26.9–12 A concluding sharp contrast is drawn between the ways of sinners and their fate and the way and hope of the righteous one who prays to God.
26.10 Evil devices, a term that often refers to sexual immorality (Lev 18.17; 19.29; 20.14; Job 31.11; Jer 13.27).
PSALM 27
Triumphant Song of Confidence
Of David.
1The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strongholda of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
they shall stumble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.
4One thing I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in his temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
6Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
7Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
8“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, do I seek.
9Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10If my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will take me up.
11Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
13I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
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a Or refuge
27.1–14 A song of trust (vv. 1–6) by one of the faithful is the basis for a prayer for help in the face of false accusations (vv. 7–14).
27.1–6 The psalmist expresses trust in the Lord against all enemies (vv. 1–3) and eagerness to be in God’s presence (vv. 4–6). Cf. 23.6; 42.1–2; 43.3–4; 84.1–4.
27.1 Stronghold. Or refuge; see note on 2.10–12.
27.2 Devour my flesh. See note on 7.2.
27.4 The beauty of the LORD, i.e., the graciousness or favor of the Lord (cf. 90.17; 135.3). To inquire in his temple probably means to seek after an oracle of salvation from the Lord, though it may have a more general reference.
27.6 Sacrifices and praise were offered in the sanctuary by the one God delivered from distress.
27.7–13 The prayer of the oppressed.
27.8 Seek his face, seek God’s favor.
27.9 Do not hide your face, i.e., “do not withhold your favor” see also note on 10.1.
27.12 At least one facet of the trouble is false accusation brought against the one praying. They are…violence, more accurately “violent witnesses.”
27.13 An expression of trust that the petitioner will be kept alive and well by the Lord.
27.14 A response of encouragement to the prayer of the preceding verses. Wait for the LORD means to expect the Lord’s deliverance.
PSALM 28
Prayer for Help and Thanksgiving for It
Of David.
1To you, O LORD, I call;
my rock, do not refuse to hear me,
for if you are silent to me,
I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
2Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.a
3Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who are workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors,
while mischief is in their hearts.
4Repay them according to their work,
and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.
5Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, or the work of his hands,
he will break them down and build them up no more.
6Blessed be the LORD,
for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.
7The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
8The LORD is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9O save your people, and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them forever.
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a Heb your innermost sanctuary
28.1–9 An individual’s prayer for help when beset by members of the community who are carrying out some sort of persecution, or when in fear of being caught up in the judgment that God will bring against them.
28.1–2 The initial plea for God to pay attention to the prayer.
28.1 Pit. See note on 16.10.
28.2 For lifting up hands toward the sanctuary, see 1 Kings 8.38–39.
28.3–4 A cry to God to do in the wicked who persecute the praying one. The psalmist fears being drawn into the punishment that they rightfully deserve.
28.5 A claim that God’s just judgment against the wicked will happen. It is either a response to the prayer of the petitioner by a representative figure like a priest or an expression of trust on the part of the one who prays.
28.6–7 A song of thanksgiving by the one who has cried out because God has heeded the prayer.
28.6 Blessed. See note on 103.1–2.
28.8–9 A final confession and prayer that transforms the prayer of an individual into one incorporating the community and its ruler. See note on 25.22.
28.8 Anointed. See note on 2.2.
PSALM 29
The Voice of God in a Great Storm
A Psalm of David.
1Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,a
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendor.
3The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over mighty waters.
4The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,b
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
10The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11May the LORD give strength to his peo
ple!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
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a Heb sons of gods
b Or causes the deer to calve
29.1–11 A hymn of praise in honor of God’s glory and power as revealed in a thunderstorm.
29.1–2 Opening call to worship God. Heavenly beings, the heavenly court of gods or semidivine beings (see 82.1, 6; Ex 15.11; Deut 32.8), who are to acknowledge the supremacy of the Lord as universal ruler.
29.3–9 Description of the thunderstorm as it rises over the Mediterranean, moves inland with devastating effects across the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, and spends itself in the Syrian desert.
29.3 Waters and mighty waters refer to the Mediterranean Sea, perhaps with mythic overtones relating to the primordial waters of chaos the Lord was said to have vanquished in creating the world (see 74.12–14; 89.9–10; Isa 51.9).
29.6 Sirion, Phoenician name for Mount Hermon in the Anti-Lebanon range.
29.8 Kadesh, here not the well-known oasis in Sinai (Num 20.1) but the desert east of the Syrian city of Kadesh on the Orontes River.
