Epiphany: Bible 2006-2007

DIVES AND LAZARUS
These two songs are based on the story of the rich man and Lazarus in LUKE 16:19. (From this parable we also get the well-known phrase, "in Abraham's bosom," meaning Heaven.) The rich man was given the name "Dives" (meaning "rich") in later translations of the Bible. The second song makes use of the typological figure of Jesus as the Rock, whose immediate source is probably Paul's typological reading of Israel's history: "They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:3).

HE PRAYED TOO LATE

He prayed but his prayer was too late. Oh there was a rich man who lived back in the Bible days. Oh, he was rich all right and everything seemed to go his way, but he would not feed the poor man, Lazarus, who lay begging at his gate. And one day he prayed, oh, but his prayer was, it was too late. Oh, Lord, that's why I don't mind standing up, knowing where I'll be to say these words. Oh, yes, he prayed, he prayed too late. He prayed too late to get admitted at the golden gate, so many people going around looking for excuses, but he heard, he heard the Word of God, he heard it in time, oh it's sad to think about it but the prayed, oh but his prayer was too late, was too late, my Lord. Do you know that my Bible told me it came to pass that the poor man died in the Bosom of Abraham he had an everlasting life and it told me when the rich man died in Hell he lifted his eyes and that's when he prayed but, oh but his prayer was too late. Let me hear you say it again, boys, oh, oh, yes he prayed too late, he prayed too late to enter at the golden door, the golden gate. Yeah, he heard the Word of God in time, but when he prayed, his prayer was too late. My Lord, my Lord, my Lord.

I'VE GOT A HOME IN THAT ROCK

I've got a home in that Rock, don't you see? (Don't you see?) (2) It's between the earth and sky, for I heard my Savior cry. I've got a home in that Rock, don't you see? Rich man, Dives lived so well, don't you see? (Don't you see?) (2) Rich man, Dives lived so well, when he died he had a home in Hell, he had no home in that Rock, don't you see?

Songs Week of 30 May 2006

The Agnus Dei is taken from the Gospel of John, when John the Baptist names Jesus the "Lamb of God." As part of the Catholic mass, this has been set to music by countless composers. Andrew Lloyd-Webber (Cats, Evita, Phantom of the Opera) set it to music in his Requiem mass for his father, as part of the Pie Jesu, which became a hit:

AGNUS DEI (PIE JESU)

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, give them eternal rest.
*As a language footnote, observe how the cognates there between Latin and English words: deity, impeccable, mundane, donation, sempiternal.

NICODEMUS
In the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches the Pharisee Nicodemus how a grown man can be born a second time. " In terms of "Form Criticism," this story may be another attempt to separate the new Christians from the older Jewish religion. "Born again" has become part of the language:

A man came to Jesus and said, "What must I do to be saved from the wicked ways. I'm weary, I'm wounded. From the start of my life, I've been torn! Lord I need a change." "Nicodemus, your soul must be saved! Nicodemus, turn from your wicked ways. Nicodemus, hear me when I say, you must be born again, yes you must be born again.

OH HAPPY DAY

The "happy day" refers to being accepted by Jesus. This song became a huge hit in the pop market in the 1960s:
Oh happy day Oh happy day Oh happy happy day;
Oh happy day When Jesus washed Oh when he washed
When Jesus washed He washed my sins away! Oh happy day Oh happy day He taught me how He taught me Taught me how to watch He taught me how to watch and pray and we'll rejoice each and every day.

COWBOY CAMP MEETING
This is a very rare Cowboy Gospel song about the Resurrection, referring to the Book of Life in Revelation:

I saw the light (and I got the word) I know that it's right
(and have you heard) I'm gonna Ride (cowboy camp meeting) Ride (cowboy camp meeting) Ride (cowboy camp meeting) Ride on the golden range (up in the sky)
way up in the sky (up in the sky) way up in the sky
(yes I'll have a cowboy camp meeting) Hallelujah brother yes sir ree yes sirree way up in the sky Well the Brother Buffalo Bill and Sister Lou's gonna be there brother Like me and you. And Old Kit Carson he will too way up in the sky They're gonna Ride (cowboy camp meeting) Ride (cowboy camp meeting) Ride (cowboy camp meeting) Ride on the golden range (up in the sky)
way up in the sky (up in the sky) way up in the sky
(Yes we'll have a cowboy camp meeting) Hallelujah brother yes sir ree yes sir ree Yes way up in the sky
(up in the sky) Gather 'round me children, get your bibles out Get your prayer bones ready, gonna tell ya about How to love one another til you almost shout
Start the livin' by the Book of Life I mean it Hallelujah Hallelujah (tell me brother)Hallelujah, brother
Tell me about the Book of Life. There's a Matthew, a Timothy, a Jude and a John And a Zephaniah, a Zachariah and a Philemon They all got the word, but you must read on 'bout Goliath and the Book of Life,
Yes siree...hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah hallelujah brother Tell me about Goliath too. Little David slew that giant so tall prove right less might for big and small he'll play his harp as I recall way up in the sky
he's gonna play (cowboy camp meeting) Play (cowboy camp meeting) Play (cowboy camp meeting) Play on the golden harp Up in the sky Way up in the sky (up in the sky) Way up in the sky Yes he'll play (Cowboy camp meeting) Hallelujah brother yes siree yes sir ree
Way up in the sky Way up in the sky Way up in the sky
(cowboy camp meeting) way up in the sky Away up in the sky Away up in the sky

GREAT DAY
This Gospel song is about the Parousia, or Second Coming of Jesus ("Great Day"), as is promised in the Gospel. The second part of the song is difficult to make out, but the vocal is stunning:

Come on let's get ready for that great day (3), who shall be able to stand? (2) ??? from down on high. I see Him coming down from the sky. Who shall be able to stand?

CAN'T NO GRAVE HOLD MY BODY DOWN
Another Resurrection song:

It was early one morning just about the break of day, angels came from glory and rolled the stone away, when the women came along child and found that their Savior was gone. Can't no grave hold my body down (3) when that first trumpet sounds yes I'm going to get up out of the ground. Can't no grave hold my body down. Don't want you to blow that trumpet till you get orders from me. Yes the night is almost gone and the day is coming on, can't no grave hold my body down.
TWO LITTLE FISHES, FIVE LOAVES OF BREAD
This Gospel song refers to the feeding of the multitudes, told in all four Gospels, with an emphasis on John's message, that Bread is merely a symbol of Love (the Bread of Life, in one of Jesus' "I Am" sayings):
A crowd of people went out into the desert to listen to what the good Lord said, all day long they heard the good Lord's word then they got hungry and had to be fed on only two little fishes and five loaves of bread. The good Lord stood up, told his disciples to bring him the loaves of bread instead, bring the fishes by and let him try a little idea that he had his head about those two little fishes and five loaves of bread. Hear what I say if we could all love one another then the world would be fed on only two little fishes and five loaves of bread.

HOLY SPIRIT
This Gospel song is a hymn to the Holy Spirit, revealed on the day of Pentecost to Jesus' disciples:

Holy Spirit come in the room, come on in the room, oh come on in the room. Holy Spirit come on in the room, bless my soul, bless my soul, bless my soul. (2) Someone in the building needs you, come on in the room. Well we can't do nothing Lord, come on in the room. We can't do nothing Lord until you come on in the room, bless my soul, bless my soul. We need your power, come on in the room, come on in the room. Yes we need your power, come on in the room, bless my soul, bless my soul, Lord I need you to bless my soul. We need your fire, come on in the room, come on in the room, yeah, we need the fire, come on Lord, I want you to bless my soul. Blessed Jesus, come on in the room, yeah. We need you right now, come on in the room and bless my soul. Yeah, bless my soul. Can't nobody else bless me but you Jesus, you know what I need.

GOD'S DELAY IS NOT A DENY
This Gospel song refers to the famous story of Lazarus in the Gospel of John:

Mary and Martha were hurrying 'cause Lazarus had just died. They laughed when they saw Jesus come in and on his shoulder they cried. Jesus said, "Show me where you laid him." The sisters wondered why, but Jesus said this test is for a testimony because God's delay is not a deny. Listen there was a woman with an issue plan, she tried all the doctors in town, but on the doctors she spent all her money, no help could be found. But one day she heard about Jesus, that he would soon be passing by. She reached out in faith and got healed that day, God's delay is not a deny. Be of good courage. God will Keep on trusting him, he's able, his love will never depart, it will never depart. We'll wait for victory, we'll wait for victory. Every now and then sorrow will bring tears to your eyes. Stand still he hasn't forgotton (2), I don't care what you've been through, don't move to the right or to the left. Lord hold on, hold on. Somebody reach up and get a grip, hold on to Jesus. Just wait, hallelujah. Just wait. David said I waited patiently on the Lord and he inclined on to me and heard my cry. Put a new song in my heart, cause I waited. Just wait, just wait, stand still, he hasn't forogotten, cause his delay is not a deny.

CRUCIFIED IN CHRIST
This recent Gospel song refers to St. Paul's Theology of the Cross, which Paul sees as glory and freedom rather than shame, since the Old Self is crucified allowing the New Self to live:

You think that no one understands when you don't feel strong, hey, I got an answer for you. There's a way that's light and easy, it's true. He knows when you fall. So get up and go on and I want you to know that you don't have to all alone. Even with tears in your eyes count it all joy until the time, until you make it through the storm. Turn from your past, say, say goodbye remember you were crucified with Christ. You were crucified with Christ, yeah, oh yeah so let the weak say I'm stong, I'm strong. So read the word, renew your mind, oh, oh, when they tried to remind you the road you used to travel can be a distant memory, you decide the wind and the waves stare you in the face put on your armor and don't run away, I know that Jesus is there so just cast all yor care, it will be all right. Even with tears in your eyes count it all joy until the time, until you make it through the storm. Turn from your past, say, say goodbye remember you were crucified with Christ. You were crucified with Christ, with Christ. And when you know you got a weakness he will be strong. On that day ou will say you belong in the presence of the Lord, so let Him reign, let Him reign, let Him reign in your heart, in your heart. Even with tears in your eyes count it all joy until the time, until you make it through the storm. Turn from your past, say, say goodbye remember you were crucified with Christ. He was crucified so you and I could live. That's why I'm so glad, you were crucified with Christ, you were crucified with Christ.

STAND BY ME
This is one of the most famous Gospel songs, about trust in Jesus:

When the storms of life are raging, stand by me (stand by me). When the storms of life are raging, stand by me (stand by me). When the world is tossing me like a ship out on the sea, Thou who rulest wind and water stand by me.When I'm growing old and feeble, stand by me. When I'm growing old and feeble, stand by me. When I do the best I can and my friends misunderstand, Thou who never lost a battle, stand by me.(2)

IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE
This Gospel song is based on a promise made by Jesus in the Gospel of John that, "In my Father's House [Heaven] are many mansions":

In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not true He would have told me so. He has gone away to live in that bright city, He's preparing me a mansion, that I know. Jesus died upon the cross to bear my sorrow, freely that souls like you might have new life. But I know that soon there'll come a bright tomorrow when the world will all be free from sin and strife. Do not shun the Savior's love from up in glory or you won't be there to see the Gospel story, in my Father's house are many mansions, if you're true then to this land you'll surely go.

I, JOHN
This is a fairly close rendering of the opening and closing chapters of the Book of Revelation:

Oh well, I, John, he saw a mighty number a way up in the middle of the air I, John he saw mighty number
Way in the middle of the air. God Almighty! John, you saw mighty numbers Way up in the middle of the air
Well there were three gates in the east And there were three gates in the west Three gates in the north Three gates in the south And that makes twelve gates to the city all square wide John, you saw might numbers way up in the middle of the air Well John declared that he saw a man He held twelve bright stars in his right hand
Well his eyes flashed fire like the burning sun
Old John got scared and he wanted to run Well he wanted to run but his feet wouldn't go Cause he felt the gospel cutting like a two-edged sword And he heard a voice that said John, you take a look And read what you see and then you write it in a book And he saw twelve angels in the east And there were twelve angels in the west Twelve angels in the north, Twelve angels in the south That's a total of forty-eight angels to the city, four squared wide. Hallelujah, God Almighty!

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
Another reference to the story of Nicodemus from the Gospel of John:

Long ago I didn't know nothing about Jesus and his love. I had heard about it but I had never felt it, this manna that comes frrom above. When this life of sin I could no longer stand, I asked my mother, how could I get to know the Man, she said you must be, don't you see, you got to be born again. Oh, yes. The answer is you've go to have the Holy Ghost, that power of love, that burning feeling that keeps the prayer wheel turning. You cannot conceal it, it makes you move, it makes you shout, you cry that it's real. You know my soul's been anchored in Jesus' name. You know I'm free from guilt and I'm free from sin, keep You must have that fire in the Holy Ghost, that burning thing that keeps the haloes turning, you can't conceal it, it makes you move, it makes you shout, it has the power. My soul's been anchored in my Jesus' name. You know I'm free from guilt and I'm free from sin, after being I've been born again.

IN THE UPPER ROOM
This refers to the "upper room" where Jesus has his Last Supper with his 12 apostles:

In the upper room with Jesus, standing right here, blessed fears.Daily there my sins confessing Begging for his mercy sweet Trusting in his grace and power Seeking there his love in prayer In there I feel the Holy Spirit As I stand with Him in prayer. Oh, it's In the upper room with Jesus, oh it's in the upper room with my Lord and nobody. Well it's in the upper room, yes, it's in, it's in the upper room, well it's in the upper room, talking with the Lord. Oh, my, hallelujah, Lord.

CALVARY
This is the hill on which Jesus was crucified:

Calvary, Calvary. Lord, surely he died on Calvary. Can you hear him call his Father? Can you hear him calling his Father? Can you hear him calling His father, surely oh surely surely oh surely he died on Calvary.

Songs Week of 16 May 2006

The Dies Irae

The Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), based on a Christian poem in Latin, comes from the "Day of the Lord" text in Zephaniah: "That day will be a day of wrath" (1:15). This text, part of the Requiem mass (mass for the dead) has fascinated composers for centuries, allowing for spectacular musical effects, often of horror (even Andrew Lloyd-Webber, composer of Cats and Phantom of the Opera, set it to music). We hear part of a Gregorian chant, followed by Verdi's famous Requiem setting:

Dies irae, dies illa solvet saeclum in favilla teste David cum Sibylla.

Day of wrath, day of tears, dissolves the world in ashes, as said by David and the Sibyl.

The Lacrimosa (as in English, "lachrymose" or tearful) is also from the Day of Wrath text, included in Requiem masses. Mozart's setting of these words (probably the last music he wrote, on his deathbed) are deeply moving, the words softly flowing like tears; while the same text inspired Berlioz to a sound picture of fury, as the chorus hammers home each syllable of the opening words:

Lacrimosa, dies illa qua resurget ex favilla judicandus homo reus.

On this day full of tears, when from the ashes arises guilty man, to be judged.

JESUS

Jesus, my Jesus, oh how I love to call your name. Oh, Jesus, oh sweet Jesus, everyday your name is the same. When I've troubles around me and I didn't have to despair, Lord you told me that you'd be right there. It seemed like all my problems had just begun, but I didn't have to worry no more: they're already won. Oh, Jesus, oh Jesus, Oh how I love calling your name. Oh, Jesus, sweet Jesus, oh every day, yes it is, your name is the same. I remember the time when I felt so all alone, when I needed you Jesus all I had to do was call. Sometimes it was in the morning, sometimes late at night but when I got up on my knees, Jesus, everything was all right. Oh, Jesus, my Rose of Sharon, my Lily of the Valley, calling your name. Oh, Jesus, Jesus, every day, yes it is, every day is the same. Oh, Jesus, nobody but Jesus, oh how I love to call on your Holy name. Oh, Jesus, nobody but Jesus everyday, hallelujah, every day is the same. Oh, Jesus, my love of Jesus, my love of Jesus, I love calling your name.

JESUS PAID THE DEBT
The death of Jesus was intended to be the final sacrifice, equal to the sins of the world, therefore never having to be repeated. The idea was that no possible sacrifice (such as thousands of bulls) could satisfy the all-powerful and all-good God except a sacrifice that was actually equal to God; this could only be God himself. But this would be impossible unless God himself found a way to make this happen, by giving his Son for this purpose.

I was a wanderer far away from God, I had suffered in my bosom and my way was mighty hard. Then I heard that Gospel story, how he came down from his throne in glory. He paid the debt, I know he paid the debt for you and me. He paid the debt, Jesus paid the debt. He paid the debt, he paid the debt. I know he paid the debt, he paid the debt for you and me. You know he stretched out on the tree and then he died on rugged Calvary. That's why I know that Jesus paid the debt for you and me. He paid the debt, he paid the debt., oh yeah, Jesus paid the debt, oh yeah, well it was Jesus who paid the debt a long time ago. You know he stretched out on the tree on Calvary. You know Jesus paid the debt for you and me.

GETHSEMANE
The Garden of Gethsemene is the place where Jesus begged God to take his cup of suffering away (Matthew 26:36ff.)

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus suffered there. The sweat became his blood they say, he spent the night in prayer. They whipped him up the mountain, made him carry his cross, he died to save the sinning man he died to save the lost. Who shall wear his garment divided in four parts, who shall wear the Savior's robe, we shall all cast lots. They gambled over the Savior's cloak, oh what a shame when Jesus was hanging on the cross they thought it was all a game. I wonder how the soldiers felt when the night turned black as night? Do you think they went and hid and trembled with fright. Who shall wear his garment divided in four parts, who shall wear the Savior's robe, we shall all cast lots. Do you think that they felt sorry for the wrong that they had done when they learned the Jew they crucified was God's own chosen son? My Savior was a humble man who did no wrong they say, now we call Easter morning when the angel rolled the stone away. Who shall wear his garments divided in four parts, who shall wear the Savior's robe? We shall all cast lots.

