Psalms 60 - 68
Psalm 60 A miktam (golden psalm) for the director of music (chief musician); shushan-eduth (for teaching, to the tune of 'The Lily of the Covenant'-- perh. similar to the tune of 'Lilies' in Psalms 45 & 69); when David fought the Arameans of Aram Naharaim (NW Mesopotamia) & Aram Zobah (central Syria)-- Joab returning to strike down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt (south of the Dead Sea). 2ndSa 8 records this, but v. 13 says, David became famous after He returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt-- v. 16 does say Joab was over the army. Said to provide miracles:
YOU have rejected Us, O GOD, & burst forth upon (broken) Us; YOU have been angry-- now restore Us! YOU have shaken the land & tore it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking. YOU have shown YOUR People desperate times; YOU have given Us wine that makes Us stagger. But for Those who fear YOU, YOU have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. Selah Save Us & help Us with YOUR Right Hand, that Those YOU love may be delivered.
GOD has spoken from HIS Sanctuary: In triumph I will parcel out Shechem & measure off the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is MINE, & Manasseh is MINE; Ephraim is MY Helmet, Judah MY Scepter. Moab is MY Washbasin, upon Edom I toss MY Sandle; over Philistia I shout in triumph.
Who will bring Me to the fortified city? Who will lead Me to Edom? Is it not YOU, O GOD, YOU who have rejected Us & no longer go out with Our armies? Give Us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With GOD We will gain victory, & HE will trample down Our enemies.
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Psalm 61 A prayer for the director of music; neginah [on strings/stringed instruments, but not for instruction (as opposed to neginah in Psa 54-55)]; perh. written during Absalom's rebellion (2ndSa 15 - 18), or earlier, after having escaped from Saul in the desert. Said to provide prayer:
Hear My cry, O GOD; listen to My prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to YOU, I call as My heart grows faint; lead Me to the rock that is higher than I. For YOU have been My refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in YOUR Tent forever & take refuge in the shadow of YOUR Wings. Selah
For YOU have heard My vows, O GOD; YOU have given Me the heritage of Those who fear YOUR Name. Increase the days of the king's life, His years for many generations. May He be enthroned in GOD'S Presence forever; appoint YOUR Love & Faithfulness to protect Him. Then I will ever sing raise to YOUR Name & fulfill My vows day after day.
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Psalm 62 A psalm for Jeduthun, for the director of music. Psa 3 was written specifically when David fled from His son Absalom (2ndSa 15:14); Psa 26 & 62 were perh. written sometime during Absalom's rebellion (2ndSa 15-18):
My soul finds rest in (is silent before) GOD alone; My salvation comes from HIM. HE alone is My rock, & My salvation; HE is My fortress (high place), I will never be shaken. How long will you assault a man (me)? Would all of you throw Him down-- this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple Him from His lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah
Find rest, O My soul, in GOD Alone; My hope comes from HIM. HE Alone is My rock & My salvation; HE is My fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation & My honor depend on GOD (GOD Most High is My salvation & My honor); HE is My mighty rock, My refuge. Trust in HIM at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to HIM, for GOD is Our refuge & He can be yours also. Selah
Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
1 thing GOD has spoken, 2 things I have heard: that YOU, O LORD, are Strong, & that YOU, O LORD, are Loving. Surely YOU will reward each person according to what he has done-- the immediate reward not being salvation, but abundant life; & then a measure of eternal glory.
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Psalm 63 A psalm for the director of music, when David was in the Desert of Judah (1stSa 23:14). Said to address being "burned out":
O GOD, YOU are My GOD, earnestly I seek YOU; My soul thirsts for YOU, My body longs for YOU, in a dry & weary land where there is no water. I have seen YOU in the sanctuary & beheld YOUR Power & YOUR Glory. Because YOUR Love is better than life, My lips will glorify YOU.
I will praise YOU as long as I live, & in YOUR Name will I lift up My hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips My mouth will praise YOU. On My bed I remember YOU; I think of YOU through the watches of the night. Because YOU are My help, I sing in the Shadow of YOUR Wings. My soul clings to YOU; YOUR Right Hand upholds Me.