29.9 The alternate reading causes the deer to calve (see text note a) is equally plausible in the light of the ancient belief that thunderstorms could induce labor.
29.10–11 Concluding affirmation of confidence, possibly with a polemic thrust. In Canaanite mythology, Baal, the storm god, was enthroned over the conquered flood or primordial waters of chaos. Here is affirmed the universal kingship of the Lord, who dethrones all other powers and thus is the only one able to grant security and peace.
PSALM 30
Thanksgiving for Recovery from Grave Illness
A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.
1I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.a
4Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7By your favor, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8To you, O LORD, I cried,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
9“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!”
11You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
12so that my soulb may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
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a Or that I should not go down to the Pit
b Heb that glory
30.1–12 A song of thanksgiving and praise by one who has gone from security and prosperity to near death and has been delivered by God. A Song…temple is a secondary superscription indicating that the psalm came to be used at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) after the cleansing of the temple by Judas Maccabeus in 164 BCE.
30.1–3 The psalmist praises God for being healed. The references to healing may be metaphorical, but their sustained use in this psalm suggests physical illness and near death as the plight from which the psalmist was delivered.
30.1 My foes, here probably those who declare the sufferer’s illness to be the proper punishment from God.
30.3 Sheol. See note on 6.5. Pit. See note on 16.10.
30.4–5 A call to the community to praise God, who is always more inclined toward favor than anger (cf. Isa 54.7–8), and a declaration that the latter is a response to particular sins by the people.
30.6–12 The psalmist recounts what happened and how the Lord helped.
30.6–7 From a position of security the psalmist is thrown into some terrible personal distress. Both situations are seen as God’s activity.
30.7 Hid your face. See notes on 10.1; 27.9.
30.8–10 The cry to God for help.
30.9 See note on 6.5.
30.11–12 The psalmist gives thanks to God for hearing the prayer and giving the desired help.
30.11 Sackcloth, clothing representing mourning or penitence.
PSALM 31
Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1In you, O LORD, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
2Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
3You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
4take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
5Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
6You hatea those who pay regard to worthless idols,
but I trust in the LORD.
7I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have taken heed of my adversities,
8and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place.
9Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
my soul and body also.
10For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,b
and my bones waste away.
11I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horrorc to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13For I hear the whispering of many—
terror all around!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
14But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
15My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
17Do not let me be put to shame, O LORD,
for I call on you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
18Let the lying lips be stilled
that speak insolently against the righteous
with pride and contempt.
19O how abundant is your goodness
that you have laid up for those who fear you,
and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of everyone!
20In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from human plots;
you hold them safe under your shelter
from contentious tongues.
21Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was beset as a city under siege.
22I had said in my alarm,
“I am driven fard from your sight.”
But you heard my supplications
when I cried out to you for help.
23Love the LORD, all you his saints.
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
24Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD.
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a One Heb Ms Gk Syr Jerome: MT I hate
b Gk Syr: Heb my iniquity
c Cn: Heb exceedingly
d Another reading is cut off
31.1–24 A prayer for God’s help in which petition, lament, and expressions of confidence lead into a final song of thanksgiving for the help that has been received. To the leader. See note on 4.1–8.
31.1–5 Prayer for deliverance.
31.1 Shame. See note on 25.2–3.
31.4 Net. See note on 9.15.
31.5 According to Lk 23.46 these are Jesus’ last words on the cross.
31.6–8 Either a song of thanksgiving or a vow to express such thanksgiving in the future.
31.8 Broad place. See note on 18.19.
31.9–13 A petition (v. 9a) leading into an extended lament over physical (vv. 9b–10) and social distress (vv. 11–13). The former may be actual sickness unto death or a metaphor of personal dissolution to express suffering. The latter involves both scorn by neighbors and some sort of scheming that threatens the petitioner’s life.
31.9 Grief, or “provocation.”
31.12 Like a broken vessel. See Jer 22.28; 48.38.
31.13 Cf. Jer 11.19; 20.10. Terror all around. See Jer 6.25; 20.3, 10; 46.5; 49.29.
31.14–18 Additional pleas for God’s help (vv. 15b–18) arising out of the trust in God (vv. 14–15a).
31.16 Let your face shine, i.e., show favor (4.6; 67.1; 80.3, 7, 19; 119.135).
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