OUR FATHER
The Lord's Prayer is also known as the Pater Noster or the "Our Father" (after its first words in Latin and English). This is the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. This prayer also appears in the Gospel of Luke, with a few differences. The final doxology or praise ("For Thine is the kingdom," etc. was added in later Gospel texts probably from church influence). From Matthew 6:9ff.:
(1)

Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy holy name. Thy kingdom come, Lord, thy will be done, Lord, down here on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, Lord, our daily bread, Lord hear this prayer on my dying bed, then I'll come on home, Lord, Lord in your kingdom forever, Amen. Now when we've done forgive our sins, forgive our evils, please cleanse us within. Our Father, won't you hear this plea, don't ever turn, turn your back on me. Yeah, I know that I'm got to cross some time, Lord, stay within in this heart of mine. Oh, Lord. Thine is the kingdom, power, and the glory Amen.

(2)

Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy holy name. Thy kingdom come, Lord, thy will be done, Lord, down here on earth as it is in Heaven. Then give us this day our daily bread, Lord hear this prayer on my dying bed, then I'll come on home into your kingdom forever, Amen. This is the first prayer I learned to say and it has brought me, brought me here all the way. When I'm discouraged, worn out and weary, and my pathway seems so dreary. Lord lead us not, Lord, into temptation, yes, you are the maker of all creation, Thine is the kingdom, power, and the glory forever, Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER
This is the most famous setting of the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, Which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT
Sam Cooke's self-penned, Touch the Hem of His Garment is an example of how gospel songs are taken straight from the Bible, in this case the story of the woman who can't stop her bleeding (Matthew 9:20-22): "Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, 'If I only touch his cloak I will be healed.'" Like many Gospel singers, Cooke left Gospel and is credited with inventing what we now know as Soul music:

Oh, there was a woman in the Bible days. She had been sick, sick so very long. But she heard that Jesus was passing by, so she joined the gathering throng. and while she was pushing her way through, someone asked her, "What are you trying to do?" She said, "If I could just touch the hem of his garment I know I'll be made whole." She cried, "Oh, Lord, oh, Lord," [and] said, "If I could just touch the hem of his garment, I know I'll be made whole."
Oh, she spent her money here and there, until she had no, had no more to spare. The doctors they done all they could, but their medicine would do no good. When she touched him, the Savior didn't see, but still he turned around and cried, "Somebody touched me." She said, "It was I who just want to touch the hem of your garment. I know I'll be made whole right now." She stood there, cryng "Oh, oh, I know, Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord." [She] said, "If I could just touch the hem of your garment, I know I'll be made whole right now."

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW

A classic gospel song based on Matthew 10:29: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father."
Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart feel lonely and long for Heavenly home? When Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is he. His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me. His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me.
I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free. Oh, his eye is on the sparrow and I know he's watching me.

JEHOVAH
This song refers to two well-known New Testament texts (the Lilies of the Field from Matthew 6:28) and Matthew 7:9-11: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? . . . [H]ow much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

Consider the lilies of the field: Solomon dressed in royal robes has not the worth of them. Consider the lilies of the field. He takes after each and every need. Leave all your cares behind, seek him and you will find your father loves you so. Consider the creatures of the air. For all of the diamonds in all the earth have not the wealth of them. Consider the creatures of the air. Jehovah loves them with tender hand. He knows your every care. His touch is always there to see you through the night.
     And Jehovah I love you so. And Jesus I want you to know, all you've done for me to set me free. I'll never let you go. (2)
     Consider the lilies of the field. For how much more does he love his own, if Yaweh cares for them. Consider the creatures of the air. He takes after each and every need. If we ask him for bread, will he give us a stone? Jehovah loves his own.
    And Jehovah I love you so. And Jesus I want you to know, all that you've done for me to set me free. I'll never let you go. (2)

PEACE, BE STILL
This gospel song, like the text (Matthew 8:23-27), goes back to Genesis, where God makes the sea and calls it "good," as in Psalm 89: "You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them" (v. 9). In the same Psalm, God promises David, "I will set his right hand over the sea" (v. 25).

Master, the tempest is raging! Oh, the billows are tossing high! The sky is o'ershadowed with blackness. No shelter or hope is nigh [near]. Carest thou not that we perish? How can thou lie asleep? It seems like each moment so madly is threatening oh, a grave, a grave, a grave in the angry deep! Get up, Jesus, because the winds and the waves shall obey thy will: Peace, be still, peace be still, peace be still, peace be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea or demons or men or whatever it be, no waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still. the winds and the waves shall obey your will and all you got to say is peace be still. Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea or demons or men or whatever it be, no waters can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey thy will: Peace, peace, be still. When you're lonely, when you're hopeless, Lord peace, peace, yes, peace, I'm looking for peace. Yes, yes, yes! Oh, peace, be still.

WOULD THEY LOVE HIM DOWN IN SHREVEPORT?

Each Jesus speaks for an age, as each age claims to speak for Jesus. It's commonly said that if Jesus did come back, he'd be hated and killed all over again, especially by those who have safe images of him pasted on their walls. This point is made by country singer, George Jones, who reminds us that Jesus had long hair, was a Jew and Palestinian, hung around with misfits, and had values few of us share today, any more than they did when Jesus lived.

If they saw him riding in, long hair flying in the wind, would they love him down in Shreveport today? If they heard he was a Jew and a Palestinian too, would they love him down in Nashville today? If they saw him talk with ease up to the junkies, drunks, and thieves, would they love him out in Wichita today? Would the rich men think it funny, if he said give up your money? Would they love him p on Wall Stree today? If he made the wine to water, gave it to their sons and daughters, what would the folks in Salt Lake City say? If he talked of brotherhood as he walked their neighborhood, would they love him up in Boston today? Oh, if he said love those who use you and forigve those who abuse you. If he turned the other cheek , what would they say? Would you laugh and call him crazy and then send him on his way, if he walked right into your town today? Oh, would you laugh and call him crazy and then send him on his way, if he walked right in to your town today?

TO BEAT THE DEVIL
This song updates the Bible by showing Satan and Jesus as a cynical old man and an idealistic youth. As in the Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-10), the young folksinger (today's prophet) is tempted to give up hope of social change. He is in the wilderness ("the cold"), hungry (wanting "beans"), and (like Jesus) has a "pocket full of dreams." As Jesus left his pride to go into the wilderness, the singer "left my pride and stepped inside a bar." Instead of dust, there's "sawdust" and "friendly shadows." The old Devil puts him to the test ("show us what you are"), tempting him: "It's a tough life," and people don't listen anyway. The world belongs to the Devil, who offered it to Jesus (Matthew 4:9). But faith belongs to the singer (today's prophet) who, though knows the devil can't be beaten, but can be mocked. His beer and song are used for good instead of evil:

It was winter time in Nashville, down on Music City Row. And I was looking for a place to get myself out of the cold, to warm the frozen feeling that was eating at my soul and keep the chilly wind off my guitar; my thirsty wanted whiskey, my hungry needed
beans; but it'd been a month of pay days since I'd heard that eagle scream. So with a stomach full of empty and pocket full of dreams I left my pride and stepped inside a bar. Actually I guess you'd call it a tavern). Cigarette smoke to the ceiling and sawdust on the floor. Friendly shadows. I saw that there was just one old man sitting at the bar. And in the mirror I could see him checking me with my guitar. He turned and said "Come up here boy and show us what you are." I said "I'm dry" and he bought me a beer. He nodded at my guitar and said "It's a tough life ain't it?" I just looked at him and he said "You ain't making any money, are you?" I said "You've been reading my mail." He just smiled and said "Let me see that guitar: I got something you ought to hear." Then he laid it on me:
     "If you waste your time a-talking to the people who don't listen to the things that you are saying, who do you think's going to hear? And if you should die explaining how the things that they complain about are things they could be changing, who do you think's going to care? There were other lonely singers in a world turned deaf and blind who were crucified for what they tried to show. And their voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time, 'cause the truth remains that no-one wants to know!"
     Well, the old man was a stranger, but I'd heard his song before―back when failure had me locked out on the wrong side of the door: when no-one stood behind me but my shadow on the floor―and lonesome was more than a state of mind. You see, the devil haunts a hungry man. If you don't want to join him, you've got to beat him. I ain't saying I beat the Devil, but I drank his beer for nothing, and then I stole his song!
     And you still can hear me singing to the people who don't listen to the things that I am saying, praying someone's going to hear. And I guess I'll die explaining how the things that they complain about are things they could be changing, hoping someone's going to care. I was born a lonely singer and I'm bound to die the same, but I've got to feed the hunger in my soul. And if I never have a nickel I won't ever die of shame 'cause I don't believe that no-one wants to know!

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

Prophets still live among us, as the last song showed. This is one of Bob Dylan's most famous early folk songs and is based on Bible texts: But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. (Matthew 19:30) and "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (20:16). This reversal of values is the basic theme of the later prophets as well as Jesus. For example, "the Day of the Lord" (that is, judgment) was reversed to apply to Jews rather than to the enemies of the (the "Jews" here meaning one's own people). But many other images in this song come from the Bible (the flood, the angry sea, false prophets and religious leaders, and the Last Judgment:

Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth saving Then you better start swimming Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing.Come writers and critics
Who prophecy with your pen And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin And there's no telling who That it's naming. For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changing. Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There's a battle outside
And it is raging. It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changing.Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land And don't criticize What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command, our old road is Rapidly aging. Please get out of the new one If you can't lend your hand For the times they are a-changing.The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast
As the present now Will later be past The order is Rapidly fading.
And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changing.

Bible Songs: Daniel and the Minor Twelve

The book of Daniel is ranked with the Writings in the Jewish Bible but the Christian Bibles rank Daniel with the Five Major Prophets. The Jewish Bibles have only three major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel ("major" meaning book-length); the Christian Bibles consider Daniel also a major prophet, along with the book of Lamentations, making five major prophets). Because of the questionable historical basis of the book of Daniel and, moreover, because about half the book is not even in Hebrew but in Aramaic, the book had lesser standing in the Jewish canon. However, because of possible Messianic readings of the text (as indicated in my handout) and especially because of the clear statement of resurrection (the only undisputed claim for revival after death in the Old Testament), the book has greater importance for Christians. Regardless, for both Jews and Christians, Daniel has been of great inspiration throughout the ages, for persecuted Jews and Christians, since it teaches that God hears prayers and will save his "saints" from final destruction, whether in this world or the next. Daniel is the first true apocalypse in the Bible (apart from apocalyptic passages in the book prophets), suggesting that the book was written in a time of great despair. The rule is, apocalypse (a dream of final judgment) replaced prophecy (a plea for worldly judgment) as the hope of worldly judgment (judgment in this world) was lost. For this reason, the book of Revelation ends the Christian Bible in the only way it could have ended: on a hope of judgment in another world and another time.

Week of 9 May 2006

In a movie called Pulp Fiction, the assassin, played by Samuel L. Jackson, quotes (or misquotes) a text from Ezekiel before avenging a crime. First the young criminal is given a short Bible lesson:
"Do you read the Bible, Brett? Well there's this passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. 'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.'"

EZEKIEL SAW DE WHEEL
Another Ezekiel song, referring to the Valley of Dry Bones: "Son of man, can these bones live?" This text probably referred to the hopeless Jewish exiles (in Babylon) but later came to be used (by Christians) as a key resurrection text (the promise of life after death):

Well, Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling, the great big wheel a-turning over. Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling way in the middle of the air. Great God! Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling, the great big wheel a-turning over. Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling way in the middle of the air.
     Well great God Almighty, the Bible declared, Ezekiel saw the wheel in the middle of the air. The great big wheel and the little bitty wheel: a wheel turning over in the middle of the wheel. The Good Book says and the book don't lie, God told Ezekiel to prophesy. And my God spoke in Ezekiel's mind. He raised his voice and begins to cry.
     He cried, "Old bones! Old bones are walking! Great God Almighty these old bones are talking. Old bones, bones, won't you hear me now. Old bones, you hear the word of God!"
     Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling, the great big wheel a-turning over. Ezekiel saw the wheel arolling way in the middle of the air. Great God! Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling, the great big wheel a-turning over. Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling way in the middle of the air.
     Well God told Ezekiel to prophesy. Zeke tried to do it and that's no lie. God sent the wind from the west to the east and spirits struck him from his head to his feet.
     He cried, "Old bones! Old bones are walking. Great God almighty the old bones are talking. Old bones, bones, won't you hear me now. Old bones, you hear the word of God!"
     Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling, the great big wheel a-turning over. Ezekiel saw the wheel a-arolling way in the middle of the air.
     Well old Ezekiel tried his best to do the things the Lord had told him to. He did his best, that's all he can. After all Zeke was a natural man.
     Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling, the great big wheel a-turning over. Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling way in the middle of the air. One more! One more! Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling, the great big wheel a-turning over. Ezekiel saw the wheel a-rolling way in the middle of the air. Yes, indeed. Old Zeke was wailing that time!

DANIEL SAW THE STONE

This gospel song refers to Daniel's explaining the rock cut from the mountain in Nebuchadnezzar's first dream: "This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands." This is the "kingdom that will never be destroyed" (DANIEL 2:44f.). The image of God as the "Rock" occurs in Psalms and Isaiah, where God is called "the Rock eternal" (26:4); hence the hymn, "Rock of Ages." Christians view the Rock as Jesus, as the following gospel song shows:
Well old Daniel saw the stone that was hewed out the mountain. Daniel saw the stone stone that was rolling down to Babylon, Daniel saw the stone that was hewed out the mountain coming down to redeem a mighty world. (2) Won't you meet me, Jesus, meet me, won't you meet me in the middle of the air? Cause now if these wings should fail me, Lord I want to hitch on another pair. King Jesus was the stone that was hewed out the mountain. King Jesus was the stone that come a-rolling in Babylon. King Jesus was the stone that was hewed out the mountain, coming down to redeem a mighty world. (2) Well the tree ends were bending, way up in the heavenly land. Well my God spoke to the Holy Ghost, he said, "Come on, and let's make plans." I'm looking for the stone that was hewed out the mountain, I'm looking for the stone that came a-rolling in Babylon, I'm looking for the stone that was hewed out the mountain coming down to redeem a mighty world. (2) Well now early in the morning the trumpet's going to sound, the dead in Christ is going to rise. Well if you ain't got good religion, Lord in hell you'll open up your eyes. I found that stone that was hewed out of the mountain, I found that stone that was rolling in Babylon, I found that stone that was hewed out of the mountain, coming down to redeem a mighty world. (2)

ROCK OF AGES
One of the most famous hymns, based on Isaiah 26:4 and Daniel 2:44:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, >From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure; Save from wrath and make me pure.

HIDE ME ROCK OF AGES

A country and western version of this idea:
Oh Thou blessed Rock of ages. I am trusting on Thee. Keep me till my journey's ended, till Thy blessed face I see. Hide me always Rock of Ages, till Thy blessed face I see, while the storm cloud rages, Rock of Ages hide Thou me.

DANIEL WAS A PRAYING MAN
One of the reasons the book of Daniel is so popular is its confidence in both God and prayer. Note how Jewish and Christian ideas are blended here (the reference to "the Father and the Son [Jesus]"):

Daniel was a praying man (2) three times a day he would always pray. Daniel was a praying man. Daniel was a praying man (2) three times a day he would always pray. Daniel was a praying man. Always face the east, he always faced the east, he always faced the sun when he prayed to the Holy One. Yeah. Daniel was a praying man. He prayed that "thy will be done (3), I believe in the Father and the Son, yeah! Daniel was a praying man. Daniel was a praying man (2) three times a day he would always pray. Daniel was a praying man.

THEY CAME OUT SHOUTING
The story of the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace is blended with the idea of Jesus, though Jesus came hundreds of years after the book of Daniel was (supposedly) written. Note the note of triumphalism common in these songs (a faith in final victory), which has sustained Jews and Christian through ages of persecution of all kinds:

Oh, they came, they came out shouting (they came), the fire don't bother me. (2) Let me tell you, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, into the fire burning they did surely go! They went in hand in hand came out in Jesus' hands. They came out shouting. I say, they came out shouting, the fire don't bother me. Let me tell you Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, into the fire burning they did surely go, they went hand in hand, came out in Jesus' name, they came out shouting, the fire don't bother me. They came out shouting! (3).

SHADRACK
Another Gospel song based on the Fiery Furnace text from DANIEL:

Well there were 3 children from the land of Israel. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. They took a little trip to the land of Babylon. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. Well old Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. Well he took a lot of gold and he made him an idol. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego.
     Well he told everybody when they heard the music of the coronet. Well they told everybody when they heard the music of the flute. And they told everybody when they heard the music of the horn. Great God says, You must bow down and worship the idol. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego.
     But the children of Israel would not bow down. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. You couldn't fool them with a golden idol. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. I said, you couldn't fool them with a golden idol. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego.
     So the king put the children in a fiery furnace. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. He heaped on coals and red-hot brimstone. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. Made it seven times hotter: hotter than it ought to be. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. It even burned up the soldiers that the king had put there. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. Then the Lord God sent them an angel. And he gave them a couple of wings. So they moved them on down to the fiery furnace and began to cool the flames. Those children they got so happy, they were strutting right through the fire, just laughing and singing about the power of the gospel. Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego. Well, Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego. Little old Nebuchadezzer said, "Hey, now!" when he saw the power of the Lord. "Have a good time in the land of Babylon." Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego. Oh, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego.

