63.3–8 Confident of God’s help, the psalmist gives praise.
63.4 Bless. See note on 103.1–2.
63.6 Cf. 4.4; 16.7; 77.2, 6. Watches. See note on 90.4. There may be an allusion here to waiting through the night in the sanctuary for God’s help in the morning.
63.7 Shadow of your wings. See notes on 91.1; 91.4.
63.9–10 Confidence of the psalmist in the downfall of the oppressors. Here, as elsewhere, they may be false accusers or slanderers (see v. 11b).
63.11 A form of intercession for the king as God’s representative (cf. 61.6–7; 84.9). By him, i.e., by the king. For oaths sworn in the name of the king, see 1 Sam 17.55; 25.26; 2 Sam 11.11; 15.21.
PSALM 64
Prayer for Protection from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from the dread enemy.
2Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the scheming of evildoers,
3who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
4shooting from ambush at the blameless;
they shoot suddenly and without fear.
5They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see us?a
6Who can search out our crimes?b
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”
For the human heart and mind are deep.
7But God will shoot his arrow at them;
they will be wounded suddenly.
8Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;c
all who see them will shake with horror.
9Then everyone will fear;
they will tell what God has brought about,
and ponder what he has done.
10Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart glory.
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a Syr: Heb them
b Cn: Heb They search out crimes
c Cn: Heb They will bring him to ruin, their tongue being against them
64.1–10 A prayer by an individual for help. To the leader. See note on 4.1–8.
64.1–2 A cry for help.
64.2–6 Beginning already in the plea, the psalmist lays out the distress brought about by wicked enemies. Cf. note on 10.1–11.
64.7–9 God’s destruction of the enemies. These verses should probably be read as a report of what God did in the past and the testimony to it by those who witnessed it.
64.7 Shoot his arrow, poetic justice—the judgment of God corresponds to the sins of the wicked (vv. 3–4).
64.10 Concluding call to praise. Refuge. See note on 2.10–12.
PSALM 65
Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty
To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
2O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
3When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
4Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
6By youra strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
7You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
8Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
13the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
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a Gk Jerome: Heb his
65.1–13 A hymn of praise to God, who has redeemed the people and sustains their life on the earth. Either particular or repeated occasions in which Israel experienced a good harvest may have given rise to the singing of this hymn. To the leader. See note on 4.1–8.
65.1–5 The people give praise to God, who dwells in Zion and has forgiven and saved them.
65.1–2a The praise arises out of vows made in prayers for help (cf. 22.25; 50.14; 56.12; 61.5, 8; 66.13; 116.14, 18).
65.4 Happy. See note on 1.1.
65.6–8 Praise to God as the creator of the world. God’s subduing of the waters of chaos may lie behind v. 7 (cf. 74.12–14; 89.9–10; note on 77.16).
65.9–13 Praise to God, who nourishes the earth and so provides bountiful harvest and many flocks.
65.9 River of God. See note on 46.4.
65.11 Your wagon tracks, either the imagery of God riding the clouds in a chariot (e.g., 68.4, 33) or a poetic way of speaking about God’s providential presence in the land.
PSALM 66
Praise for God’s Goodness to Israel
To the leader. A Song. A Psalm.
1Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.
3Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.”
Selah
5Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
6He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
7who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
Selah
8Bless our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9who has kept us among the living,
and has not let our feet slip.
10For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
12you let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.a
13I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay you my vows,
14those that my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats.
Selah
16Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
17I cried aloud to him,
and he was extolled with my tongue.
18If I had
cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19But truly God has listened;
he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
20Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me.
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a Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb to a saturation
66.1–20 A song of thanksgiving (vv. 13–20) by an individual that is prefaced by a general hymn of praise (vv. 1–12). To the leader. See note on 4.1–8.
66.1–12 Hymn of praise for God’s mighty deeds of salvation for the people.
66.4 Selah. See note on 3.2.
66.5a See 46.8.
66.6 He turned…land, the crossing of the sea in the exodus (Ex 14–15). They passed…foot, the crossing of the Jordan into Canaan (Josh 3.14–17). These mighty acts of the Lord may have been represented in some fashion in worship (cf. 114.1–8).