They who seek My life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword & become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in GOD; all who swear by GOD'S Name will praise HIM, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
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Psalm 64 A psalm for the director of music. Said to provide wisdom:
Hear Me, O GOD, as I voice My complaint; protect My life from the threat of the enemy. Hide Me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of evildoers.
They sharpen their tongues like swords & aim their words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent man; they shoot at Him suddenly, without fear. They encourage each other in evil plans (speech), they talk about hiding their snares; they say, 'Who will see them (us)?' They plot injustice & say, 'We have devised a perfect plan!'
Surely the heart & mind of man are cunning. But GOD will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down. HE will turn their own tongues against them & bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the Works of GOD & ponder what HE has done. Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD & take refuge in HIM; let all the upright in heart praise HIM!
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Psalm 65 A psalm, a song for the director of music:
Praise awaits (befits; is silent for) YOU, O GOD, in Zion (Jerusalem); to YOU Our vows will be fulfilled. O YOU who hear prayer, to YOU all men will come. When We were overwhelmed by sins, YOU forgave (made atonement for) Our transgressions.
Blessed are Those YOU choose & bring near to live in YOUR Courts! We are filled with the good things of YOUR House, of YOUR Holy Temple. YOU answer Us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O GOD Our savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth & of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by YOUR Power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, & the turmoil of the nations.
Those living far away fear YOUR Wonders; where morning dawns & evening fades YOU call forth songs of joy. YOU care for the land & water it; YOU enrich it abundantly. The Streams of GOD are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so YOU have ordained it (prepared the land). YOU drench its furrows & level its ridges; YOU soften it with showers & bless its crops.
YOU crown the year with YOUR Bounty (of YOUR Goodness), & YOUR Carts overflow abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness (girded with joy). The meadows are covered with flocks & the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy & sing.
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Psalm 66 Author anonymous A psalm, a song for the director of music; after a great victory in battle. Said to address being penitent/sorry:
Shout with joy to GOD, all the earth! Sing the glory of HIS Name; make HIS Praise glorious! Say to GOD, How awesome are YOUR Deeds! So great is YOUR Power that YOUR Enemies cringe before YOU. All the earth bows down to YOU; they sing praise to YOU, they sing praise to YOUR Name. Selah
Come & see what GOD has done, how awesome HIS Works in man's behalf! HE turned the sea into dry land, They (Our fathers) passed through the waters on foot-- come, let Us rejoice in HIM. HE rules forever by HIS Power, HIS Eyes watch the multiple nations-- let not the rebellious rise up against HIM. Selah Praise Our GOD, O peoples, let the sound of HIS Praise be heard; HE has preserved Our lives & kept Our feet from slipping (see Dan 5:23; Acts 17:28).
For YOU, O GOD, tested Us; YOU refined Us like silver. YOU brought Us into prison & laid burdens on Our backs. YOU let men ride over Our heads; We went through the fire & water, but YOU brought Us into a place of abundance (moist place). I will come to YOUR Temple with burnt offerings & fulfill My vows to YOU-- vows My lips promised & My mouth spoke when I was in trouble. I will sacrifice fat animals (animals with fat) to YOU & an offering of rams; I will offer bulls & goats. Selah
Come & listen, all you who fear (whoever esteems) GOD; let Me tell you (testify of) what HE has done for Me. I cried out to HIM with My mouth; HIS Praise was on My tongue. If I had cherished sin in My heart, the LORD would not have listened; but GOD has surely listened & heard My voice in prayer. Praise be to GOD, who has not rejected My prayer or withheld HIS Love from Me!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Psalm 67 A psalm: author anonymous, a song for the director of music; neginoth (for instruction, on strings/stringed instruments); perh. for a harvest feast:
May GOD be Gracious to Us & bless Us & make HIS Face shine upon Us Selah, that YOUR Ways may be known on earth, YOUR eternal Salvation among all nations. Titu 2:11 says that the Grace of GOD that brings salvation has now appeared to all men (people).
5 blessings probably requested "within the radar" (explained in Psalm 69 - 72 Psalm 69 2. "Within/Without the radar"):
- May the peoples praise YOU, O GOD;
- may all the peoples praise YOU.
