Psalm 81
For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song, and bring hither the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast-day.
(This psalm was an exhortation to sing and play music to God. Verse 3 was specific about the feasts.)
4 For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
(The feasts were statutes and ordinances the Israelites were meant to keep.)
5 He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, When he went out over the land of Egypt, Where I heard a language that I knew not.
6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: His hands were freed from the basket.
7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah
(God delivered His people from slavery and proved them (tested them) at Meribah: Exodus 17:7.)
8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto me!
9 There shall no strange god be in thee; Neither shalt thou worship any foreign god.
(The same command was in Exodus 20:3-4, the beginning of the Ten Commandments.)
10 I am Jehovah thy God, Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt: Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people hearkened not to my voice; And Israel would none of me.
12 So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, That they might walk in their own counsels.
(God wanted to lead the Israelites but they would not listen. The Israelites instead walked in the stubbornness of their own heart and in their own counsel.)
13 Oh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways!
(Clearly, God desires us to walk in His Will. What greater feeling could God receive than for a being He created, with fleshly lusts, to deny that flesh and walk in His Ways?!?!)
14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of Jehovah should submit themselves unto him: But their time should endure for ever.
16 He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat; And with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee.
(This psalm contained the last mention of Egypt in this section of the Book of Psalms. On October 6, 1981, Anwar Sadat was assassinated at a parade.)
Psalm 82
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 God standeth in the congregation of God; He judgeth among the gods.
2 How long will ye judge unjustly, And respect the persons of the wicked? Selah
(The psalmist desired a Righteous judge. Did he understand Justice? Did he understand that God was Just and that Justice would be equaled out?)
3 Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 Rescue the poor and needy: Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
(The poor and needy the psalmist referred to were in the hand of the wicked.)
5 They know not, neither do they understand; They walk to and fro in darkness: All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, Ye are gods, And all of you sons of the Most High.
(John 10:34 recorded that during the final three to four months of Jesus' public ministry, He referenced this verse to raise an apparent contradiction in the Law concerning people being "gods.")
7 Nevertheless ye shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For thou shalt inherit all the nations.
(This psalm finished with another plea for judgment on earth.)
Psalm 83
A song. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, keep not thou silence: Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
(The psalmist wanted God to move…)
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; And they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
(Because the enemies of God were "winning"…)
3 Thy take crafty counsel against thy people, And consult together against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
(The enemies of God have tried to wipe out Israel from earth and from people’s memories. This was the intention of Haman in the Book of Esther.)
5 For they have consulted together with one consent; Against thee do they make a covenant:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagarenes;
(Edom was from Esau. Moab was from Lot.)
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre:
(Ammon was from Lot. Amalek was from Esau.)
8 Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah
9 Do thou unto them as unto Midian, As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon;
10 Who perished at Endor, Who became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb; Yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna;
(See Judges 7 and 8 concerning the Midianites and their nobles/princes.)
12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves in possession The habitations of God.
13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust; As stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire that burneth the forest, And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with thy tempest, And terrify them with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with confusion, That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.
(The psalmist asked that God’s enemies be filled with confusion so that they may seek His Name. If confusion actually helped someone get closer to God, they must have been very far from God in their intentions and actions.)
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish;
18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth.
(The reason for the request of judgment against the enemies of God was so that they would know that Jehovah was the Most High God. This was the final psalm from Asaph. The "Exodus" section began with psalms from the sons of Korah. A psalm from Asaph followed immediately and then the rest were from David. The "Leviticus" section began with psalms from Asaph and was immediately followed by a psalm from the sons of Korah...)
Psalm 84
For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of hosts!
(God’s tabernacles were considered "amiable." The word amiable when used to describe something, not someone, meant "lovely.")
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah; My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even thine altars, O Jehovah of hosts, My King, and my God.
(The psalmist would have been happy to be able to have his home as a sparrow did, by God’s altars.)
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: They will be still praising thee. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
(A man whose strength was in God was blessed.)
6 Passing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs; Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength; Every one of them appeareth before God in Zion.
8 O Jehovah God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah
(The psalmist took time to ask God to hear (obey) his prayer.)
9 Behold, O God our shield, And look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
(One day in God’s courts was considered by the psalmist as better than 1,000 days anywhere else.)
11 For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield: Jehovah will give grace and glory; No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O Jehovah of hosts, Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
(God gave good (Right and Just) liberally to those who lived uprightly and blessed was any man whose faith was in God.)
Psalm 85
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Jehovah, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah
(The people's sins have been forgiven and they have been brought back to Israel.)
3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath; Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, And cause thine indignation toward us to cease.
(The psalmist asked for God to stop His indignation (anger) towards them.)
5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
6 Wilt thou not quicken us again, That thy people may rejoice in thee?
7 Show us thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, And grant us thy salvation.
(The psalmist wanted mercy and deliverance.)
8 I will hear what God Jehovah will speak; For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: But let them not turn again to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him, That glory may dwell in our land.
(Salvation was near to those who feared God. Fearing (reverence, respect) God was not enough for Salvation. Living by grace through faith is the requirement for Salvation.)
10 Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
("Mercy and truth are met together" meant that when God delayed His judgment, it would be for the right reason (why) and done the right way (how).
-Peace in this verse meant "completeness, soundness" which meant "harmony."
-Kissed in this verse meant "to be put together."
Righteousness and peace having "kissed" each other meant that when Righteousness and peace were put together, it would be harmonious.)
11 Truth springeth out of the earth; And righteousness hath looked down from heaven.
12 Yea, Jehovah will give that which is good; And our land shall yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him, And shall make his footsteps a way to walk in.
(If we want truth, Righteousness, good, and leadership, God had made it available to us all. It would never be God’s fault if we did not get or accept these things. We have seen two psalms from the sons of Korah. Looking big picture, we see David was surrounded by Asaph, and Asaph was surrounded by the sons of Korah.)
(This post covered the remaining psalms from Asaph in the "Leviticus" section and psalms from the sons of Korah. These psalms asked God for deliverance and Justice.)
Day 172
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