66.8–12 While the people experienced God’s judgment as a testing and refinement, God kept them secure and gave them the land.
66.8 Bless. See note on 103.1–2.
66.13–20 A song of thanksgiving as one who has been helped pays vows of sacrifice (vv. 13–15; cf. 65.1–2a and note) and bears witness to God’s gracious attention (vv. 17–19, 20a) and deliverance (v. 16, 20b).
66.16 Fear God. See note on 34.7.
66.20 Blessed. See note on 103.1–2.
PSALM 67
The Nations Called to Praise God
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
2that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
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67.1–7 A prayer of benediction or blessing together with a call to all peoples to praise the Lord, who blesses Israel. To the leader…instruments. See note on 4.1–8.
67.1–2 Prayer for God’s blessing in the language of the Aaronite benediction (Num 6.24–26). The reason for the blessing is that Israel’s experience of God’s favor may be a witness to all the nations (cf. Pss 117; 126.2).
67.1 Make his face to shine. See note on 31.16. Selah. See note on 3.2.
67.3–5 Call to the nations to praise the Lord who rules justly over all peoples.
67.6–7 A final prayer for God’s blessing in the provision of produce from the land. V. 6 perhaps should be read like v. 1, i.e., as a prayer, “May the earth yield its increase; may God, our God, bless us.”
PSALM 68
Praise and Thanksgiving
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.
1Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
3But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
4Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the cloudsa—
his name is the LORD—
be exultant before him.
5Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.
7O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah
8the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
10your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
11The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of thoseb who bore the tidings:
12“The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil,
13though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
14When the Almightyc scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.
15O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the LORD will reside forever?
17With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.d
18You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the LORD God’s abiding there.
19Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah
20Our God is a God of salvation,
and to GOD, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
21But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.
22The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23so that you may bathee your feet in blood,
so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.”
24Your solemn processions are seen,f O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them girls playing tambourines:
26“Bless God in the great congregation,
the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
27There is Benjamin, the least of them, in
the lead, the princes of Judah in a body,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28Summon your might, O God;
show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
29Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to you.
30Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trampleg under foot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.h
31Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopiai hasten to stretch out its hands to God.
32Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
33O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
35Awesome is God in hisj sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gi
ves power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
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a Or cast up a highway for him who rides through the deserts
b Or company of the women
c Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
d Cn: Heb The Lord among them Sinai in the holy (place)
e Gk Syr Tg: Heb shatter
f Or have been seen
g Cn: Heb Trampling
h Meaning of Heb of verse 30 is uncertain
i Or Nubia; Heb Cush
j Gk: Heb from your
68.1–35 A hymn of praise for God’s awesome appearance to the people in power and victory. The unity and order of the hymn are difficult to discern and some have seen it as a collection of fragments. Its interpretation as a whole is problematic. It may have been associated in its origin with God’s appearance at one of the sanctuaries, but in its present form it has been adapted for worship in the Jerusalem temple (v. 29). The various references to marching and procession (vv. 7–8, 17–18, 24–27) and to music (vv. 4, 25, 32) suggest use of the psalm in the festivals of Israel’s worship. To the leader. See note on 4.1–8.
68.1–3 Call to God to go forth in victory against the enemy. The words are a form of the ancient Song of the Ark in Num 10.35. It was sung as the Lord, enthroned on the ark, went forth to war, leading the people (cf. 1 Sam 4).
68.4–6 Hymn of praise exalting God as protector of the weak.
68.4 Rides upon the clouds is an ancient epithet of the Canaanite storm god applied to the Lord of Israel. The clouds are the chariot of God, who goes forth to lead the armies (cf. 104.3–4).
68.6 Prisoners, or “captives.”
68.7–10 The march of God before the people to lead them into the land and provide for them. Cf. vv. 7–8; Judg 5.4–5; Deut 33.2–3. The imagery again is of the Lord as a storm god, marching in battle and making the land fertile through rain.
68.7 Selah. See note on 3.2.
68.11–14 The victory of God over the kings of Canaan. An allusion to Judg 5 may be present in these verses also (see Judg 5.19). Vv. 12b–13 are enigmatic. There may be an allusion to Judg 5.16 in v. 13a.
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