Psalms 81-88 - Prayer Tents

81[For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.] Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob.H5329H1665H623H7442H430H5797H7321H430H3290 2Sing! Beat the tambourine. Play the sweet lyre and the harp.H5375H2172H5414H8596H5273H3658H5035 3Blow the ram’s horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a festival!H8628H7782H2320H3677H2282H3117 4For this is required by the decrees of Israel; it is a regulation of the God of Jacob.H2706H3478H4941H430H3290 5He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say,H7760H3084H5715H3318H776H4714H8085H8193H3045 6“Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.H5493H7926H5447H3709H5674H1731 7You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. InterludeH7121H6869H2502H6030H5643H7482H974H4325H4809H5542 8“Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me!H8085H5971H5749H3478H8085 9You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god.H2114H410H7812H5236H410 10For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.H3068H430H5927H776H4714H6310H7337H4390 11“But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around.H5971H8085H6963H3478H14 12So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas.H7971H3820H8307H3212H4156 13Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!H3863H5971H8085H3478H1980H1870 14How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes!H4592H3665H341H7725H3027H6862 15Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever.H8130H3068H3584H6256H5769 16But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”H398H2459H2406H1706H6697H7646

82[A psalm of Asaph.] God presides over heaven’s court; he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings.H4210H623H430H5324H5712H410H8199H7130H430 2“How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked? InterludeH8199H5766H5375H6440H7563H5542 3“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.H8199H1800H3490H6663H6041H7326 4Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.H6403H1800H34H5337H3027H7563 5But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core.H3045H995H1980H2825H4144H776H4131 6I say, ‘You are gods; you are all children of the Most High.H559H430H1121H5945 7But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.’”H403H4191H120H5307H259H8269 8Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you.H6965H430H8199H776H5157H1471

83[A song. A psalm of Asaph.] O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God.H7892H4210H623H1824H430H2790H8252H410 2Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?H341H1993H8130H5375H7218 3They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones.H6191H5475H5971H3289H6845 4“Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”H559H3212H3582H1471H8034H3478H2142 5Yes, this was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you—H3289H3162H3820H3772H1285 6these Edomites and Ishmaelites; Moabites and Hagrites;H168H123H3459H4124H1905 7Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; and people from Philistia and Tyre.H1381H5983H6002H6429H3427H6865 8Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot. InterludeH804H3867H2220H1121H3876H5542 9Do to them as you did to the Midianites and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.H6213H4080H5516H2985H5158H7028 10They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil.H8045H5874H1828H127 11Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna,H7896H5081H6159H2062H5257H2078H6759 12for they said, “Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!”H559H4999H430H3423 13O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind!H430H7896H1534H7179H6440H7307 14As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,H784H1197H3293H3852H3857H2022H3857 15chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest.H7291H5591H926H5492 16Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord.H4390H6440H7036H1245H8034H3068 17Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace.H954H926H5703H2659H6 18Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.H3045H8034H3068H5945H776

84[For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.] How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H5329H1665H4210H1121H7141H3039H4908H3068H66352I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.H5315H3700H3615H2691H3068H3820H1320H7442H2416H4103Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!H6833H4672H1004H1866H7064H7896H667H4196H3068H6635H4428H4304What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. InterludeH835H3427H1004H1984H55425What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.H835H120H5797H3824H45466When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.H5674H6010H1056H1057H7896H4599H4175H5844H12937They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.H3212H2428H2428H6726H7200H4308O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. InterludeH3068H430H6635H8085H8605H238H430H3290H55429O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! Show favor to the one you have anointed.H7200H430H4043H5027H6440H489910A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.H3117H2691H2896H505H977H5605H1004H430H1752H168H756211For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.H3068H430H8121H4043H3068H5414H2580H3519H2896H4513H1980H854912O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you.H3068H6635H835H120H982

85[For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.] Lord, you poured out blessings on your land! You restored the fortunes of Israel.H5329H4210H1121H7141H3068H7521H776H7725H7622H7622H3290 2You forgave the guilt of your people—yes, you covered all their sins. InterludeH5375H5771H5971H3680H2403H5542 3You held back your fury. You kept back your blazing anger.H622H5678H7725H2740H639 4Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more.H7725H430H3468H3708H6565 5Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?H599H5769H4900H639H1755H1755 6Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?H2421H7725H5971H8055 7Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.H7200H2617H3068H5414H3468 8I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways.H8085H410H3068H1696H1696H7965H5971H2623H7725H3690 9Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.H3468H7138H3373H3519H7931H776 10Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!H2617H571H6298H6664H7965H5401 11Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.H571H6779H776H6664H8259H8064 12Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.H3068H5414H2896H776H5414H2981 13Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.H6664H1980H6440H7760H1870H6471