Psalm 83

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, do not be silent!

Do not be deaf.

Do not be quiet, O God.

2 Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies?

Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?

3 They devise crafty schemes against your people;

they conspire against your precious ones.

4 “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation.

We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”

5 Yes, this was their unanimous decision.

They signed a treaty as allies against you—

6 these Edomites and Ishmaelites;

Moabites and Hagrites;

7 Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites;

and people from Philistia and Tyre.

8 Assyria has joined them, too,

and is allied with the descendants of Lot.

Interlude

9 Do to them as you did to the Midianites

and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.

10 They were destroyed at Endor,

and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil.

11 Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did.

Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna,

12 for they said, “Let us seize for our own use

these pasturelands of God!”

13 O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed,

like chaff before the wind!

14 As a fire burns a forest

and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,

15 chase them with your fierce storm;

terrify them with your tempest.

16 Utterly disgrace them

until they submit to your name, O Lord.

17 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.

Let them die in disgrace.

18 Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord,

that you alone are the Most High,

supreme over all the earth.

Psalm 84

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.*

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

2 I 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.

3 Even 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!

4 What joy for those who can live in your house,

always singing your praises.

Interlude

5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,

who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,*

it will become a place of refreshing springs.

The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.

7 They will continue to grow stronger,

and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.*

8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.

Listen, O God of Jacob.

Interlude

9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!

Show favor to the one you have anointed.

10 A 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.

11 For 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.

12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

what joy for those who trust in you.

Psalm 85

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

1 Lord, you poured out blessings on your land!

You restored the fortunes of Israel.*

2 You forgave the guilt of your people—

yes, you covered all their sins.

Interlude

3 You held back your fury.

You kept back your blazing anger.

4 Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.

Put aside your anger against us once more.

5 Will you be angry with us always?

Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?

6 Won’t you revive us again,

so your people can rejoice in you?

7 Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

8 I 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.

9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,

so our land will be filled with his glory.

10 Unfailing love and truth have met together.

Righteousness and peace have kissed!

11 Truth springs up from the earth,

and righteousness smiles down from heaven.

12 Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.

Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.

13 Righteousness goes as a herald before him,

preparing the way for his steps.