- May the nations be glad & sing for joy, for YOU rule the peoples justly & guide the nations of the earth. Selah
- May the peoples praise YOU, O GOD;
- may all the peoples praise YOU.
Then the land will yield its harvest, & GOD, Our GOD will bless Us. GOD will bless Us, & all the ends of the earth will fear HIM.
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Psalm 68 A psalm, a song for the director of music); texted in grape is the passage (v. 18a) that is quoted in the N.T. (see Psalms 12 - 18 Psalm 15 2. N.T. Quotes from Psalms B.):
A blessing possibly pronounced "without the radar" (explained in Psalm 69 - 72 Psalm 69 2. "Within/Without the radar"):
- May GOD arise,
2 blessings possibly pronounced "without the radar":
- may HIS Enemies be scattered;
- may HIS Foes flee before HIM.
2 curses probably requested "within the radar":
- As smoke is blown away by the wind, may YOU blow them away;
- as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before GOD.
2 blessings probably requested "within the radar": But
- may the righteous be glad & rejoice before GOD;
- may they be happy & joyful.
Sing to GOD, sing praise to HIS Name, extol HIM who rides on the clouds (prepare the way for HIM who rides through the desert)-- HIS Name is the LORD [Jah, in Heb. (see Exo 6:3)-- Yahweh is the LORD GOD in Grk.] --& rejoice before HIM. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is GOD in HIS Holy Dwelling. GOD sets the lonely in families (solitary in a house or desolate in a homeland), HE leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
When YOU went out before YOUR People, O GOD, when YOU marched through the wasteland, Selah the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before GOD, the ONE of Sinai, before GOD, The GOD of Israel. YOU gave abundant showers, O GOD; YOU refreshed YOUR Weary Inheritance. YOUR People settled in it, & from YOUR Bounty, O GOD, YOU provided for the poor.
The LORD announced the word. & great was the company (army) of Those who proclaimed it: Kings & armies flee in haste: as the camps men divide the plunder. Even while You sleep among the campfires (saddlebags), the wings of MY Dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold.
When the ALMIGHTY (SHADDAI) scattered the kings in the land, it (for her, she) was like snow fallen on Zalmon. The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains; rugged are the mountains of Bashan. Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains, at the mountain where GOD chooses to reign, where the LORD himself will dwell forever? The Chariots of GOD are 10s of 1000s & 1000s of 1000s; the LORD has come from Sinai into HIS Sanctuary.
When YOU ascended on high, YOU led captives in YOUR Train; YOU received [gave, per KJV (Ephe 4:8c)] gifts from men, even from (for/to men or even for/to) the rebellious-- that YOU (they), O LORD GOD, might dwell there.
Praise be to the LORD, to GOD Our savior, who daily bears Our burdens. Selah Our GOD is a GOD who saves; from the Sovereign LORD come escape from death. Surely GOD will crush the heads of HIS Enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
The LORD says, I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea, that You may plunge Your feet (Your feet may be red) in the blood of Your foes, while the tongues of Your dogs have their share.
YOUR Procession has come into view, O GOD, the procession of My GOD & king into the sanctuary. In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with Them are the maidens playing the tambourines. Praise GOD in the great congregation; praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel (, You that are of the fountain; see Deu 33:28; Isa 48:1). There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading Them, there the great throng (company) of Judah's princes, & there the princes of Zebulun & of Naphtali.
Summon YOUR Power, O GOD, show Us YOUR Strength, O GOD, as YOU have done before. Because of YOUR Temple at Jerusalem kings will bring YOU gifts. Rebuke the beast among the reeds (see Jer 51:32), the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations. Humbled, may it bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war. Envoys will come from Egypt; Cush (the upper Nile region) will submit herself to GOD.
Sing to GOD, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praises to the LORD, Selah to HIM who rides the ancient skies above, who thunders with mighty voice. Proclaim the Power of GOD, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies (heavens). YOU are awesome, O GOD, in YOUR Sanctuary; the GOD of Israel gives power & strength to HIS People. Praise be to GOD!
