Psalms 80 - 83 (with 2 topics)
Psalm 80 A psalm by Asaph (or a descendant; this psalm is conjectured to have been written after the northern kingdom of Israel was defeated & its people deported to Assyria-- i.e., some 150 yrs. before Psalms 74 & 79); for the director of music (chief musician); shoshannim-eduth (to the tune of the well-known melody, 'The Lilies of the Covenant'-- similar to Psalms 45 & 69; see PerspectivesC C.9.):
Hear Us, O SHEPHERD of Israel, YOU who led Joseph like a flock; YOU who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin & Manasseh. Awaken YOUR Might; come & save Us. Restore Us, O GOD; make YOUR Face shine upon Us, that We may be saved.
O LORD GOD Almighty, how long will YOUR Anger smolder against the prayers of YOUR People? YOU have fed Them with the bread of tears; YOU have made Them drink tears by the bowlful. YOU have made Us a source of contention to Our neighbors, & Our enemies mock Us. Restore Us, O GOD Almighty; make YOUR Face shine upon Us, that We may be saved.
YOU brought a vine out of Egypt; YOU drove out the nations & planted it (the vine). YOU cleared the ground for it, & it took root & filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. It sent out its boughs to the Mediterranean Sea, its shoots as far as the Euphrates River. Why have YOU broken its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? We have Jesus the true vine, who circles the earth-- & all who choose to do so pick sweet grapes! Boars from the forest ravage it & the creatures of the field feed on it.
Return to Us, O GOD Almighty! Look down from Heaven & see! Watch over this vine, the root YOUR Right Hand has planted, the son (branch) YOU have raised up for yourself-- recall Jesus saying, "I am the new vine; You are the new branches?". YOUR Vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at YOUR Rebuke YOUR People perish. They shot themselves in the foot! Let YOUR Hand rest on the man at YOUR Right Hand, the Son of man YOU have raised up for yourself (will raise up for us). Then We will not turn away from YOU; revive Us, & We will call on YOUR Name. Be not deceived, God will answer this prayer-- in HIS time. Restore Us, O LORD GOD Almighty; make YOUR Face shine upon Us, that We may be saved.
1. Time Period #2
A. Per Joel
- After Captivity Joe 3:1-2,9-16 Far Distant prophecy In those days & at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah & Jerusalem, I will gather all nations & bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (The LORD Judges). There I will enter into judgment against them concerning MY Inheritance, MY People Israel, for they scattered MY People among the nations & divided up MY Land. They cast lots for MY People & traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine. Proclaim this among the nations: prepare for war! Beat your plowshares into swords & your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say , 'I am strong!' Come quickly, all you nations. Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphet, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. The sun & moon will be darkened, & the stars no longer shine. But the LORD will be a refuge for HIS People. A fountain will flow out of the LORD'S House. Judah will be inhabited forever & Jerusalem through all generations. Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon. EOP
B. Per Zephaniah
- After Captivity Zep 1:2-7,14,17-18 Far Distant prophecy I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth-- men & animals, birds & fish. The wicked left behind will have heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth. I will stretch out MY Hand against Judah & against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of those who turn back from following the LORD & neither seek the LORD nor inquire of HIM-- having not chosen to be regrafted. Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the Day of the LORD is near. And also: The great Day of the LORD is near-- near & coming quickly; I will bring distress on the people & they will walk like blind men; neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them. In the fire of HIS Jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for HE will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth. EOP Zep 2:1-3 Concerning the Far Distant future-- Zephaniah presenting an option before the end: Gather together, O shameful nation, before the appointed time arrives & that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce Anger of the LORD comes upon You, before the day of the LORD'S Wrath comes upon You; perhaps You will be sheltered. Zep 3:7-9,19-20 Far Distant prophecy-- regarding Jerusalem & the nations: I said to the city, 'Surely you will fear ME & accept correction! Then her dwelling would not be cut off. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did. Therefore wait for ME, for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to pour out MY Wrath on them-- all MY Fierce Anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of MY Jealous Anger. Then will I purify the lips of the peoples; at that time I will deal with all who oppressed you, Jerusalem. I will gather you; I will bring you home. I will give you honor & praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes. EOP
C. Per Zechariah
- During Captivity Zec 8:2-8,12 Near prophecy This is what the LORD Almighty says: I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her. I will return to Zion & dwell in Jerusalem (the capital of Judah, the by-now unfaithful Daughter of GOD & Zion-- Jeremiah speaks of faithless Israel more righteous than unfaithful Judah. Also in Jeremiah we see that though HE had earlier given Israel a certificate of divorce (Jer 3:8), HE then claimed to be married to that faithless people (Jer 3:14). Now we see unfaithful Judah: Then Jerusalem (the capital of Judah) will be called the city of truth, & the Mountain of the LORD Almighty (Zion) will be called the holy mountain. Once again men & women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem. The city streets will be filled with boys & girls playing there. It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to ME? I will save MY People from the countries of the east & west. I will bring Them back to live in Jerusalem. They won't have to struggle some 70 yr. to rebuild the city walls. The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, & the heavens will drop their dew. I will give You all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. EOP
- After Captivity Zec 9:1,9-10,12-14 Distant prophecy An oracle (a visual clip), Rejoice greatly, O unfaithful daughter of Zion (Judah)! Shout, faithless daughter of Jerusalem (Israel)! See, Your King comes to you all, righteous & having salvation, gentle & riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim, but He will proclaim peace to the nations. Far Distant prophecy HIS Rule will extend from sea to sea & from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth (end of the land). Return to Your fortress, O prisoner of hope; even now I announce that I will restore 2x-as-much to You. I will bend Judah; I will rouse Your sons & make You like a warrior's sword. Then later still the LORD will appear over Them; HIS Arrows will flash like lightening. EOP
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Psalm 81 By Asaph (prob. for use during the feast of tabernacles), for the director of music; gittith (as a marching song):
Sing for joy to GOD Our strength; shout aloud to the GOD of Jacob! Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp & lyre. Sound the ram's horn on the new moon, & when the moon is full, on the day of Our feast; this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the GOD of Jacob.