DANIEL, SERVANT OF THE LORD
Gospel song based on the lion's den text from DANIEL:

Oh, the King cried, Oh, Daniel, go find the Hebrew Daniel, servant of the Lord. O Daniel, Daniel, Daniel.
Among the Hebrew nation, one Hebrew Daniel was found. They put him in the lion's den, he stayed there all night long. Oh, the King cried, Oh, Daniel, go find the Hebrew Daniel, servant of the Lord. O Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. O Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, the Hebrew Daniel, servant of the Lord. Now the king in his sleep was troubled. And then early in the morning he rose to find that God had sent off his angels for to close the lion's jaws. Oh the king cried, O Daniel, Daniel, the Hebrew, Daniel, servant of the Lord. (repeat)

HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
The story of Belshazzar and his banquet (the book of Daniel) gives English the phrase, "handwriting on the wall":

Well there's a handwriting (on the wall). It's a handwriting (on the wall). I see a handwriting (on the wall). Whoa, whoa! Lord, he writes on the wall. Well you read your Bible, you read it well. You know about the story that I'm about to tell. Belshazzar was sitting at the banquet ball, drinking out of vessels of Israel's God. They tell me that his eyes got red with wine when God come jumping on the wheels of time. He rode on down to the banquet hall, set his handwriting on the wall. Belshazzar looked up on the banquet wall, saw the handwriting of Israel's God. "Go get Daniel!" I heard him yell, "tell him to read that writing, read it well. But I'll make him the ruler of all the land if he could just read the writing that's written by the hand." Then Daniel comes jumping to the power of God, began to read what was written on the wall. Mene, Tekele, Uparson. Great God Almighty, your days are done. But God done got tired of your wicked ways, the angels in the heavens done numbered your days. He said, your evil deeds have done got tried, you got to go to judgment to stand your trial. You got to go to judgment and stand at the bar for drinking out the veseels of Israel's God.

BELSHAZZAR
Country singer, Johnny Cash, wrote this song about the "handwriting on the wall" scene in DANIEL:

Well the Bible tells us about a man who ruled Babylon and all its land. Around the city he built a wall and declared that Babylon would never fall. He had concubines and wives. he called his Babylon, Paradise. On his throne he drank and ate but for Belshazzar it was getting late. For he was weighed in the balance and found wanting. His kingdom was divided, it couldn't stand. He was weighed in the balance and found wanting. His houses were built upon the sand. Well the people feasted and drank their wine and praised the false gods of his time. All holy things they scorned and mocked but suddenly all their mocking stopped. For on the wall there appeared a hand: nothing else, there was no man. In blood the hand began to write and Belshazzar couldn't hide his fright. For he was weighed in the balance and found wanting. His kingdom was divided and couldn't stand. He was weighed in the balance and found wanting. His houses Well no one around but couldn't understand what was written by the mystic hand. Belshazzar tried but couldn't find a man who could give him peace of mind. But Daniel, the prophet, a man of God, he saw the writing on the wall in blood. Belshazzar asked him what it said and Daniel turned to the wall and read: , "My friend you're weighed in the balanced and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided, it can't stand, You're weighed in the balance and found wanting. Your houses are built upon the sand.

In His Care-O
Daniel became a symbol for those who wished to keep God's laws regardless where they lived, as this gospel song shows:

Well Daniel he was a good man, Lord, he prayed three times a day. Well, the angels raised their windows just to hear what Daniel had to say, say, say. Well Daniel he was a good man, Lord he prayed three times a day. I pray the Lord, I'm in his care-o!

JONAH AND THE WHALE
Jonah is one of the most well-known characters in the Bible and the source of countless gospel and pop references:

Well God sent Jonah down to Ninevah land to preach the Gospel to the wicked man and to repent his wicked ways, I'm going to overthrow the city in forty days. God moves in the windstorm, he rose in the windstorm, and troubled everybody in mind. Well Jonah went down to the seashore and he made up his mind which way to go. Well he got himself a ship and he paid his fare, oh God called up with Jonah down there. God moves in the windstorm, yeah, yeah, you know he rose in the windstorm and troubled everybody in mind. Well God saw the ship and he came in time, the captain of the ship had trouble in mind. And then he went into the deep, well he saw old Jonah there fast asleep. He said, hey stranger tell me your name, my Name is Jonah and I came from the king. All this trouble is on a kind of me, why don't you throw me overboard and let the ship sail free. Well God moves in the windstorm, you know he rose in the windstorm and troubled everybody in mind. Well I threw old Jonah overboard, along comes a whale and swallowed him whole and took him on over to Ninevah land yeah well I threw old Jonah on a bar of sand. God moves in the windstorm, oh yeah, you know he moves in the windstorm and troubled everybody in mind. Well God sent Jonah down to Ninevah land to preach the Gospel to the wicked man and to repent his wicked ways (everybody), I'm going to overthrow the city in forty days.

JONAH

Go Jonah! Go Jonah! Go to Ninevah. Go Jonah! A message came from Heaven. Ninevah was undermined. God said to Jonah go and let my light shine. Go and tell my people, you'd better mend your ways. Cause if you don't, this might be your last day. And God said, "Go Jonah! Go Jonah! Go to Ninevah. Go Jonah. Well get on up and get on up and go down Jonah. Well get on up and get on up and go down Jonah. God will tell you what to say. Well instead of going down to Ninevah, Jonah looked the other way. But things didn't go the way old Jonah had planned. For soon Jonah jump and hollered, by the big old fish he was swalloed. God made that fish jump up that preacher man. God said, "Go Jonah! go Jonah! Well, Go to Ninevah. Go Jonah! Get on up and get on up and go down Jonah, get on up and get on up and go down Jonah! God will tell you what to say. Go Jonah! Go Jonah! Go to Ninevah, go Jonah! Well get on up and go down, Jonah! God will tell you what to say! Heigh-ho Silver, away! Heigh-ho, Silver, away!

JONAH AND THE WHALE

Jonah was a man who got his word from the Lord to go and preach the gospel to the sinful land. But he got on a ship and he tried to get away and ran into a storm in the middle of the sea. Now the Lord made the waves just to roll so high. The ship begins to sink and they all begin to cry. So they pulled old Jonah out of the hole and they dumped him in the water just to lighten up the load.
Now the Lord made a whale, long and wide. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? And he swallowed up Jonah, hair and hide. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? Now Jonah starts to pray in the belly of a whale. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? He repented of his sins like a man in jail. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? Lord, Lord. Now Jonah must have been a bad man. He must have been a sinner. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? Cause the whale got him down and he didn't like his dinner. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? Lord, Lord. Well he swum around the ocean sick as he could be. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? After three days, he had to set him free. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? So the whale spit Jonah out on the dry land. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? And he went on to preaching like a righteous man. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? And the people put their sins when they hear him in the town. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish? So when you hear the call don't you turn the course around. Lord, Lord, wasn't that a fish?

JONAH

God he rode in a windstorm, God he rode in a windstorm, he rode in a windstorm, troubled everybody's mind. (2) Oh, you know God sent Jonah to the Ninevah land, "Preach my gospel to the wicked man." Jonah got angry, and didn't want to go, he bought him a ticket to a distant shore. Got his ticket, got on board, ship went a-rocking from shore to shore. They tell me the ship was toppled from side to side and everybody on board had trouble in mind. God found Jonah, found him fast asleep, "Oh, my body, don't go into the deep." God he rode in a windstorm (3) and he troubled everybody's mind. I got a hiding place. Yeah!

The Dies Irae

Dies irae, dies illa solvet saeclum in favilla teste David cum Sibylla.

Day of wrath, day of tears, dissolves the world in ashes, as said by David and the Sibyl.

Lacrimosa, dies illa qua resurget ex favilla judicandus homo reus.

On this day full of tears, when from the ashes arises guilty man, to be judged.

BRINGING IN THE SHEAVES

"They know not the thoughts of the Lord: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor" (Micah 4:12).

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve; Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
{Refrain} Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves, Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

AMOS

One of the clearest calls for justice in the Bible is from AMOS 5:24: "Let justice roll down like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream." Martin Luther King refers to this text in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington:
"No we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righeousness like a mighty stream!"

HOSEA

The image of the wind as a means of God's punishment is found throughout the Bible, but most clearly in Hosea "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind" (8:7). The "wind" refers to the uprooting of an unjust social order. Bob Dylan borrowed this image for the lyric of Blowing in the Wind:
How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? How many seas must the white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand? Yes and how many times must the cannonballs fly before they're forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind!

Songs Week of 2 May

Dry Bones

A famous gospel song, now rarely performed. It is based on Ezekiel 37:

"And he said unto me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Lord God, thou knowest.' Again he said unto me, 'Prophesy upon these bones. . . .' So I prophesied, as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise. And, behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone." (Ezekiel 37:3-7).

Ezekiel cried them dry bones (3), "Now hear the word of the Lord." Ezekiel connected them dry bones (3), now hear the word of the lord. Well the toe bones connected to your foot bone, your foot bone's connected to your heel bone connected to the ankle (knee, thigh, hip, back, shoulder, neck, head) now hear the word of the Lord. Them bones gonna walk around (3) now hear the word of the Lord. Just connect them bones, them dry bones, now hear the word of the Lord (3). Well your head bone's connected from your neck bone (neck, shoulder, back, hip, thigh, knee, leg, ankle, heel, foot, toe bone), now hear the word of the Lord. Them bones, them dry bones (3), now hear the word of the Lord. (Repeat). Now hear the word of the Lord.

Breathe On Us Again

This hymn was sung at the Christian Revival in Washington, D.C. in October, 1997. It was named, "Stand in the Gap," after Exekiel 22:30: "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap [hole] for the land's sake, so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."
The title refers to another Ezekiel text, the "Valley of Dry Bones": "I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live" (37:5). This refers to Genesis: "and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul" (2:7). The revival of the dead bones in the Ezekiel text is the source of the religious terms, "revivalism" and "revival movements," common throughout Christian history, in reaction against routine worship:

O Lord, hear. O Lord forgive us. We have lost the hour of you. Have mercy, have mercy.
O Lord, cleanse our hearts, which are divided. Stir the faith that we once knew. We're thirsty, we're thirsty.
O Lord, restore the Church that bears your name. O Spirit, send a revival to this nation. Breathe on us again. Breathe on us again. O Lord, restore the Church that bears your name. O Spirit, send a revival to this nation. Breathe on us again. Breathe on us again.

EZEKIEL SAW THE WHEEL

Well I tell you! Ezekiel saw the wheel way up in the middle of the air. And the big wheel runs by faith and the little wheel runs by the grace of God: a wheel in a wheel way up in the middle of the air.

Swing Down, Sweet Chariot
Not the same as Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, though both songs use the story of Elijah and the chariot. The influence of Gospel music on Elvis' rock 'n' roll style is shown in this 1955 interview:

Interviewer: "Say, something about your unique style. Where did you get the idea for this?"
Elvis: "I just landed upon it accidentally. I, ah, I'm a pretty close follower of religious quartets. And they do a lot of rock and rhythm screechings. And so that's where I got the idea from: religious quartets."

Why don't you swing down sweet chariot, stop and let me ride. Swing down chariot, stop and let me ride. Rock me Lord, rock me Lord, calm and easy.

Well I've got a home on the other side. (2) Well, well, well, well, well, well. . . . Ezekiel went down in the middle of a field. He saw an angel working on a chariot wheel. Wasn't so particular 'bout the chariot wheel. Just wanted to see how a chariot feel. Why don't you swing down sweet chariot, stop and let me ride. Swing down chariot, stop and let me ride. Rock me Lord, rock me Lord, calm and easy. Well I've got a home on the other side. Well, well, well. . . . Ezekiel went down and he got on board. Chariot went a-bumping on down the road. Zeke wasn't so particular 'bout the bumping of the road. Just wanted to lay down his heavy load. Why don't you swing down sweet chariot, stop and let me ride. Swing down chariot, stop and let me ride. Rock me Lord, rock me Lord, calm and easy. Well I've got a home on the other side. Well I got a father in the Promised Land. Ain't no more stopping till I shake his hand. Rock me Lord, rock me Lord, calm and easy. I've got a home on the other side. Why don't you swing down sweet chariot, stop and let me ride. Swing down chariot, stop and let me ride. Rock me Lord, rock me Lord, calm and easy. Well I've got a home on the other side.

Ezekiel 34
(Listening Text)

This chapter influenced ideas in the New Testament, and Jesus refers to it (John 10). He also refers to it in his famous remark about sheep disguised as wolves: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (Matthew 7:15). The Ezekiel text has echoes of the famous Psalm 23 ("The Lord Is My Shepherd").

¹And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,²Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ³Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. ⁴The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. ⁵And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. ⁶My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. ⁷Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; ⁸As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; ⁹Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; ¹⁰Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. ¹¹For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. ¹²As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. ¹³And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ¹⁴I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

Listen to the Lambs

Based on Ezekiel 34 (itself based on Jeremiah 23:1), with its messianic image of a Good Shepherd, later used by Jesus: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. . . . I am the good shepherd: I know my sheep and my sheep know me (John: 10:11-14).

Listen to the lambs, all a-crying (3) all a-crying. (3) He shall feed his flock like a shepherd and carry the young lambs in his bosom (4) and carry the young lambs in his bosom (6). Ah, listen! Ah, listen! Listen to the lambs, all a-crying (3) all a-crying. (3) Amen.
A MIGHTY FORTRESS
This world-famous hymn is the national hymn of Germany, and was written by Martin Luther, based on Psalm 46. In traditional hymns, there's a great deal of transposed (reversed) word order, like "our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing" in ordinary prose English would be: "He is our helper, prevailing amid the flood of mortal ills."

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark [wall] never failing; our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe [the Devil] doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.

CHORUS OF THE HEBREW SLAVES
Based on Psalm 137 ("By the waters of Babylon we wept"), this is from the Italian opera Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) and is one of Verdi's most famous melodies. Italian is in red italics on left and English follows:

Va', pensiero, sull'ale dorate; Fly, thought, on wings of gold;
va', ti posa sui clivi, sui colli, go settle upon the slopes and the hills,
ove olezzano tepide e molli where, soft and mild, the sweet airs<>
l'aure dolci del suolo natal! of our native land smell fragrant!
Del Giordano le rive saluta, Greet the banks of the Jordan
di Sonne le torri atterrate... and Zion's toppled towers.
Oh mia patria sì bella e perduta! Oh, my country so lovely and lost!
Oh membranza sì cara e fatal! Oh, remembrance so dear and so fraught with despair!
Arpa d'or dei fatidici vati, Golden harp of the prophetic seers,
perché muta dal salice pendi? why dost thou hang mute upon the willow?
Le memorie nel petto raccendi, Rekindle our bosom's memories,
ci favella del tempo che fu! and speak of times gone by!
O simìle di Sòlima ai fati Mindful of the fate of Jerusalem,
traggi un suono di crudo lamento, either give forth an air of sad lamentation,
o t'ispiri il Signore un concento or else let the Lord imbue us
che ne infonda al patire virtù! (3) with fortitude to bear our sufferings! (3)

40
This famous song, by the Irish Rock group, U2, is based on Psalm 40:

(Sing this with me, this is 40) I waited patiently for the Lord He inclined and heard my cry He lifted me up out of the pit Out of the mire and clay I will sing, sing a new song I will sing, sing a new song How long to sing this song? How long to sing this song? How long? How long? How long? How long to sing this song He set my feet upon a rock And made my footsteps firm Many will see Many will see and hear I will sing, sing a new song I will sing, sing a new song (Sing it!) How long to sing this song? How long to sing this song? How long? How long? How long? How long to sing this song.

Songs, Week of 25 April 2006

BALM IN GILEAD
Based on a text from Jeremiah: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?" (Jeremiah 8:22). Quoted in Edgar Allan Poe's poem, The Raven.

There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. Sometimes I feel discouraged and feel my work's in vain and then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again. There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. If you can't preach like Peter, if you can't pray like Paul, go home and tell your neighbor he [Jesus] died to save us all. There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul, to heal the sin-sick soul.

PSALM 51

The Miserere is named after the first words, in Latin, of Psalm 51. This is the psalm supposedly written after David had his affair with Bathsheba. It is one of the seven so-called "penitential psalms" of the Roman church; especially famous because of Gregorio Allegri's early Vatican setting, so valued by the church that there was a ban on anyone writing down the music so it could be performed elsewhere. Unluckily for the church, the fourteen-year-old Mozart heard it once and wrote it down entirely from memory, with only a few errors, corrected after a second hearing. These are the opening words, in Latin and English:

Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.
Have pity on me, Lord, according to your great kindness

Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum:
And according to your many mercies

dele iniquitatem meam.
Blot out my sins.

Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea:
Completely wash me from my sins

et a peccato meo munda me.
And from my sin clean me.
[For English-language students, note the many English cognates, or related words in English: misery, sequel, magnify, thou, delete, iniquity, amplify, impeccable, etc.]

Psalm 23

Charlotte Church included this musical version of the psalm on her album, Voice of an Angel.

The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose Near restful waters he leads me to revive my dropping spirit He guides me along the right path He is true to his name If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear You are there with your crook and your staff, with these you give me compfort You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes My head you have anointed with oil, my cup is overflowing Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever.

