1990).
Photo copied from http://www.geni.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/tombstones-graves-cemeteries.jpg

Psalm 81 – “Call to Praise; Oracle”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist calls upon the people to praise God. God expresses his dissappointment with the people.

II. Photo
God alleviated the people’s pain: “I relieved his shoulder of the burden, his hands were freed from the basket.” (v. 7)

III. Select Verses
2-6a: Sing joyously to God, our strength; raise a shout for the God of Jacob. Take up the song, sound the timbrel, the melodious lyre and harp. Blow the horn on the new moon, on the full moon for our feast day. For it is a law for Israel, a ruling of the God of Jacob; He imposed it as a decree upon Joseph when he went forth from the land of Egypt
8: In distress you called and I rescued you; I answered you from the secret place of thunder I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
9-11: Hear, My people, and I will admonish you; Israel, if you would but listen to Me! You shall have no foreign god, you shall not bow to an alien god. I the LORD am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
12-15: But My people would not listen to Me, Israel would not obey Me. So I let them go after their willful heart that they might follow their own devices. If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My paths, then would I subdue their enemies at once, strike their foes again and again.

IV. Outline

1. Superscription
2-6b. Summons to praise
    2-4. Summons
    5-6a. Rationale
6b-17. Oracle
    6b-8. Account of salvation
    9-11. Exhortation
    12-17. Account of sin and its consequences (?)

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Tate, Marvin. “Psalms 51-100” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 20 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1990).
Photo copied from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yTyNVetBLFw/TTAoDq9-PMI/AAAAAAAAACE/fYMyE9HHxOs/s1600/heavy_burden_small.jpg

Psalm 80 – “Allegorical Petition”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist, who uses the analogy of a grapevine, asks God to save the people.

II. Photo
God “planted” the people: “You plucked up a vine from Egypt; You expelled nations and planted it. You cleared a place for it; it took deep root and filled the land.” (vv. 9-10)

III. Select Verses
2-3: Give ear, O shepherd of Israel who leads Joseph like a flock! Appear, You who are enthroned on the cherubim, at the head of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh! Rouse Your might and come to our help!
5-7: O LORD, God of hosts, how long will You be wrathful toward the prayers of Your people? You have fed them tears as their daily bread, made them drink great measures of tears. You set us at strife with our neighbors; our enemies mock us at will.
9-16: You plucked up a vine from Egypt; You expelled nations and planted it. You cleared a place for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered by its shade, mighty cedars by its boughs. Its branches reached the sea, its shoots, the river. Why did You breach its wall so that every passerby plucks its fruit, wild boars gnaw at it, and creatures of the field feed on it? O God of hosts, turn again, look down from heaven and see; take note of that vine, the stock planted by Your right hand, the stem you have taken as Your own.
19: We will not turn away from You; preserve our life that we may invoke Your name.

IV. Outline

1. Superscription
2. Invocation, initial petition.
3-4. Petition
5-7. Complaint/accusation
8. Petition
9-17. Allegory
    9-12. Description
    13-14. Complaint/accusation
    15-16. Petition
    17. Complaint
18. Petition
19a. Vow/Affirmation of confidence
19b-20. Petition

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

Psalm 79 – “Petition/Imprecation”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist asks God to punish his enemies.

II. Photo
The enemy is fierce: “They have left Your servants’ corpses as food for the fowl of heaven, and the flesh of Your faithful for the wild beasts!” (v. 2)

III. Select Verses
1b-3: O God, heathens have entered Your domain, defiled Your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins. They have left Your servants’ corpses as food for the fowl of heaven, and the flesh of Your faithful for the wild beasts. Their blood was shed like water around Jerusalem, with none to bury them.
4: We have become the butt of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us.
5-8: How long, O LORD, will You be angry forever, will Your indignation blaze like fire? Pour out Your fury on the nations that do not know You, upon the kingdoms that do not invoke Your name, for they have devoured Jacob and desolated his home.
9-10: Help us, O God, our deliverer, for the sake of the glory of Your name. Save us and forgive our sin, for the sake of Your name. Let the nations not say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes let it be known among the nations that You avenge the spilled blood of Your servants.
12: Pay back our neighbors sevenfold for the abuse they have flung at You, O LORD.

IV. Outline
1a. Superscription
1b. Invocation
1c-5. Complaint
6. Petition/imprecation
7. Rationale
8-11. Petition
12. Imprecation
13. Hope/vow

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

Psalm 78 – “Historical Sermon”

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The psalmist recounts the people’s history from the exodus until the monarchy.

II. Photo
God performed wonders in Egypt: “He killed their vines with hail, their sycamores with frost.” (v. 47)

III. Select Verses
2-3: I will expound a theme, hold forth on the lessons of the past, things we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.
6-8: That a future generation might know — children yet to be born — and in turn tell their children that they might put their confidence in God, and not forget God’s great deeds, but observe His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a wayward and defiant generation, a generation whose heart was inconstant, whose spirit was not true to God.
13-16: He split the sea and took them through it; He made the waters stand like a wall. He led them with a cloud by day, and throughout the night by the light of fire. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as if from the great deep. He brought forth streams from a rock and made them flow down like a river.
19-20: They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a feast in the wilderness? True, He struck the rock and waters flowed, streams gushed forth; but can He provide bread? Can He supply His people with meat?”
42-51: They did not remember His strength, or the day He redeemed them from the foe; how He displayed His signs in Egypt, His wonders in the plain of Zoan. He turned their rivers into blood; He made their waters undrinkable. He inflicted upon them swarms of insects to devour them, frogs to destroy them. He gave their crops over to grubs, their produce to locusts. He killed their vines with hail, their sycamores with frost. He gave their beasts over to hail, their cattle to lightning bolts. He inflicted His burning anger upon them, wrath, indignation, trouble, a band of deadly messengers. He cleared a path for His anger; He did not stop short of slaying them, but gave them over to pestilence. He struck every first-born in Egypt, the first fruits of their vigor in the tents of Ham.
67-68: He rejected the clan of Joseph; He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. He did choose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
70-72: He chose David, His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. He brought him from minding the nursing ewes to tend His people Jacob, Israel, His very own. He tended them with blameless heart; with skillful hands he led them.

IV. Outline

1a. Superscription
1b-8. Exordium (introduction)
9-72. Historical lesson
    9-11. The failings of Ephraim
    12-14. Egypt
    15-16. The wilderness
    17-20. Doubting God
    21-22. Punishment
    23-29. God brings food
    30-33. Punishment
    34-35. Repentance
    36-37. Relapse
    38-39. God’s restraint
    40-41. The defiant nature of Israel
    42-51. Egypt
    52-53. The wilderness
    54-55. Settling the land of Israel
    56-58. Sinning in the land
    59-64. Punishment
    65-66. God the warrior
    67-68. Israel and Judah
    69. The temple
    70-72. David

V. Comment
Psalm 78, which is the second longest psalm in the Psalter, tells Israel’s history from the time of the exodus until the divided monarchy. Gerstenberger writes: “[The psalm] does not want simply to teach history, but to exemplify present faith in the light of a few historical situations… Edification of the community was the chief purpose of the liturgical teams, who would work on the texts to use them in solemn assemblies. This goal would include strengthening the faith and conscience of members of a Yahweh congregation.” (93, 98)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Gerstenberger, Erhard S. “Psalms Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry” Forms of Old Testament Literature (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988).
Tate, Marvin. “Psalms 51-100” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 20 (Waco, Texas: Wordbooks, 1990).
Photo copied from http://img.wallpaperstock.net:81/winter-frost-branches-wallpapers_1266_1600x1200.jpg