HE established it as a statute for Joseph when HE went out against Egypt, where We heard a language We did not understand (a voice We had not known). HE says, I removed a burden from Their shoulders; Their hands were set free from the basket. In Your distress You called & I rescued You, I answered You out of a thundercloud; I tested You at Meribah (Strife). Selah Hear, O MY People & I will warn You-- 'if You would but listen to ME, O Israel. You shall have no foreign gods among You; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the LORD Your GOD, who brought You up out of Egypt. Open wide Your mouth & I will fill it.'
But MY People would not listen to ME; Israel would not submit to ME. So I gave Them over to Their stubborn hearts to follow Their own devices. If MY People would but listen to ME, if Israel would follow MY Ways, how quickly I would subdue Their enemies & turn MY Hand against Their foes! Those who hate the LORD cringe (feign obedience) before HIM, & their punishment would last forever. But You would be fed with the finest (fat) of wheat; with honey from the ROCK I would satisfy You.
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Psalm 82 A psalm by Asaph; said to provide justice; texted in grape is the passage (v. 6a) that is quoted in the N.T. (see Psalms 12 - 18 Psalm 15 2. N.T. Quotes from Psalms B.):
GOD presides in the great assembly; HE gives judgment among the 'gods': How long will you 'gods' defend the unjust & show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Defend (Judge) the cause of the weak & fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor & oppressed. Rescue the weak & needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken (moved).
I said, "You are 'gods'; but you are all sons of the Most High GOD." But (And) you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler. Rise up, O GOD, judge the earth, for all the nations are YOUR Inheritance.
1. The 10 Commandments (Preamble/Essence of the Mosaic Law) given on Mt. Sinai in the region of Horeb were just a small portion of the 1st giving of the Mosaic law (the law of Moses); the 2nd giving was given some 38 yrs. later, in Moab. These 2 givings were both given by God-- the 10 commandments were written by the Finger of GOD atop Mt. Sinai; the remainder of the 1st giving was given by God to Moses at Horeb (see Mal 4:4; likely it also was given atop Mt. Sinai, during the 40 days & 40 nights); as mentioned, the 2nd giving was given at Moab. This is not to imply that the 2 givings were radically different-- separate entities. Rather it is perhaps more accurate to say that the 1st giving was a refinement of the 1st giving-- at most some additions. It might be said that God allowed for some traditions the people had acquired during the 38 yrs. in the desert-- point is, while the 10 commandments were directly written by the Finger of GOD, the remainder of the 1st giving, & all of pt. 2 were given by God through Moses (as opposed to being fabrications of man). Both have been referred to often in this work. The giving of the law of Moses can be found generally in Deu (1:5; 4:44; 31:9,24; 33:4) & Jsh 1:7-8. Beginning in Jsh 22:5, throughout scripture, it is referred to as the Law of Moses (Mosaic Law).
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Psalm 83 A psalm by Asaph (or a descendant), a song; said to deal with slaughter:
O GOD, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O GOD, be not still. See how YOUR Enemies are astir, how YOUR Foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against YOUR People; they plot against Those YOU cherish. 'Come', they say, 'let us destroy Them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.' With 1 mind (heart) they plot together; they form an alliance against YOU-- the tents of Edom & the Ishmaelites, of Moab & the Hagrites, Gebal (Byblos), Ammon & Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot. Selah
Do to them as YOU did to Midian, as YOU did to Sisera & Jabin at the river Kishon, who perished at Endor & became like refuse on the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb & Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah & Zalmunna, who said, 'Let us take possession of the Pasturelands of GOD.' Make them like tumbleweed, O My GOD, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with YOUR Tempest & terrify them with YOUR Storm. Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek YOUR Name, O LORD.
May they ever be ashamed & dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. Let them know that YOU, whose Name is THE LORD (Jehovah)-- that YOU Alone are the Most High over all the earth.