SABBATH PRAYER

This is from the long-running Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof.

May the Lord protect and defend you. May he always keep you from shame. May you always be in Israel a shining name. May you be like Ruth and like Esther, may you be deserving of praise. Strengthen them oh Lord and keep them from the stranger's ways..

Whither Thou Goest

This charming song, by the German composer Heinrich Schutz, is based on famous lines from the book of Ruth (1:16ff.) It is now sometimes used, in English, as a wedding song.

Whither thou goest there also will I go,
And where thou lodgest there also will I lodge,
Your land be my land and your God be my God.
O bid me not, O bid be not to leave thee.

What may befall us our God alone knoweth,
But sharing all that his mercy bestoweth
Shall be my joy, my delight never ending,
Not till life's day is done shall we be parted.

Psalms
The book of Psalms is the best loved book in the Bible. German reformer, Martin Luther, called it the Bible in miniature (small). The book includes 150 psalms. Though they are attributed to King David, "Israel's beloved singer" (2 Samuel 23:1), this is more traditional than factual. The psalms were written over many centuries, from the first Temple period (c. 1000) to at least the Babylonian Captivity in the sixth century. For convenience, scholars now follow Herman Gunkel's division of the psalms into types. Lament psalms are pleas to God for help. Communal Lament psalms are pleas for help for the nation. Confident (Trust) psalms affirm faith in God. Thanksgiving psalms thank God for help. Communal Thanksgiving psalms give thanks on behalf of the nation. Royal psalms praise the king. Enthronement psalms praise God as king. Praise psalms give general praise to God. Zion psalms specifically praise Zion (Jerusalem), God's holy mountain. Messianic psalms use references to lament, the Davidic king, or God as prophecies of Jesus (hence also called Prophetic Psalms). Wisdom psalms speak of wisdom in general, in the style of proverbs. Historical psalms refer to Jewish history. Nature psalms refer to the power or beauty of Nature. Imprecatory psalms curse enemies (these are more likely parts of lament psalms, such as the famous Psalm 137 cursing the Babylonian captors). The seven penitential psalms are part of Christian tradition. These psalms, of course, are bound to overlap; nonetheless a quick judgment of type can be made based on verbal motifs and focus, such as "king" (Royal psalm), God as king (Enthronement psalm), cursing (Imprecatory psalm), penitence (Penitential psalm), praise (Praise psalm), Zion (Song of Zion), proverbial wisdom (Wisdom psalm), Nature, History, and thanksgiving (Thanksgiving psalm).

Lament Psalms

Psalm 3

This psalm can fit into the Lament or Trust psalm, blending both motifs.

0: A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
1: O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
2: many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God.
3: But thou, O LORD, art a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4: I cry aloud to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy hill.
5: I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
6: I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.
7: Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! For thou dost smite all my enemies on the cheek, thou dost break the teeth of the wicked.
8: Deliverance belongs to the LORD; thy blessing be upon thy people!

Psalm 4

1: Answer me when I call, O God of my right! Thou hast given me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.
2: O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies?
3: But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
4: Be angry, but sin not; commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
8: In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 5

1: Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my groaning.
2: Hearken to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to thee do I pray.
10: Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against thee.
12: For thou dost bless the righteous, O LORD; thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 6

0: To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1: O LORD, rebuke me not in thy anger, nor chasten me in thy wrath.
6: I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.
7: My eye wastes away because of grief, it grows weak because of all my foes.
8: Depart from me, all you workers of evil; for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9: The LORD has heard my supplication; the LORD accepts my prayer.
10: All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled; they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment.

Psalm 7

0: A psalm of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush a Benjaminite.
1: O LORD my God, in thee do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2: lest like a lion they rend me, dragging me away, with none to rescue.
14: Behold, the wicked man conceives evil, and is pregnant with mischief, and brings forth lies.
15: He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole which he has made.
16: His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own pate his violence descends.
17: I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

Psalm 10

1: Why dost thou stand afar off, O LORD? Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble?
2: In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised.
17: O LORD, thou wilt hear the desire of the meek; thou wilt strengthen their heart, thou wilt incline thy ear
18: to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 11

Psalm 12

1: Help, LORD; for there is no longer any that is godly; for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men.
2: Every one utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
5: "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs."
7: Do thou, O LORD, protect us, guard us ever from this generation.

Psalm 13

1: How long, O LORD? Wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2: How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
5: But I have trusted in thy steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

Psalm 17

1: Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
11: They track me down; now they surround me; they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.
12: They are like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.
13: Arise, O LORD! confront them, overthrow them! Deliver my life from the wicked by thy sword,
14: from men by thy hand, O LORD, from men whose portion in life is of the world. May their belly be filled with what thou hast stored up for them; may their children have more than enough; may they leave something over to their babes.

Psalm 22

1: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
7: All who see me mock at me, they make mouths at me, they wag their heads;
8: "He committed his cause to the LORD; let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"
17: I can count all my bones -- they stare and gloat over me;
18: they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots.

Psalm 25

2: O my God, in thee I trust, let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
3: Yea, let none that wait for thee be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
19: Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
21: May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for thee.
22: Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Psalm 26

9: Sweep me not away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10: men in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11: But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.

Psalm 28

1: To thee, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the Pit.
7: The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts;
8: The LORD is the strength of his people, he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9: O save thy people, and bless thy heritage; be thou their shepherd, and carry them for ever.

Psalm 35

1: Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
5: Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them on!
8: Let ruin come upon them unawares! And let the net which they hid ensnare them; let them fall therein to ruin!
12: They requite me evil for good; my soul is forlorn.
13: But I, when they were sick -- I wore sackcloth, I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,
14: as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; I went about as one who laments his mother, bowed down and in mourning.
15: But at my stumbling they gathered in glee, they gathered together against me; cripples whom I knew not slandered me without ceasing;

Psalm 38

1: O LORD, rebuke me not in thy anger, nor chasten me in thy wrath!
2: For thy arrows have sunk into me, and thy hand has come down on me.
5: My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness,
12: Those who seek my life lay their snares, those who seek my hurt speak of ruin, and meditate treachery all the day long.
18: I confess my iniquity, I am sorry for my sin.
19: Those who are my foes without cause are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20: Those who render me evil for good are my adversaries because I follow after good.
21: Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me!

Psalm 39

4: "LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is!
6: Surely man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nought are they in turmoil; man heaps up, and knows not who will gather!
12: "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears! For I am thy passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers."

Psalm 40

1: I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2: He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3: He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
6: Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire; but thou hast given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering thou hast not required.
11: Do not thou, O LORD, withhold thy mercy from me, let thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness ever preserve me!
12: For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, till I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.
13: Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!

Psalm 41

1: Blessed is he who considers the poor! The LORD delivers him in the day of trouble;
2: the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; thou dost not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3: The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness thou healest all his infirmities.
4: As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against thee!"
5: My enemies say of me in malice: "When will he die, and his name perish?"
6: And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers mischief; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7: All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
8: They say, "A deadly thing has fastened upon him; he will not rise again from where he lies."
9: Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10: But do thou, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them!
11: By this I know that thou art pleased with me, in that my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12: But thou hast upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in thy presence for ever.
13: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

Psalm 42

1: As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God.
3: My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
4: These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
5: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help
7: Deep calls to deep at the thunder of thy cataracts; all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me.
9: I say to God, my rock: "Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"
11: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

Psalm 43

1: Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people; from deceitful and unjust men deliver me!
2: For thou art the God in whom I take refuge; why hast thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
5: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

Psalm 51

0: A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1: Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6: Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
14: Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance.
15: O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
16: For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased.
17: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalm 52

Psalm 53

1: The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none that does good.

2: God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any that are wise, that seek after God.
3: They have all fallen away; they are all alike depraved; there is none that does good, no, not one.
4: Have those who work evil no understanding, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
5: There they are, in great terror, in terror such as has not been! For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly; they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.
6: O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.

Psalm 54

0: When the Ziphites went and told Saul, "David is in hiding among us."
2: Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
4: Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5: He will requite my enemies with evil; in thy faithfulness put an end to them.

Psalm 55

1: Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication!
2: Attend to me, and answer me; I am overcome by my trouble. I am distraught
3: by the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they cherish enmity against me.
4: My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5: Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
6: And I say, "O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
7: yea, I would wander afar, I would lodge in the wilderness,
8: I would haste to find me a shelter from the raging wind and tempest."
9: Destroy their plans, O Lord, confuse their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.
10: Day and night they go around it on its walls; and mischief and trouble are within it,
11: ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its market place.
12: It is not an enemy who taunts me -- then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me -- then I could hide from him.
13: But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
14: We used to hold sweet converse together; within God's house we walked in fellowship.
15: Let death come upon them; let them go down to Sheol alive; let them go away in terror into their graves.
16: But I call upon God; and the LORD will save me.
17: Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice.
18: He will deliver my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
19: God will give ear, and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old; because they keep no law, and do not fear God.
20: My companion stretched out his hand against his friends, he violated his covenant.
21: His speech was smoother than butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
22: Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
23: But thou, O God, wilt cast them down into the lowest pit; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in thee.

Psalm 56

0: When the Philistines seized David in Gath.
1: Be gracious to me, O God, for men trample upon me; all day long foemen oppress me;
2: my enemies trample upon me all day long, for many fight against me proudly.
8: Thou hast kept count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle! Are they not in thy book?
11: In God I trust without a fear. What can man do to me?

Psalm 57

David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
1: Be merdiful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in thee my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

Psalm 58

3: The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth, speaking lies.
4: They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5: so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
6: O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7: Let them vanish like water that runs away; like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
8: Let them be like the snail which dissolves into slime, like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9: Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10: The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11: Men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."

Psalm 59

0: When Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
1: Deliver me from my enemies, O my God, protect me from those who rise up against me,
2: deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.
17: O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee, for thou, O God, art my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 61

1: Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
2: from the end of the earth I call to thee, when my heart is faint. Lead thou me to the rock that is higher than I;

Psalm 63

0: A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1: O God, thou art my God, I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh faints for thee, as in a dry and weary land where no water is.

Psalm 64

1: Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy,
10: Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD, and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart glory!

Psalm 69

1: Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
2: I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3: I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4: More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?
7: For it is for thy sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face.
8: I have become a stranger to my brethren, an alien to my mother's sons.
9: For zeal for thy house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult thee have fallen on me.
14: . . . Rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15: Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.
20: Insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
21: They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Psalm 74

0: A Maskil of Asaph.
1: O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever? Why does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
2: Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thy heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt.
3: Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4: Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.
5: At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
6: And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7: They set thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name.
8: They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9: We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.
10: How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile thy name for ever?
11: Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy bosom?
19: Do not deliver the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of thy poor for ever.
20: Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

Psalm 85

4: Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away thy indignation toward us!
5: Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou prolong thy anger to all generations?
6: Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Psalm 88

1: O LORD, my God, I call for help by day; I cry out in the night before thee.
2: Let my prayer come before thee, incline thy ear to my cry!
3: For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
4: I am reckoned among those who go down to the Pit; I am a man who has no strength,
18: Thou hast caused lover and friend to shun me; my companions are in darkness.

Psalm 130

1: Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!
2: Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
5: I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6: my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Psalm 140

1: Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,
9: Those who surround me lift up their head, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10: Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into pits, no more to rise!
12: I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the afflicted, and executes justice for the needy.

Psalm 141

1: I call upon thee, O LORD; make haste to me! Give ear to my voice, when I call to thee!

2: Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice!
3: Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD, keep watch over the door of my lips!
4: Incline not my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity; and let me not eat of their dainties!
5: Let a good man strike or rebuke me in kindness, but let the oil of the wicked never anoint my head; for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
10: Let the wicked together fall into their own nets, while I escape.

Psalm 142

0: When David was in the cave. A Prayer.
5: I cry to thee, O LORD; I say, Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
6: Give heed to my cry; for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are too strong for me!

Psalm 143

1: Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my supplications! In thy faithfulness answer me, in thy righteousness!
2: Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for no man living is righteous before thee.
9: Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies! I have fled to thee for refuge!
12: And in thy steadfast love cut off my enemies, and destroy all my adversaries, for I am thy servant.

COMMUNAL LAMENTS

Psalm 44

8: In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to thy name for ever.
9: Yet thou hast cast us off and abased us, and hast not gone out with our armies.
10: Thou hast made us turn back from the foe; and our enemies have gotten spoil.
11: Thou hast made us like sheep for slaughter, and hast scattered us among the nations.
14: Thou hast made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
22: Nay, for thy sake we are slain all the day long, and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
23: Rouse thyself! Why sleepest thou, O Lord? Awake! Do not cast us off for ever!
24: Why dost thou hide thy face? Why dost thou forget our affliction and oppression?
25: For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our body cleaves to the ground.
26: Rise up, come to our help! Deliver us for the sake of thy steadfast love!

Psalm 74

1: O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever? Why does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
2: Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old, which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thy heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt.
3: Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4: Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.
5: At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
6: And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7: They set thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name.
8: They said to themselves, "We will utterly subdue them"; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9: We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.
10: How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile thy name for ever?
11: Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy bosom?
19: Do not deliver the soul of thy dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of thy poor for ever.
20: Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

Psalm 79

1: O God, the heathen have come into thy inheritance; they have defiled thy holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2: They have given the bodies of thy servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of thy saints to the beasts of the earth.

3: They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.
4: We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those round about us.
5: How long, O LORD? Wilt thou be angry for ever? Will thy jealous wrath burn like fire?
6: Pour out thy anger on the nations that do not know thee, and on the kingdoms that do not call on thy name!
7: For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his habitation.
8: Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers; let thy compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for thy name's sake!
10: Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of thy servants be known among the nations before our eyes!
11: Let the groans of the prisoners come before thee; according to thy great power preserve those doomed to die!
12: Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted thee, O Lord!
13: Then we thy people, the flock of thy pasture, will give thanks to thee for ever; from generation to generation we will recount thy praise.

Psalm 80

1: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou who leadest Joseph like a flock! Thou who art enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2: before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh! Stir up thy might, and come to save us!
3: Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved!
4: O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry with thy people's prayers?
5: Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6: Thou dost make us the scorn of our neighbors; and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7: Restore us, O God of hosts; let thy face shine, that we may be saved!
8: Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt; thou didst drive out the nations and plant it.
12: Why then hast thou broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
19: Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let thy face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalm 83

1: O God, do not keep silence; do not hold thy peace or be still, O God!
2: For lo, thy enemies are in tumult; those who hate thee have raised their heads.
3: They lay crafty plans against thy people; they consult together against thy protected ones.
4: They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!"
13: O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.

PSALMS OF TRUST

Psalm 4

3: But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
4: Be angry, but sin not; commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
5: Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
6: There are many who say, "O that we might see some good! Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, O LORD!"
7: Thou hast put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
8: In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 11

1: In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to me, "Flee like a bird to the mountains;
2: for lo, the wicked bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3: if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do"?
4: The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids test, the children of men.
5: The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates him that loves violence.
6: On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and brimstone; a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7: For the LORD is righteous, he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm 16

1: Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.
2: I say to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord; I have no good apart from thee."
5: The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; thou holdest my lot.
6: The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
11: Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy presence there is fulness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 23

1: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2: he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
3: he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
5: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 27

1: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2: When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me, my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall.
13: I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!
14: Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the LORD!

Psalm 62

1: For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2: He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved.
3: How long will you set upon a man to shatter him, all of you, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4: They only plan to thrust him down from his eminence.
5: For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
6: He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7: On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8: Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
9: Men of low estate are but a breath, men of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10: Put no confidence in extortion, set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
11: Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God;
12: and that to thee, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For thou dost requite a man according to his work.

Psalm 121

1: I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come?
2: My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3: He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber.
4: Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5: The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6: The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.
8: The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.

Psalm 131

1: O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2: But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul.
3: O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

THANKSGIVING PSALMS

Psalm 9

This psalm could fit comfortably as a type of Lament, Praise, or Enthronement psalm.

1: I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds.
2: I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High.
9: The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
11: Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12: For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13: Behold what I suffer from those who hate me, O thou who liftest me up from the gates of death,
20: Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!

Psalm 18

0: A Psalm of David, who addressed the words on the day the LORD delivered him from Saul. He said:

1: I love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2: The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
16: He reached from on high, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
17: He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
18: They came upon me in the day of my calamity; but the LORD was my stay.
19: He brought me forth into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20: The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
31: For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
33: He made my feet like hinds' feet, and set me secure on the heights.
34: He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36: Thou didst give a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.

Psalm 30

0: A Psalm of David. A Song at the dedication of the Temple.
1: I will extol thee, O LORD, for thou hast drawn me up, and hast not let my foes rejoice over me.
2: O LORD my God, I cried to thee for help, and thou hast healed me.
5: For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
11: Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
12: that my soul may praise thee and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.

Psalm 32

1: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2: Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3: When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
9: Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not keep with you.
11: Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psalm 34

0: A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1: I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2: My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and be glad.
3: O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
10: The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
19: Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20: He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Psalm 40

Psalm 66

1: Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
8: Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9: who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
10: For thou, O God, hast tested us; thou hast tried us as silver is tried.
11: Thou didst bring us into the net; thou didst lay affliction on our loins;
12: thou didst let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet thou hast brought us forth to a spacious place.
16: Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
17: I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18: If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
19: But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20: Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

Psalm 92

1: It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to thy name, O Most High;

2: to declare thy steadfast love in the morning, and thy faithfulness by night,
3: to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.

Psalm 100

0: A Psalm for the thank offering.
1: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
2: Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3: Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4: Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name!
5: For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 116

6: The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
7: Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8: For thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;
9: I walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10: I kept my faith, even when I said, "I am greatly afflicted";
11: I said in my consternation, "Men are all a vain hope."

Psalm 118

1: O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!
2: Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures for ever."
3: Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures for ever."
4: Let those who fear the LORD say, "His steadfast love endures for ever."
5: Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.
6: With the LORD on my side I do not fear. What can man do to me?
7: The LORD is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8: It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9: It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
21: I thank thee that thou hast answered me and hast become my salvation.
22: The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.
29: O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever!

COMMUNAL THANKSGIVING

Psalm 107

1: O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever!
2: Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
3: and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
23: Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;
24: they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.
25: For he commanded, and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26: They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27: they reeled and staggered like drunken men, and were at their wits' end.
28: Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress;
29: he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Psalm 124

1: If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say --
2: if it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us,
3: then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;
4: then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;
5: then over us would have gone the raging waters.
7: We have escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!
8: Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 129

1: "Sorely have they afflicted me from my youth," let Israel now say --
2: "Sorely have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.

PRAISE PSALMS

Psalm 8

1: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted
2: by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
3: When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established;
4: what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?
5: Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor.
6: Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet,
7: all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
8: the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea.
9: O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth!

Psalm 78

51: He smote all the first-born in Egypt, the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52: Then he led forth his people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53: He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54: And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.
55: He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56: Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not observe his testimonies,
62: He gave his people over to the sword, and vented his wrath on his heritage.
65: Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66: And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame.
67: He rejected the tent of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of E'phraim;
68: but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
69: He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded for ever.
70: He chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds;
71: from tending the ewes that had young he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob his people, of Israel his inheritance.
72: With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skilful hand.

Psalm 93

1: The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. Yea, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
2: thy throne is established from of old; thou art from everlasting.
3: The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring.
4: Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
5: Thy decrees are very sure; holiness befits thy house, O LORD, for evermore.

Psalm 100

This psalm can be called a thanksgiving psalm or a praise psalm; but praise seems to be its main focus:

0: A Psalm for the thank offering.
1: Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
2: Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3: Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4: Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name!
5: For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 103

1: Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
3: who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4: who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5: who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6: The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
15: As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16: for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
17: But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,
22: Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Psalm 104

1: Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, thou art very great! Thou art clothed with honor and majesty,
2: who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent,
3: who hast laid the beams of thy chambers on the waters, who makest the clouds thy chariot, who ridest on the wings of the wind,
4: who makest the winds thy messengers, fire and flame thy ministers.
5: Thou didst set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be shaken.
6: Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7: At thy rebuke they fled; at the sound of thy thunder they took to flight.
8: The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which thou didst appoint for them.
9: Thou didst set a bound which they should not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
21: The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
22: When the sun rises, they get them away and lie down in their dens.
24: O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures.
35: Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

Psalm 114

1: When Israel went forth from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2: Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3: The sea looked and fled, Jordan turned back.
4: The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
5: What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?
6: O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?
7: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8: who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

Psalm 117

1: Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
2: For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever. Praise the LORD!

SONGS OF ZION
(PRAISE)

Psalm 48

1: Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,
2: beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.
12: Walk about Zion, go round about her, number her towers,
13: consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels; that you may tell the next generation
14: that this is God, our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide for ever.

Psalm 76

1: In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel.
2: His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.

Psalm 84

1: How lovely is thy dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
2: My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3: Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
4: Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, ever singing thy praise! [Selah]
5: Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
10: For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 87

1: On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2: the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
4: Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia -- "This one was born there," they say.
5: And of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her"; for the Most High himself will establish her.
6: The LORD records as he registers the peoples, "This one was born there."
7: Singers and dancers alike say, "All my springs are in you."

Psalm 122

1: I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!"
2: Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
7: Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers!"

Psalm 126

1: When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2: Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
5: May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!
6: He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 132

1: Remember, O LORD, in David's favor, all the hardships he endured;

2: how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3: "I will not enter my house or get into my bed;
4: I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
5: until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."
7: "Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!"

ENTHRONEMENT PRAISE PSALMS

Psalm 47

1: Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2: For the LORD, the Most High, is terrible, a great king over all the earth.
6: Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7: For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!

Psalm 93

Psalm 95

1: O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2: Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
8: Harden not your hearts, as at Mer'ibah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9: when your fathers tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10: For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who err in heart, and they do not regard my ways."
11: Therefore I swore in my anger that they should not enter my rest.

Psalm 96

1: O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2: Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
3: Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4: For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
5: For all the gods of the peoples are idols; but the LORD made the heavens.

Psalm 97

1: The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
2: Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
7: All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.
10: The LORD loves those who hate evil; he preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11: Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

Psalm 98

6: With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
7: Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!
8: Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together
9: before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 99

1: The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2: The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.

WISDOM PSALMS

Psalm 1

1: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2: but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3: He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4: The wicked are not so, but are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Psalm 34

0: A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
9: O fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no want!
10: The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11: Come, O sons, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12: What man is there who desires life, and covets many days, that he may enjoy good?
13: Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
14: Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
17: When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18: The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
19: Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20: He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
22: The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 36

1: Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2: For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3: The words of his mouth are mischief and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4: He plots mischief while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he spurns not evil.
5: Thy steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, thy faithfulness to the clouds.
9: For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light do we see light.
10: O continue thy steadfast love to those who know thee, and thy salvation to the upright of heart!

Psalm 37

1: Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers!
2: For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
5: Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
6: He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday.
7: Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
8: Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9: For the wicked shall be cut off; but those who wait for the LORD shall possess the land.
10: Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look well at his place, he will not be there.
11: But the meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12: The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes his teeth at him;
13: but the LORD laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
14: The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows, to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those who walk uprightly;
15: their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16: Better is a little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.
20: But the wicked perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures, they vanish -- like smoke they vanish away.
25: I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread.
27: Depart from evil, and do good; so shall you abide for ever.
28: For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. The righteous shall be preserved for ever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
32: The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.
33: The LORD will not abandon him to his power, or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34: Wait for the LORD, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to possess the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
35: I have seen a wicked man overbearing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
36: Again I passed by, and, lo, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.
37: Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the man of peace.
38: But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
39: The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
40: The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Psalm 49

3: My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4: I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
5: Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
6: men who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7: Truly no man can ransom himself, or give to God the price of his life,
8: for the ransom of his life is costly, and can never suffice,
9: that he should continue to live on for ever, and never see the Pit.
10: Yea, he shall see that even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.
11: Their graves are their homes for ever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own.
12: Man cannot abide in his pomp, he is like the beasts that perish.
13: This is the fate of those who have foolish confidence, the end of those who are pleased with their portion.
14: Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home.
15: But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.
16: Be not afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.
17: For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.
18: Though, while he lives, he counts himself happy, and though a man gets praise when he does well for himself,
19: he will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never more see the light.
20: Man cannot abide in his pomp, he is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 73

1: Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2: But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well nigh slipped.
3: For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4: For they have no pangs; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5: They are not in trouble as other men are; they are not stricken like other men.
6: Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.
7: Their eyes swell out with fatness, their hearts overflow with follies.
8: They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9: They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
10: Therefore the people turn and praise them; and find no fault in them.
11: And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12: Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13: All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14: For all the day long I have been stricken, and chastened every morning.
15: If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have been untrue to the generation of thy children.
16: But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17: until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18: Truly thou dost set them in slippery places; thou dost make them fall to ruin.
19: How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20: They are like a dream when one awakes, on awaking you despise their phantoms.

Psalm 90

0: A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1: LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2: Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.
3: Thou turnest man back to the dust, and sayest, "Turn back, O children of men!"
4: For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
5: Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream, like grass which is renewed in the morning:
6: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
9: For all our days pass away under thy wrath, our years come to an end like a sigh.
10: The years of our life are threescore and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11: Who considers the power of thy anger, and thy wrath according to the fear of thee?
12: So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 112

1: Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!
2: His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3: Wealth and riches are in his house; and his righteousness endures for ever.
4: Light rises in the darkness for the upright; the LORD is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5: It is well with the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice.
6: For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered for ever.
7: He is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8: His heart is steady, he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire on his adversaries.
9: He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; his horn is exalted in honor.
10: The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked man comes to nought.

Psalm 119

1: Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!
2: Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
3: who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!

Psalm 127

1: Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
2: It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Psalm 128

1: Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
2: You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

Psalm 133

1: Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
2: It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!

ROYAL PSALMS

Psalm 2

1: Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3: "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us."
4: He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
5: Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6: "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
7: I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you."

Psalm 20

6: Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
7: Some boast of chariots, and some of horses; but we boast of the name of the LORD our God.
8: They will collapse and fall; but we shall rise and stand upright.
9: Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call.

Psalm 21

<>1: In thy strength the king rejoices, O LORD; and in thy help how greatly he exults!
5: His glory is great through thy help; splendor and majesty thou dost bestow upon him.
7: For the king trusts in the LORD; and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

Psalm 45

1: My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
2: You are the fairest of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you for ever.
3: Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty!
4: In your majesty ride forth victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let your right hand teach you dread deeds!
10: Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house;
11: and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
17: I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever.

Psalm 72

0: A Psalm of Solomon.
1: Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal son!
2: May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice!
4: May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor!
7: In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
12: For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.
13: He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
17: May his name endure for ever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May men bless themselves by him, all nations call him blessed!
18: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
20: The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Psalm 101

1: I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to thee, O LORD, I will sing.
2: I will give heed to the way that is blameless. Oh when wilt thou come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
3: I will not set before my eyes anything that is base.
4: Perverseness of heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.
5: Him who slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy.
7: No man who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no man who utters lies shall continue in my presence.
8: Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.

Psalm 110

1: The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool."
2: The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes!
3: Your people will offer themselves freely on the day you lead your host upon the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning like dew your youth will come to you.
4: The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchiz'edek."
5: The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6: He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
7: He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

MESSIANIC PSALMS

Messianic psalms are psalms of other types that are interpreted by Christians as predictions of Jesus' life or ministry. Many of these of course are either Royal or Enthronement psalms, but some are penitential or lament psalms: 2, 8, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 31, 34, 40, 41, 44, 45, 68, 69, 72, 89, 97, 102, 110, 118, 132.

IMPRECATORY PSALMS (PSALMS OF MALEDICTION, OR CURSING)

Psalm 52

0: When Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, "David has come to the house of Ahimelech."
1: Why do you boast, O mighty man, of mischief done against the godly? All the day
2: you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery.
3: You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth.
4: You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.
5: But God will break you down for ever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.
6: The righteous shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying,
7: "See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and sought refuge in his wealth!"

Psalm 58

Psalm 59

0: When Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
5: Awake to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.
12: For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies which they utter,
13: consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more, that men may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth.
14: Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
15: They roam about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill.
16: But I will sing of thy might; I will sing aloud of thy steadfast love in the morning. For thou hast been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Psalm 69

22: Let their own table before them become a snare; let their sacrificial feasts be a trap.
23: Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; and make their loins tremble continually.
24: Pour out thy indignation upon them, and let thy burning anger overtake them.
25: May their camp be a desolation, let no one dwell in their tents.
27: Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from thee.
28: Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

Psalm 79

6: Pour out thy anger on the nations that do not know thee, and on the kingdoms that do not call on thy name!
7: For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his habitation.
12: Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted thee, O Lord!

Psalm 83

9: Do to them as thou didst to Mid'ian, as to Sis'era and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10: who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.
13: O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.
14: As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15: so do thou pursue them with thy tempest and terrify them with thy hurricane!
16: Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
17: Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; let them perish in disgrace.
18: Let them know that thou alone, whose name is the LORD, art the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 94

1: O LORD, thou God of vengeance, thou God of vengeance, shine forth!
2: Rise up, O judge of the earth; render to the proud their deserts!
3: O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4: They pour out their arrogant words, they boast, all the evildoers.
5: They crush thy people, O LORD, and afflict thy heritage.
6: They slay the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;
23: He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.

Psalm 109

4: In return for my love they accuse me, even as I make prayer for them.
5: So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6: Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser bring him to trial.
7: When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
8: May his days be few; may another seize his goods!
9: May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow!
10: May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit!
11: May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12: Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13: May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14: May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15: Let them be before the LORD continually; and may his memory be cut off from the earth!
16: For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death.
17: He loved to curse; let curses come on him! He did not like blessing; may it be far from him!
18: He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!
19: May it be like a garment which he wraps round him, like a belt with which he daily girds himself!
20: May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life!
27: Let them know that this is thy hand; thou, O LORD, hast done it!
28: Let them curse, but do thou bless! Let my assailants be put to shame; may thy servant be glad!
29: May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle!
30: With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31: For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who condemn him to death.

Psalm 137

1: By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.
2: On the willows there we hung up our lyres.
3: For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
4: How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?
5: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither!
6: Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!
7: Remember, O LORD, against the E'domites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Rase it, rase it! Down to its foundations!"
8: O daughter of Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall he be who requites you with what you have done to us!
9: Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!

Psalm 139

19: O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God, and that men of blood would depart from me,
20: men who maliciously defy thee, who lift themselves up against thee for evil!
21: Do I not hate them that hate thee, O LORD? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?
22: I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.

Psalm 140

<> 9: Those who surround me lift up their head, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10: Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into pits, no more to rise!
11: Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
12: I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the afflicted, and executes justice for the needy.
13: Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

CHRISTIAN PENITENTIAL PSALMS

Psalm 6

1: O LORD, rebuke me not in thy anger, nor chasten me in thy wrath.
2: Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3: My soul also is sorely troubled. But thou, O LORD -- how long?
4: Turn, O LORD, save my life; deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love.
6: I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.

Psalm 32

1: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2: Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3: When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
5:
I acknowledged my sin to thee, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 38

3: There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4: For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.
5: My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness,
6: I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.
18: I confess my iniquity, I am sorry for my sin.

Psalm 51

0: When Nathan the prophet came to David, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1: Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
14: Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance.

Psalm 102

1: Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to thee!
2: Do not hide thy face from me in the day of my distress! Incline thy ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!
4: My heart is smitten like grass, and withered; I forget to eat my bread.
24: "O my God," I say, "take me not hence in the midst of my days, thou whose years endure throughout all generations!"
25: Of old thou didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26: They will perish, but thou dost endure; they will all wear out like a garment. Thou changest them like raiment, and they pass away;
27: but thou art the same, and thy years have no end.

Psalm 130

1: Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!
2: Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
3: If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
5: I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6: my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Psalm 143

2: Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for no man living is righteous before thee.
5: I remember the days of old, I meditate on all that thou hast done; I muse on what thy hands have wrought.
6: I stretch out my hands to thee; my soul thirsts for thee like a parched land.
10: Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God! Let thy good spirit lead me on a level path!
11: For thy name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In thy righteousness bring me out of trouble!
12: And in thy steadfast love cut off my enemies, and destroy all my adversaries, for I am thy servant.

HALLEL PSALMS
(Egyptian Hallel=113-118)
(Great Hallel = 136, or 120-136)

Psalm 103

1: Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
22: Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Psalm 104

Psalm 105

1: O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples!
44: And he gave them the lands of the nations; and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45: to the end that they should keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 106

1: Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever!
3: Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
48: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!"
Praise the LORD!

Psalm 111

1: Praise the LORD. I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Psalm 112

1: Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!

Psalm 113

1: Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
9: He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 114

1: When Israel went forth from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2: Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

Psalm 115

18: But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 116

18: I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
19: in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 117

1: Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
2: For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 118

1: O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!
2: Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures for ever."

Psalm 146

10: The LORD will reign for ever, thy God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 147

1: Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is seemly.
20: He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 148

1: Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights!

Psalm 149

1: Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful!
3: Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with timbrel and lyre!

Psalm 150

1: Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
6: Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Historical Psalms

Psalms 78, 81, 105, 106, 114

Nature Psalms

Psalms 8, 19, 29, 104, 148.

A Brief Note on Psalm Types

To make your study of the psalms easier, I will focus on your ability to identify (recognize) types of psalms, with quoted verses on the exam (you will not have to rely on memory).
For convenience, scholars divide the psalms into several types. Observe the key words:

    1. Lament psalms are pleas to God for help: 1: Answer me when I call, O God of my right! Thou hast given me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer (Psalm 4)
    2. Communal lament psalms are pleas for help for the nation: Rouse thyself! Why sleepest thou, O Lord? Awake! Do not cast us off for ever! (Psalm 44)
    3. Trust psalms affirm faith in God: In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4)
    4. Thanksgiving psalms thank God for help: I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds. (Psalm 9)
    5. Communal thanksgiving psalms give thanks on behalf of the nation: O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! (Psalm 107)
    6. Royal psalms praise the king: Give victory to the king, O LORD; answer us when we call. (Psalm 20)
    7. Enthronement psalms praise God as king: For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! (Psalm 47)
    8. Praise psalms give general praise to God: Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him all you peoples. (Psalm 117)
    9. Zion psalms (Songs of Zion) specifically praise Zion (Jerusalem), God's holy mountain: How lovely is thy dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! (Psalm 84)
    10. Messianic psalms seem (to Christians) to predict Jesus (hence these are also called Prophetic psalms), either in terms of Jesus' suffering, Davidic kingship, or as God himself. Verbal clues include lament, the Davidic king, God, or any detail that might seem to be fulfilled in the New Testament: O God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22) (Jesus says this on the cross.)
    11. Wisdom psalms speak of wisdom in general, in the style of proverbs: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. (Psalm 1)
    12. Historical psalms refer to Jewish history: He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel. (Psalm 78)
    13. Nature psalms refer to the power or beauty of Nature: The Heavens declare the glory of God. (Psalm 19).
    14. Imprecatory (Malediction) psalms curse enemies: The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. (Psalm 58)
    15. The Penitential psalms are numbered as seven by Christian tradition, and include confession: I said, "I will confess my transgressions (sins) to the LORD"; then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32)

    These types of psalms, of course, will overlap (some verses curse, others in the same Psalm speak of trust in God, etc.).
    (Psalm 118 is an example of how one psalm can overlap as a type of thanksgiving (v. 1), communal thanksgiving (vv. 2-4), trust (vv. 5-7), and wisdom (vv. 8-9) in just a few verses; yet it's called a Hallel (praise) psalm based on its outside verses (1 and 28-29). Other Hallel (praise) psalms are so-called on the basis of the phrase, "Praise the Lord" (Hallelujah).
    A quick judgment of type can be made based on simple verbal motifs and focus, such as the word, "king" (Royal psalm), reference to God as king (Enthronement psalm), cursing (Imprecatory psalm), penitence (Penitential psalm), praise (Praise psalm), Zion (Song of Zion), proverbial wisdom in the style of the book of Proverbs (Wisdom psalm), Nature (Nature psalm), history (Historical psalm), and thanksgiving (Thanksgiving psalm).
    Some psalms, especially those with imprecatory verses, will fit into two types (laments, for example, often include curses against the psalmist's enemies). Opinions differ among scholars too. But awareness of the types and some skill at discrimination among them should be required of students.

Songs based on Isaiah
Week of 11 April 2006

Isaiah has often been called the Fifth Gospel; and it's also the most quoted Old Testament book in the Gospels other than the Psalter (Psalms).
The importance of Isaiah for Christians is in its Messianic prophecies, especially the idea of the Suffering Servant, although for Jews this refers to Israel rather than to Jesus. Many of the book's ideas, such as its promise of a kingdom of peace, a ruler of peace, a kingdom of harmony (where the lion lies down with the lamb), and the grapes of wrath, are familiar to many.
The Book of Isaiah was also the most frequent source text by Handel for his oratorio, the Messiah. The Messiah was later adapted to Gospel music style:

Behold a Virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
This is the famous text used by Christians as a prophecy of Jesus. The Hebrew word meaning "young woman" was translated into Greek as "virgin." For this reason, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, had to be a virgin:

Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us. Oh, God with us. I'm calling you Father, hallelujah, calling you Father, hey! Behold, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear the son and shall call His name Emmanuel. Behold, a virgin shall conceive oh and bear a son and shall call His name Emmanuel. Oh Hallelujah, I'm calling you Father, hallelujah, I'm callling you Father. Hallelujah, I praise your name, come on sing about it, Hallelujah, praise your name! Come on, come on, and sing about it. . . .

For Unto Us (Isaiah 9:6)

Glorious morn, glorious morn. Little Baby Jesus Christ is born. This is the song about the birth of a baby boy bringing into the world love, peace and heavenly joy. He is inspired to be the Messiah, celebration. Sing and shout, sing and shout, glory Hallelujah, gonna sing and shout. Wrapped up in a manger in his swaddling clothes was the little baby Jesus. People crowd around him just to sing and rejoice. They cried out together in one great voice. For unto us a child is born. See the pretty little baby boy, see the pretty little baby boy! What a pretty little baby boy, see the pretty little baby boy, what a pretty little baby boy! For unto us a child is born. Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. See the pretty little baby boy, a little pretty baby is born. Unto us a son is given, you know that the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor the Mighty Lord Almighty Father, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty Lord, the Mighty Lord, Prince of Peace, etc.

Comfort ye, my people (Isaiah 40:1-3)

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. Comfort ye my people, saith your God, saith your God, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. and cry unto her that warfare is accomplished that her iniquity is pardoned, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Comfort ye my people, saith your God, saith your God, saith, he saith, saith, saith. Comfort ye, comfort ye, comfort ye, yeah, the Lord saith, comfort ye, comfort ye, when you're kneeling down, when you're feeling up, in the morning, in the noonday, etc.

Every Valley shall be Exalted (Isaiah 40:4)

Every valley, every valley, every valley shall be exalted, shall be exalted, exalted, exalted, etc. and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight and the rough places plain, the crooked straight and the rough places plain. Every valley shall be exactled and every ountain and hill made low, the crooked straight and the rough places plain, let me explain. Every valley, every valley shall be exalted.

And the Glory of the Lord (Isaiah 40:5)

And the glory, the glory, the glory of the Lord, and the glory, the glory, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, shall be revealed and the glory, the glory of the Lord, and all flesh shall see it together, and all flesh shall see it together, all flesh shall see it together, and all flesh shall see it together and all flesh shall see it together and the glory, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and shall see it together and the glory, the glory, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh, and all flesh and all flesh shall see together the glory, the glory, the glory of the Lord and the glory shall be revealed, glory shall be revealed, shall be revealed, shall be revealed, and the glory shall be revealed, shall be revealed.

Oh Thou That Tellest (Isaiah 40:9)

Oh thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get up into the high mountain, Oh thou that telles good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain, Oh thou that telles good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain, Oh thou that telles good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain, O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, the glory of the Lord is risen, the glory of the Lord is risen, the glory of the Lord, the glory of the Lord, yeah. O get thee up, get way up and shout about, o get thee up, yeah, just get thee up, get thee up, get away up, shout about it, I can't hold myself, yeah, get thee up, just get thee up, I just got to get up and shout about it, just get thee up, just get thee up, get thee up.

Down by the Riverside

This famous Gospel song is based on a text from Isaiah: "They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more" (2:4).
I'm gonna lay down my burden by the riverside Down by the riverside, down by the riverside. I'm gonna lay down my my burden by the riverside I'm gonna study war no more. I ain't gonna study war no more, etc. Well I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield down by the riverside Down by the riverside, down by the riverside, I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield down by the riverside I'm gonna study war no more. I ain't gonna study war no more, etc. I'm gonna try on my long white robe down by the riverside Down by the riverside, down by the riverside I'm gonna try on my long white robe down by the riverside I'm gonna study war no more.I ain't gonna study war no more, etc. Gonna meet my loving Jesus, Down by the riverside, down by the riverside Gonna meet my loving Jesus, Down by the riverside, down by the riverside I ain't gonna study war no more, etc.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

Julia W. Howe took a tune called John Brown's Body and added new words, partly based on the "grapes of wrath" text in Isaiah: "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no-one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come" (63:3ff.) Here God is pictured as a God of Battle, ready to enforce justice among nations.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; I have read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps; His Day is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on. In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free; While God is marching on.Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

Peace in the Valley

This famous Gospel song, by Gospel composer, Thomas Dorsey, uses verses from Isaiah: "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them" (11:6). This motif was popularized by American artist, Edward Hicks (1780-1849) in his Peaceable Kingdom paintings (see picture, below right).

Oh well, I’m tired and so weary But I must go alone Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes Well the morning's so bright And the lamb is a light And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes There will be peace in the valley for me, some day There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray There'll be no sadness, no sorrow No trouble, trouble I see There will be peace in the valley for me, for me Well the bear will be gentle And the wolves will be tame And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes And the beasts from the wild Shall be led by a child And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes There will be peace in the valley for me, some day There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray There'll be no sadness, no sorrow No trouble, trouble I see There will be peace in the valley for me, for me.

LAND OF BEULAH

"No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah ; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married." Isaiah 62:4
Haphzibah="my delight is in her" Beulah="married"

I am dwelling on a mountain where the golden sunlight gleams, over a land of wondrous beauty far exceeds my fondest dreams. Where the air is pure, laden with the breath of flowers, they are blooming by the fountain, 'neath the air. I can see far down the mountain where often hindered on my journey by the ghosts of doubts and fears. Broken vows and disappointments thicklly sprinkled over the way, but the spirit that is w to the land of home today. It's the distant land of Beulah, blessed blessed land of light, where the flowers bloom forever and the sun is always bright. I am drinking from the fountain where I ever would abide, for I tasted life's pure river and my soul is satisfied. There's no thirsting for life's pleasures nor for I found a greater treasure, one that fadeth not away. Oh the cross has wondrous glory of to be true. When I'm in the way so narrow, I can sing I'm halfway through. And how sweetly Jesus whispers, take thy cross and haste thy feet, for I trod away before thee and thy glory lingers near. In the distant land of Beulah, blessed, blessed land of light, where the flowers bloom forever and the sun is always bright.

Bernard of Clairvaux: Commentary on the
SONG OF SONGS

For those students interested, this is an excerpt from more than eighty sermons that the 12th century monk, Bernard of Clairvaux wrote on the Song of Songs (also called Song of Solomon or Canticle of Canticles). This text discusses the single sentence, "I am beautiful like the curtains of Solomon." The writer asserts that Solomon (meaning peace="shalom") here refers to the Prince of Peace (Jesus), not King Solomon. Naturally, Bernard's reading is Christian. This extended reading of a text, by the way, is called exegesis (ex-i-JEE-sis). For those who would like to read the entire text, go to 1 and 2. Here's an example:

2. What does she mean then by saying: "I am beautiful like the curtains of Solomon"? I feel that here we have a great and wonderful mystery, provided that we apply the words, not to the Solomon of this Song, but to him who said of himself: "What is here is greater than Solomon." This Solomon to whom I refer is so great a Solomon that he is called not only Peaceful -- which is the meaning of the word Solomon -- but Peace itself; for Paul proclaims that "He is our Peace." I am certain that in this Solomon we can discover something that we may unhesitatingly compare with the beauty of the bride. Note especially what the Psalm says of his curtains: "You have spread out the heavens like a curtain." The first Solomon, though sufficiently wise and powerful, did not spread out the heavens like a curtain; it was he, rather who is not merely wise but Wisdom itself, who both created them and spread them out. It was he, and not the former Solomon, who spoke these words of God his Father: "When he set the heavens in their place, I was there." His power and his wisdom were undoubtedly present at the establishing of the heavens. And do not imagine that he stood by idle, as merely a spectator, because he said "I was there," and not "I was cooperating." Search further on in this text and you will find that he clearly states he was with him arranging all things. Therefore he said: "Whatever the Father does, the Son does too." He it was who spread out the heavens like a curtain, a curtain of superlative beauty that covers the whole face of the earth like a huge tent, and charms our human eyes with the variegated spectacle of sun and moon and stars. Is there anything more lovely than this curtain? Anything more bejewelled than the heavens? Yet even this can in no way be compared to the splendor and comeliness of the bride. It fails because it is a physical thing, the object of our physical senses; its form will pass away. "For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Songs, Week of 21 March 2006

Who knows what we'll listen to? Don't forget the set from the SONG OF SONGS on your previous handout; two songs from your previous handouts have been repeated in this handout (the two last songs).
TURN, TURN, TURN
This famous text from Ecclesiastes, set to music by folksinger Pete Seeger, became a Top Ten hit for the Rock group The Byrds in the 1960s. (Seeger added an anti-war sentiment at the end.)

Turn, turn, turn There is a season Turn, turn, turn And a time for ev'ry purpose under heaven A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap A time to kill, a time to heal A time to laugh, a time to weep To ev'rything Turn, turn, turn There is a season Turn, turn, turn And a time for ev'ry purpose under heaven A time to build up, a time to break down A time to dance, a time to morn A time to cast away stones A time to gather stones together To ev'rything Turn, turn, turn There is a season Turn, turn, turn And a time for ev'ry purpose under heaven A time of love, a time of hate A time of war, a time of peace A time you may embrace A time to refrain from embracing To ev'rything Turn, turn, turn There is a season Turn, turn, turn And a time for every purpose under heaven A time to gain, a time to lose A time to bend, a time to sew A time to love, a time to hate A time for peace I swear its not too late To ev'rything Turn, turn, turn There is a season Turn, turn, turn And a time for every purpose under heaven.

PSALM 27
A gospel setting of this psalm:

The Lord is my light and he's my salvation, whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, yes he is (3), of whom shall I be afraid, shall I be afraid? The Lord is my light, oh the Lord is my light, he's my light, my light. When the wicked, even my enemies, they fall upon me and eat up my flesh: the Bible says, they stumble and fall, yes they do, they stumble and fell, they stumble and fell, Oh, the Lord is my light, oh the Lord is, yes, sir, my light, my light. When my mother and my father both forsake, God's going to pick me up, he said he would. He'll pick me up on a rock to stay, he'll pick me up on a rock to stay. The Lord is my light, he's my light, my light, oh, yeah. In the time of trouble the Lord is going to hide me, children, he's going to hide me, yes he will. He'll set me up on a rock to stay, set me up on a rock to stay! The Lord is my light, oh, yes! Yes he is! In times of trouble, he's going to hide me, hide me, hold me, hide me, etc. In times of trouble, he's going to hide me, hide me, hold me, hide me, etc. Set me up on a rock to stay!

SET ME AS A SEAL
song setting from SONG OF SONGS

Set me as a seal upon your arm, as a seal upon your heart: for love is strong as death; jealousy as cruel as the grave: its passions are like blazing flames, ardent as columns of fire. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can can the floods drown it: if a man would give for love all the wealth of his house it would be utterly despised. Set me as a seal upon your arm, as a sealupon your heart!

HEAR MY PRAYER

This popular concert aria by the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (famous for his Wedding March) is based on the first verses of Psalm 55 (vv. 1-6).

Hear my prayer, O God, incline Thine ear! Thyself from my petition do not hide. Hear my prayer, O God, incline Thine ear! Thyself from my petition do not hide, Thyself from my petition do not hide!
    Take heed to me! Hear how in prayer I mourn to Thee, hear how in prayer I mourn to Thee, hear how in prayer I mourn to Thee! Take heed to me, take heed to me!
    Without Thee all is dark, I have no guide, I have no guide, no guide, without Thee all is dark, I have no guide, I have no guide.
    Hear my prayer, O God, incline Thine ear! Thyself from my petition do not hide, Thyself from my petition do not hide! Hear my prayer, O God, incline Thine ear!     Hear my prayer, O God incline Thine ear. The enemy shouteth, The godless come fast! Iniquity, hatred, up on me they cast! The wicked oppress me, Ah where shall I fly? Perplexed and bewildered, O God, hear my cry, O God hear my cry! O God hear my cry, perplexed and bewildered, O God hear my cry! O God, O God, hear my cry!
    The enemy shouteth, the godless come fast, perplexed and bewildered O God, hear my cry! O God hear my cry, perplexed and bewildered, O God, hear my cry. O God, hear my cry, O God hear my cry, O God, hear my cry! O God hear my cry!
    My heart is sorely pained within my breast. My soul with deathly terror is oppressed. Trembling and fearfulness upon me fall, with horror overwhelmed, Lord, hear me call, Lord, hear me call! With horror overwhelmed, Lord, hear me call!
    O for the wings, for the wings of a dove! Far away, far away would I rove! O for the wings, for the wings of a dove! Far away, far away, far away, far away would I rove!
    In the wilderness build me a nest and remain there forever at rest. In the wilderness build me, build me a nest and remain there forever at rest. In the wilderness build me a nest and remain there forever at rest, and remain there forever at rest, and I'll remain there forever at rest.
    O for the wings of a dove, O for the wings of a dove! O for the wings, for the wings of a dove! Far away, far away, far away, far away, far away from the world, far away. In the wilderness, in the wilderness build me a nest and I'll remain there forever at rest, remain there forever at rest, remain there forever at rest.
    O for the wings, for the wings of a dove, far away, far away would I rove. O for the wings, for the wings of a dove, far away, far away, far away, far away would I rove. In the wilderness build me a nest, that I'll be forever at rest, in the wilderness build me a nest and I'll remain there forever at rest, forever at rest, forever, forever at rest. And I'll remain there forever at rest, and I'll remain there forever at rest.

HOW LOVELY ARE THY DWELLINGS FAIR
PSALM 84

The nineteenth-century German composer, Johannes Brahms, set the first verses (1, 2, 4) of Psalm 84 in his German Requiem. Very popular, the setting was translated into English and is now independently heard. "Dwellings fair" is a transposed (reversed) way of saying "fair dwellings."

How lovely are thy dwellings fair, O Lord of Hosts, O Lord of Hosts, are thy dwellings fair. How lovely are thy dwellings fair, how lovely are thy dwellings fair, O Lord of Hosts. My soul longeth, my soul ever longeth and fainteth, my soul ever longeth and fainteth sore for the blessed courts of the Lord. My heart and flesh do cry to God, cry to the living God. My heart and flesh do cry to God, cry to the living, cry to the living God. How lovely are thy dwellings fair, O Lord of hosts, O Lord of Hosts, are thy dwellings fair, O Lord of Hosts. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you, they are ever praising you forevermore. How lovely, how lovely how lovely, how lovely are thy dwellings fair.

Back to Eden: The Song of Songs

The Song of Solomon belongs with the Wisdom books. There is no doubt about the beauty of this book ("the greatest of Solomon's songs," as the book is named). Many doubt that the song comes from the pen of Solomon. But this puzzle does not compare with how to read this text.
   For a long time, faithful readers have read this book as an allegory of God's love for Israel (if a Jewish reader) or God's love for the Church or personal soul (if a Christian reader). But most scholars today believe it is a group of love songs.
     Even this view has problems, since it is not clear if there is a unity to the book or if it is only a collection of different poems, later edited with a refrain to link the songs together.
     Some have even found a drama in the songs. Even this is disputed. Some claim there are three characters (Solomon, the Beloved, and the Lover); others see only two (the Lover and the Beloved, with the reference to Solomon as part of a wedding game (the husband and wife as King and Queen, just like we play today at school dances).
     In the three-character reading, the book celebrates the woman (Beloved) for choosing true love (the Lover) over power (Solomon). In the two-character reading, the book celebrates sexual love within marriage.
     The three-character reading might be a disguised attack against Solomon's many wives: "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been" (1 Kings 11:4). Therefore, the Song of Solomon is Solomon's greatest song ("song of songs") because Solomon shows that chaste (marital) love is better than free love. In this reading, Solomon's Song would be very much like Ecclesiastes (also assigned to Solomon), both showing that a life of unchaste pleasure is not the best life.
     The two-character reading might be a disguised attack on the story of Eden in Genesis and the notion that men and women are unequal and should be ashamed of their desire. The greatness of the Bible is to show the whole human condition, its pains and its pleasures, sometimes in one text (as in Samuel, where David is shown as saint and sinner) or sometimes among texts. In this way, Job completes Proverbs by showing that good is not always rewarded. Ecclesiastes shows "the race is not always to the strong" and both wise and fool die.
   In this view, the Song of Solomon completes the story of Genesis. Where that story shows the shameful couple of Adam and Eve, the Song of Songs shows a righteous Lover and Beloved seeking each other with no sense of shame. Where Adam and Eve are faithless to God and blame each other, the Lover and Beloved, though chaste, enjoy sexual pleasure without blame. The only warning is to enjoy sex at the right time: "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" (refrain).
   One must never forget, the Bible is a carefully edited book. In Genesis, God says of everything that it is "good." This is the great difference between Bible theology and other religions, which see some or all of the world as evil. This is not to deny that churches throughout history have strayed (sometimes far) from this idea; but we are forced back to that idea whether willingly or not, because (as they say) all Scripture is holy.
     So St. Augustine said, "The greater things are better than the lesser things, but the greater things with the lesser things are better than just the greater things." This is the idea of "ordinal" loves. "Ordinal" means first, second, etc. So all loves are good in their proper place. First put your children to bed, second enjoy a glass of wine.
     St. Paul said "All scripture is from God and is useful for teaching . . . and doing right" (2 Timothy 3:16). If the Song of Songs is in the Bible, it must be "useful for teaching."

Song of Solomon

1

1: The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.
Superlatives ("best") are made in Hebrew by using "of," such as "King of Kings," "Holy of Holies," "Lord of Lords," etc. So "song of songs" means the best song. "Which is Solomon's" may be a later attribution (like that of Ecclesiastes or attributing Psalms to King David).
     There are several allegorical readings of the Song. In Jewish allegory, the Lover is God and the Beloved is Israel, as in some prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, etc.). In Christian allegory, the Lover is Jesus and the Beloved is the Church or the person, as when St. Paul says of the faithful: "I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him" (2 Corinthians 11:2).
     This issue may be confused because some translations call the Lover the "Beloved." But by convention (agreement), the male is called the "Lover" and the woman is the "Beloved" (it is assumed the man loves the woman, while the woman is loved by the male). Yet one of the beauties of Song of Songs is that the text denies this convention; for the woman pursues her Lover as eagerly as he pursues (desires) her. In this sense, we have a model of healthy sexuality.
     Even in literal readings there are problems in assigning the verses to different speakers. One literal reading has the Beloved forced into King Solomon's harem but choosing her Beloved instead; while another reading has only the Lover and Beloved as characters. Both readings are partly shown below.
Beloved
2:
O that you would kiss me with the kisses of your mouth!
For your love is better than wine,
3:
your anointing oils are fragrant,
your name is oil poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.

A Christian allegorical reading might mean the Song of Jesus (Solomon=peace=Jesus as the Prince of Peace [see the Messianc prophecy, in Isaiah 9:6]). "Your love is better than wine" means that Jesus' love is better than the wine of the sacrament (Communion), which is only a sign of that love; how much better is it to be touched by Jesus personally ("kiss me with the kisses of your mouth"). Jesus' "anointing oils" refers to his anointed Kingship (Messiah), which gives life and makes pure. Jesus is "oil poured out" for the pure ("maidens") who love him.
     A literal reading shows the Beloved accepting her desire for her Lover without shame, undoing the curse of Genesis: "Your desire will be for your husband" (3:16) (but here the couple is not yet married).
     Note the simple parallelism, as in all Hebrew poetry: (for example, "kiss me with the kisses of your mouth" says the same thing twice).
4:
Draw me after you, let us make haste.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
In the three-character reading, the "king" refers to Solomon. In a two-character reading it refers to the Lover, who is like a king. (Every man is a king to his beloved, like every Beloved is the Lover's Queen.)

Friends
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine.
In a literal reading, sexual love is accepted as good, better than wine, which is also good. In allegory, this is a Praise (Hallel) psalm, praising God's (or Jesus') love.

Beloved
Rightly do they love you.
In allegory, those who follow the "king" (Jesus) "exult" (joy) in him and praise his love as the best or truest love. "Rightly" (in justice and purity) they love him. In a literal reading, the Beloved freely admires her Lover.
5:
I am very dark, but comely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
In allegory, the sinner is "dark" (with sin) but worthy ("comely"). (Jesus still finds the sinner attractive, because Jesus loves sinners, though not the sin.)
6:
Do not gaze at me because I am swarthy,
because the sun has scorched me.
My mother's sons were angry with me,
they made me keeper of the vineyards;
but, my own vineyard I have not kept!
In allegory, "do not look at me in judgment because of my sins ('swarthy')," as when the Psalmist says "do not number my sins." For "my own vineyard I have not kept," Hosea compares Israel to a woman spoken to by her Lover (God): "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope" (Hosea 2:14). In a literal reading, the Beloved compares herself to an unkept vineyard (wine field) and refers to a main theme of the Bible: sibling rivalry (conflict), as between Cain and Abel or Jacob and Esau. The Song moves to an undoing of this conflict at the end.
7:
Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who wanders
beside the flocks of your companions?
Allegory: Be my Shepherd, Jesus, do not make me "wander" and help me "rest at noon" (when there is no shade). In a literal reading, the Beloved fulfills Genesis 3:16; her desire is for her Lover. But she reasons with him as an equal.
8:
Friends
If you do not know,
O fairest among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your kids
beside the shepherds' tents.
Jesus says, "Follow the Church ("tracks of the flock") or other sheep (worshippers). In a literal reading, the "friends" accept desire as natural and help the Beloved to find her Lover.
9:
Lover
I compare you, my love,
to a mare of Pharaoh's chariots.
Allegory: The Christian, though longing for Jesus, is wild and sinful. A literal reading shows how strong the Lover's passion is, since the mare would likely arouse the stallions (male horses) as she arouses him (and he is not ashamed of it, so does not hide it).
10:
Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
11:
We will make you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
Jesus says to the sinner, "You are beautiful, for worldly reasons, but I will give you beauty of (real) gold." In a literal reading, the Lover shows his love with rare metals.
12:
Beloved
While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
13:
My Lover is to me a bag of myrrh,
that lies between my breasts.
The sinner worships Jesus with perfume ("nard"), like the woman of Bethany who anoints Jesus (Matthew 26:6). She places Jesus in her heart ("between my breasts"). Whatever good that comes from the Beloved really comes from her Lover (Jesus' myrrh). In a three-character literal reading, the "king" (v. 12) is opposed to the "Lover" (v. 13). In a two-character reading, the king and the Lover are the same person. These verses are then a seduction scene, as the woman arouses the man with her body's perfume, while the woman is also aroused by the scent of her lover, "a bag of myrrh that lies between" her breasts.
14:
My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Enge'di.
Jesus is pure; or the male Lover is pure, although desirable.
15:
Lover
Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
16:
Beloved
Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved,
truly lovely.
Our couch is green.
17:
Lover
The beams of our house are cedar,
our rafters are pine.
The two lovers make their own imaginary world in the real world. This happens with lovers. "Our couch is green" suggests the lovers are lying down on the green grass, but imagine it as their couch. Nature is their "house," with the trees as "beams" and "rafters."

2

1:
Beloved
I am a rose of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.
Because of this text, understood at the level of allegory, Jesus is often called "the lily of the valleys." Yet the text is spoken by the "Beloved," rather than the Lover! (We know, however, that Jesus admired lilies [Matthew: 6:26].) Jesus is also called, from this text, the "Rose of Sharon." He is the Rose of Sharon because his message is sweet. He is the "Lily of the Valleys" because he comforts people in the valleys (low points) of their lives. The lily might be the "amaryllis," which droops its head, humbly, like Jesus. The Gospel song, "Move On Up A Little Higher" includes the words: "Move on up a little higher, meet with the Lily of the Valley, meet with the Rose of Sharon," meaning Jesus. Another Gospel song, "Jesus, Rose of Sharon," begins, "Jesus, Rose of Sharon, bloom within my heart."

2:
Lover
As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among maidens.
3:
Beloved
As an apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my Lover among young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
This may refer to the forbidden fruit of Genesis. Here the "new Eve" eats "with great delight" and the "fruit was sweet to my taste." That is to say, only in a proper relationship between man and woman can Eden be remade. The man is the tree of delight. As we'll see, only in Love is Death conquered.
4:
He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
In genuine desire, "love" replaces "obedience": God in Genesis said that,"Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you" (Genesis 3:16). But here the "banner" (the good news) is love. In a Christian reading, Jesus brings the sinner to a big feast (as in Psalm 23, "You prepare a table before me"), and the good news ("gospel") is Love, not punishment.
5:
Sustain me with raisins,
refresh me with apples;
for I am sick with love.
Here fruit brings life, not death (as in Eden).
6:
O that his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me!
The Beloved expects comfort, not punishment, from her Lord (Lover).
7:
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the hinds of the field,
that you stir not up nor awaken love
until it please.
A refrain that desire have its right time. In Ecclesiastes, there is "a time to love" (3:8).
8:
The voice of my Lover!
Behold, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
Jesus comes "leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills: "Come over hills and mountains, Lord" (from the Gospel song, "Move on Up a Little Higher").
9:
My Lover is like a gazelle,
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.
The "wall" may be the same wall referred to later as "virginity" (8:9, 10). Yet desire (the man "leaping" and "bounding" in animal heat) is accepted within social limits (the "wall" built around the virgin woman). Regarding the use of the word "stag," in America, pre-wedding bachelor parties used to be called "stag parties," and featured sex movies (called "stag films"). The woman is chaste, but she longs for the day of sex. A Christian reading might refer the reader to Revelation: "Here I am! I stand at the door" (4:20).
10:
My Lover speaks and says to me:
"Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
11:
for look, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
12:
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13:
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
No commentary needed for these words, among the most lovely in the Bible. In this new Eden, human sexual desire is in harmony with Nature and its rebirth in spring. First Communion occurs in Spring, with new life. Following the Passion of Jesus, when churches are covered in black, on Easter Sunday many-colored flowers bedeck the church altars and the worshipers themselves come in their bright Easter clothes. The Easter Parade is one fruit of this: "You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade" ("Easter Parade").
14:
Lover
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is comely.
15:
Catch us the foxes,
the little foxes,
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom."
The lovers are one with Nature; their "vineyards are in blossom." But the world is not perfect, with "little foxes" in it. The Lover warns to "catch the little foxes that spoil the vineyards," their bodies, or their love. It's not clear what "the little foxes" are. But the phrase is famous and was the title of a play/film. A guess is that "the little foxes" are the lower fleshly desires that "spoil" the lovers' love. Or they might be other men and women who try to break up the couple.
16:
Beloved
My Lover is mine and I am his,
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Genesis: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (2:24). Note that in Genesis desire is not to make children! The text does not say, "To make children a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife," etc. The text clearly says that because Eve came from Adam, men and women desire to unite again, an idea similar to that of the Greek dramatist, Aristophanes, as imagined by Plato in the Symposium. See also St. Paul's text from Romans, already quoted: "The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife" (7:4).
17:
Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
turn, my Lover, be like a gazelle,
or a young stag upon rugged mountains.
The Beloved longs to meet her Lover before night ("when the shadows flee").

3

1:
Upon my bed by night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
2:
"I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves."
I sought him, but found him not.
3:
The watchmen found me,
as they went about in the city.
"Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"
Has the woman failed to meet her lover during the day (last verse)? Here the woman is active. This must be compared against a later, similar, scene, where the woman is passive and is therefore beaten by the watchmen (5:2f.). A Christian reading would refer to the Gospel of Matthew: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it will be opened" (7:7-8).
4:
Scarcely had I passed them,
when I found him whom my soul loves.
The reference here is the same text from Matthew (7:7-8). When the woman is active, she finds what she's looking for; whereas later she hesitates and loses her Lover/Jesus and is even beaten as penalty.
I held him, and would not let him go
until I had brought him into my mother's house,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
Love is desire, but fulfilled within marriage ("I had brought him into my mother's house").
5:
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the hinds of the field,
that you stir not up nor awaken love
until it please.
This refrain continues the thought in Verse 4, teaching a right time for love.
6:
What is that coming up from the wilderness,
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
7:
Behold, it is the litter of Solomon!
About it are sixty mighty men
of the mighty men of Israel,
8:
all girt with swords
and expert in war,
each with his sword at his thigh,
against alarms by night.
9:
King Solomon made himself a palanquin
from the wood of Lebanon.
10:
He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
it was lovingly wrought within
by the daughters of Jerusalem.
11:
Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
In a three-character reading, this is really King Solomon, but in a two-character reading, this is the Lover dressed for his wedding. But first the Beloved must go to her mother's house. It must be done "right."

4

1:
Lover
Behold, you are beautiful, my love,
behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving down the slopes of Gilead.
2:
Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them is bereaved.
3:
Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
4:
Your neck is like the tower of David,
built for an arsenal,
whereon hang a thousand bucklers,
all of them shields of warriors.
5:
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that feed among the lilies.
6:
Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
I will hie me to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
7:
You are all fair, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
8:
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart from the peak of Ama'na,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
9:
You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride,
you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10:
How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride!
how much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11:
Your lips distil nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
Eden is restored; the Lover gains the Promised Land of "milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8).
the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.
12:
A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a garden locked, a fountain sealed.
The Lover praises his Beloved's virginity, for she is "a garden locked" and "a fountain sealed." She is also his "sister." This is a true marriage of equals, while undoing the history of sibling (brother-sister) conflict in the Bible.
13:
Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
14:
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all chief spices --
Although the Lover praises his Beloved's virginity, he wishes to enjoy her "garden" too. Sex is also God's gift to the Lover.
15:
a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.
In another reversal of Eden, the woman's body brings life ("living water"), not death.
16:
Beloved
Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
let its fragrance be wafted abroad.
Let my Lover come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.
The invitation is sexual, but within marriage. Again, the sin of Eden is repaired, since the Lover is invited to "eat" the Beloved's "choicest fruits." The "wind" is often used in Bible literature as an image of punishment ("inherit the wind," "reap the whirlwind," etc.). Bob Dylan borrows this image in his famous song, "Blowing in the Wind," warning of God's punishment: God's "answer" to injustice "is blowing in the wind." (The wind will pull up by the roots everything that is unjust.) So this use of a gentle wind here reverses the threat of punishment with the promise of love.

5

1:
Lover
I come to my garden, my sister, my bride,
Friendship, not enmity or conflict, is the rule in the New Eden. Again, this reverses the curse of Eden, where the woman "obeys" the man. Here the Beloved is the Lover's "sister" as well as "bride." Her body is his "garden," again restoring Eden.

I gather my myrrh with my spice,
I eat my honeycomb with my honey,
I drink my wine with my milk.
God's promise of a "land flowing with milk and honey" is fulfilled at the personal (sexual) level (Exodus 3:8). The curse of Genesis is balanced against the promise of Exodus.

Friends
Eat, O friends, and drink:
drink deeply, O lovers!
Society approves their love.
2:
Beloved
I slept, but my heart was awake.
Hark! my beloved is knocking.
"Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my perfect one;
for my head is wet with dew,
my locks with the drops of the night."
The Beloved is shy or coy and does not open her door to her Lover, a shepherd, whose "head is wet with dew." This is a dream ("I slept, but my heart was awake"); if so, it is a nightmare of sexual guilt: the Beloved is ashamed of her desire and does not open her door. As an allegory, it means the sleepy soul does not respond to Jesus' love.
3:
I had put off my garment,
how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet,
how could I soil them?
Purity is not a virtue in itself, when the woman should be ready for desire. From a Christian point of view, the Beloved (the sinner) should not confuse ritual cleaning with spiritual purity; or, even worse, the Christian should not put physical comfort above spiritual knowledge.
4:
My beloved put his hand to the latch,
and my heart was thrilled within me.
5:
I arose to open to my beloved,
and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
upon the handles of the bolt.
6:
I opened to my beloved,
but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.
The Beloved has been too slow to respond with desire and the Lover is gone. There must be no "game playing" in this New Eden, where lovers must behave like "sister" and "brother" (as equals) rather than as adversaries (conquerors and conquered), the so-called "chase" ("The man chases the woman until she catches him"). In a Christian reading, the woman's "soul" fails her when invited by Jesus.
7:
The watchmen found me,
as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they wounded me,
they took away my mantle,
those watchmen of the walls.
This text can be referred to the refrain: "Do not awaken love until it is ready." But here the sense seems to be that the Beloved was not ready when her Lover was. So "the little foxes" almost ruined her vineyard. If the "walls" refers to the "wall" of virginity in the last chapter (8), the watchmen may be the Beloved's brothers, who stop their sister from ruining her own vineyard before marriage.
8:
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
I am sick with love.
"I adjure you" echoes the refrain, "I adjure you, do not awaken love until it is ready." The Beloved seems to have been ready, but denied it, laying coyly on her bed. She now begs for her Lover's return, "sick with love."
9:
Friends
What is your Lover more than another Lover,
O fairest among women?
What is your Lover more than another Lover,
that you thus adjure us?
10:
Beloved
My beloved is all radiant and ruddy,
distinguished among ten thousand.
11:
His head is the finest gold;
his locks are wavy,
black as a raven.
12:
His eyes are like doves
beside springs of water,
bathed in milk,
fitly set.
13:
His cheeks are like beds of spices,
yielding fragrance.
His lips are lilies,
distilling liquid myrrh.
14:
His arms are rounded gold,
set with jewels.
His body is ivory work,
encrusted with sapphires.
15:
His legs are alabaster columns,
set upon bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
choice as the cedars.
16:
His speech is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my Lover and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
Here the Beloved accepts her desire, and acknolwedges every part of her lover's body. She calls her Lover her "friend." Once again, Eden is restored, as are friendly relations between the sexes. The line, "This is my Lover and this is my friend" is a beautiful example of synonymic parallelism. This is poetry in its plainest form. Once the reader learns to see parallelistic poetry like this, the Bible is open to a poetic, as distinct from a theological or historical, reading (which is not to deny the importance of other kinds of readings). This text can be read as allegory with words from Hosea: "'In that day,' declares the Lord, 'you will call me "my husband"; you will no longer call me "my master"'" (Hosea 2:16). Note also the two lovers have made a "covenant" of the earth, where the whole earth has become their Paradise: "In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground" (Hosea 2:18). In a Christian reading, Jesus is both Lover and Friend.

6

1:
Friends
Where has your Lover gone,
O fairest among women?
Where has your Lover turned,
that we may seek him with you?
2:
Beloved
My Lover has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to pasture his flock in the gardens,
and to gather lilies.
3:
I am my Lover's and my Lover is mine;
he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Compare St. Paul: "The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to the wife. Do not deprive each other but by consent and for a time. . . (1 Corinthians 7:4-5).
4:
Lover
You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.
The Lover talks about the power of Love. Tirzah was the capitol of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) before King Omri made Samaria the capitol. The name means "beautiful." As allegory, this text may refer to the "church militant" (as "an army with banners"); the church is also compared to Jerusalem.
5:
Turn away your eyes from me,
for they disturb me --
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
moving down the slopes of Gilead.
6:
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes,
that have come up from the washing,
all of them bear twins,
not one among them is bereaved.
The Lover admires his Beloved's full set of teeth, with no spaces between.
7:
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
8:
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,
and maidens without number.
9:
My dove, my perfect one, is only one,
the darling of her mother,
flawless to her that bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her happy;
the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.
In a three-character reading, the Beloved is only one member of Solomon's harem, but the most "flawless" one (we assume she has remained virgin).
10:
Friends
Who is this that looks forth like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
terrible as an army with banners?
11:
Lover
I went down to the nut orchard,
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
12:
Before I was aware, my fancy set me
in a chariot beside my people.
13:
Friends
Return, return, O Shulammite,
return, return, that we may look upon you.
Lover
Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
as upon a dance before two armies?

7

1:
How graceful are your feet in sandals,
O queenly maiden!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a master hand.
A woman's body (her "rounded thighs") is part of God's gift.
2:
Your navel is a rounded bowl
that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
encircled with lilies.
3:
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4:
Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bath-rab'bim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
overlooking Damascus.
5:
Your head crowns you like Carmel,
and your flowing locks are like purple;
a king is held captive in the tresses.
6:
How fair and pleasant you are,
O loved one, delectable maiden!
7:
You are stately as a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters.
8:
I say I will climb the palm tree
and lay hold of its branches.
Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
and the scent of your breath like apples,
9:
and your kisses like the best wine.
This is a long poetic way of saying what is commonly said even today: "You mean the world to me." Again, these images seem to reverse the curse of Eden: the tree is now touched, its branches shook, while all the animals are grouped in one peaceful image of harmony, if only in metaphors.

Beloved
May the wine go down smoothly,
gliding over lips and teeth.
10:
I am my Lover's,
and his desire is for me.
This too reverses the curse of Eden. The lover's desire is now for the woman, as well as the woman's for the man. (Compare the curse of Genesis 3:16: "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.")
11:
Come, my beloved,
let us go forth into the fields,
and lodge in the villages;
12:
let us go out early to the vineyards,
and see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
Beautiful verses about sexual love and the enjoyment of each other.
13:
The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
and over our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.
We know that the mandrake is supposed to be a fertility plant: "During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. [The infertile] Rachel said to Leah, 'Please give me some of your son's mandrakes'" (Genesis 30:14). The reference to "choice fruits" that are "new as well as old" may refer to the fruit that Eve ate; but there are newer fruits from that garden. The "door" suggests the woman will now open herself to her Lover, since in Chapter 8, the wall keeps men out, but the door invites men in.

8

1:
O that you were like a brother to me,
that nursed at my mother's breast!
If I met you outside, I would kiss you,
and none would despise me.
This reverses another Edenic curse: sibling rivalry. Here the Beloved wishes her Lover were her sibling (brother), so she could kiss him.
2:
I would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the juice of my pomegranates.
The curse of food is reversed in this New Eden.
3:
O that his left hand were under my head,
and that his right hand embraced me!
4:
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that you stir not up nor awaken love
until it please.
The woman longs for her Lover but knows it is not yet time.
5:
Friends
Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her Lover?

Beloved
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in travail with you,
there she who bore you was in travail.
This is a possible reference to Mother Eve and the curse ("travail") of childbirth, also including the Edenic tree (here identified as an apple tree). This could be where the idea of the forbidden fruit as an apple began (Genesis does not name the fruit).
6:
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is cruel as the grave.
Love reverses the curse of Death. "Jealousy" is best understood as "passion."
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a most vehement flame.
Fire reverses the curse of water (the sea disappears in Revelation, the final book of the Bible).
7:
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
Again, Love reverses the terror of the sea, one of the abiding terrors among the Israelites (a non-seafaring people). Remember Job and Leviathan, besides countless other references to the "waters" that are separated in Genesis. Even the sea cannot "quench love."
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
it would be utterly scorned.
The blessing of love reverses the curse of money (St. Paul says, "The love of money is the root of all evil" [1 Timothy 6:10]).
8:
Friends
We have a little sister,
and she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister,
on the day when she is spoken for?
9:
If she is a wall,
we will build upon her a battlement of silver;
but if she is a door,
we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
Another plea for virginity. If the woman denies access to her body (if she's a "wall"), she will be praised (with "silver"); but if she is a door (allowing everybody in), the friends/brothers will prevent her doing this "with boards of cedar" to block access. The young girl ("with no breasts") is not ready for love, so must be protected (a wall), instead of becoming open to every lover (a "door").
10:
Beloved
I was a wall,
and my breasts were like towers;
then I was in his eyes
as one who brings peace.
The woman praises her own virginity. She was a "wall" and her breasts "like towers" to watch and keep lovers out. Remember the refrain: "I adjure you Daughters of Jerusalem, do not awaken love until it is ready."
11:
Solomon had a vineyard at Ba'al-ha'mon;
he let out the vineyard to keepers;
each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.
12:
My vineyard, my very own, is for myself;
you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,
and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.
If we read this as a three-character drama, with Solomon as a character, then the Beloved is saying that she denied Solomon access to her body. If we read this as a two-character drama, the Beloved is saying that, unlike Solomon's harem, she is pure.
13:
Lover
O you who dwell in the gardens,
my companions are listening for your voice;
let me hear it.
14:
Beloved
Make haste, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or a young stag
upon the mountains of spices.
It's now time for the Lover to act like a "stag" and enjoy his "mountains of spices."

Job's Songs

Sire of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song)

Let me speak, let me spit out my bitterness-- Born of grief and nights without sleep and festering flesh Do you have eyes? Can you see like mankind sees?
Why have you soured and curdled me? Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you?
That you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true? Once I was blessed; I was awaited like the rain Like eyes for the blind, like feet for the lame
Kings heard my words, and they sought out my company But now the janitors of Shadowland flick their brooms at me Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you? that you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?
(Antagonists: Man is the sire of sorrow) I've lost all taste for life
I'm all complaints Tell me why do you starve the faithful?
Why do you crucify the saints? And you let the wicked prosper
You let their children frisk like deer And my loves are dead or dying, or they don't come near (Antagonists: We don't despise your chastening God is correcting you) Oh and look who comes to counsel my deep distress Oh, these pompous physicians
What carelessness!
(Antagonists: Oh all this ranting all this wind Filling our ears with trash) Breathtaking ignorance adding insult to injury!
They come blaming and shaming
(Antagonists: Evil doer) And shattering me
(Antagonists: This vain man wishes to seem wise A man born of asses)
Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you? That you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?
(Antagonists: We don't despise your chastening) Already on a bed of sighs and screams,
And still you torture me with visions You give me terrifying dreams! Better I was carried from the womb straight to the grave. I see the diggers waiting, they're leaning on their spades.
(Antagonists: Man is the sire of sorrow
Sure as the sparks ascend) Where is hope while you're wondering what went wrong? Why give me light and then this dark without a dawn?
(Antagonists: Evil is sweet in your mouth Hiding under your tongue) Show your face!
(Antagonists: What a long fall from grace) Help me understand!
What is the reason for your heavy hand?
(Antagonists: You're stumbling in shadows
You have no name now) Was it the sins of my youth? What have I done to you? That you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?
(Antagonists: Oh your guilt must weigh so greatly) Everything I dread and everything I fear come true
(Antagonists: Man is the sire of sorrow) Oh you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true .

JOB AND SATAN

"Well I'm on my way to Canaan Land! Well I'm on my way to Canaan Land. If you don't go, my journey' o'er. I'm on my way, I'm on my way Good Lord.
     Well, Job was the richest man, my brothr, that lived in the land of Nod. He was the only man in the mile around that kept the Comamndments of God. Well the Devil he got jealous of Job. So he came to my God one day, said, "Move your hand from around the man and I'll make him curse you to your face!"
     He said there's nothing you can to turn me around. There's nothing you can do to turn me around. Because I'm done signed up, made up my mind. I'm on my way, Great God Almighty I'm on my way to Good Lord!
     Then Devil laid his fingers on Job. Brother Job fell down and right weak. So he got in bed, afflicted, children. So above his head to his feet, poor Job's afraid, began to leaving Him. The number went one to five, Job is sick and won't get well. We believe that he's gonna die.
     He said, "Well I'm on my way to Canaan Land! Well I'm on my way to Canaan Land. If you don't go, my journey' o'er. I'm on my way, I'm on my way to Good Lord."
     Well, Job's wife, she came running to him. Devil was right in her eyes. She said, "Oh, you're sick and you won't get well. Why don't you curse your God and die? Oh, Job looked straight at the woman and looked up in the sky. He said, "Woman, you sound like a foolish one, but you sure don't sound like wise!"
     He said, "Well I'm on my way to Canaan Land! Well I'm on my way to Canaan Land. If you don't go, my journey' o'er. I'm on my way, I'm on my way to Good Lord."

Terrible Lie

This song is from Nine Inch Nails, one of the more famous bands in the style of Industrial music. The subject of Job is clear, but in a modern idiom. I have kept the typography of the original.

hey god, why are you doing this to me? am i not living up to what i'm supposed to be? why am i seething with this animosity? i think you owe me a great big apology terrible lie...terrible lie...terrible lie...terrible lie i really don't know what you mean seems like salvation comes only in my dreams i feel my hatred grow all the more extreme. can this world really be as sad as it seems? terrible lie...terrible lie...terrible lie...terrible lie don't take it away from me; i need you to hold on to don't take it away from me; i need you to hold on to don't take it away from me; i need you to hold on to don't take it away from me; i need someone to hold on to don't tear it away from me; i need you to hold on to don't tear it away from me; i need someone to hold on to don't tear it away from me; i need you to hold on to don't tear it...don't tear it...don't take it, don't take it, don't... there's nothing left for me to hide i lost my ignorance, security, and pride i'm all alone in a world you must despise i believed your promises, your promises and lies terrible lie...terrible lie...terrible lie...terrible lie terrible lie you make me throw it all away my morals left to decay (terrible lie) how many you betray you've taken everything (terrible lie) my head is filled with disease my skin is begging you, please (terrible lie) i'm on my hands and knees i want so much to believe i need someone to hold on to.

BLESSED BE THE NAME

You know Job was the richest man that ever lived in the land of Nod. So true! Job's servants came running. They said, "all your cattle are dead." Job's servants came running. They said, "all your cattle are dead." He said, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh," You should say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job's wife came to him, she had the Devil in her eye. Something I want to tell you, Job. She said, "Job, let me tell you, Job." She said "Job," she said "Job, why don't you curse your God and die." Then Job looked at her, and then he looked up in the sky ("Go away woman, now"). Woman, woman, you don't sound like my wife. Yeah, he said, "The Lord giveth (woman), the Lord taketh, well now, I want to say, blessed be the name of the Lord." Job said, "I'll wait, I'm going to wait here on the Lord." Job said, "I'll wait (sure enough now), I'm going to wait till my change does come." He said, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

ALL FOR THE BEST
Job on Broadway

This song is from the Broadway musical and film Godspell, based on the Gospel of St Matthew, composed by Stephen Schwarz, who later won an Oscar for Prince of Egypt ("When You Believe"). "Day by Day" was the musical's biggest hit; but "All for the Best" fits in with the JOB theme. The song begins with a man feeling sad as if under a "curse."
It's sung in a comic "soft-shoe" dance style. As in JOB, the man's wife is affected by his misery ("sighing, crying"). He suffers more than Job ("Job had nothing on you"). The next section of the song is a patter song (a fast string of words set to a tune). This makes fun of Job's "comforters" who "explain" the reason for suffering. "When you get to Heaven you'll be blessed," and "it's all for the best." Then we hear "Job" complaining how evil people live good lives: "born to live at ease, doing what they please," etc. (see JOB, Chapter 21). He refers to God's Creation: "But who is the land for, the sun and the sand for?" concluding (like Job's "comforters") "it's all for the best." Then the two melodies are sung together (as "counter-melodies"), making the song sound like babble!

First Melody (in soft-shoe style)

When you feel sad, or under a curse
Your life is bad, your prospects are worse
Your wife is sighing, crying,
And your olive tree is dying,
Temples are graying, and teeth are decaying
And creditors weighing your purse.
Your mood and your robe
Are both a deep blue
You'd bet that Job
Had nothing on you.
Don't forget that when you get to
Heaven you'll be blessed..
Yes, it's all for the best!

Second Melody (in patter style)

Some men are born to live at ease, doing what they please,
Richer than the bees are in honey
Never growing old, never feeling cold
Pulling pots of gold from thin air
The best in every town, best at shaking down
Best at making mountains of money
They can't take it with them, but what do they care?
They get the center of the meat, cushions on the seat
Houses on the street where it's sunny.
Summers at the sea, winters warm and free
All of this and we get the rest.
But who is the land for? the sun and the sand for?
You guessed! It's all for the best!

Some men are born to live at ease, doing what they please,
Richer than the bees are in honey
Never growing old, never feeling cold
Pulling pots of gold from thin air
The best in every town, best at shaking down
Best at making mountains of money
They can't take it with them, but what do they care?
They get the center of the meat, cushions on the seat
Houses on the street where it's sunny..
Summers at the sea, winters warm and free
All of this and we get the rest.
But who is the land for? the sun and the sand for?
You guessed! It's all for the best!

You must never feel distressed. All your wrongs will be redressed. Someone's got to be oppressed!

Students,

The first thing to remember is the basic principle of Hebrew poetry, which is repetition, either as synonymic, progressive, or antithetic.
     Note our first Psalm, 1, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
                                          Or stand in the way of sinners,
                                          or sit in the seat of mockery."
Here we get three ideas repeating the same thought. Another common thought in the Wisdom literature of the Bible is that sinners are like "chaff that the wind blows away. AGain we get a synonymic restatement of this idea in v. 5. We also briefly discussed the beautiful image in verse 3: "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither."
     This image of yielding or bearing fruit in "due season" is repeated throughout the Hebrew Bible and down into the Christian New Testament, when Jesus talks about sowing seeds of righteousness that bear fruit in good season.

Psalm 2 is the Messianic psalm, referring to God's anointed (king), but which Christians interpret to mean Jesus, the King of Kings: "You are my Son, today I have become your Father" (v. 7).

Psalm 8 has the famous line, "from the mouths of babes you have ordained strength." Simply God provides what is necessary. (Some translators write "wisdom" instead of "strength.") Vv. (verses) 3-5 are also very famous, and Shakespeare refers to them in Hamlet, as does Job in the Book of Job.

14: The fool says in his heart there is no God, so he can do evil. As usual, the Psalmist is certain God will prevail (win). Note how the final lines suggest this is a post-exilic psalm. (Also note, this is the same as Psalm 53.)

15: A "decalogue" Psalm that recites ten laws of the just person.

19: A great psalm comparing Justice to Nature, both in images of Light and Seeing.

22: The is the famous Passion Psalm, since Jesus recites the first lines on the cross. (Mark 15:34, Matthew 27:46). Other references to the Passion of Jesus are in vv. 7-8 & 18.

23: Certainly the most famous text in the Bible, even more than the Lord's Prayer (because both Jews and Christians recite the Psalm but only Christians recite the Lord's Prayer (from the New Testament). This Psalm is timeless, but then so are many others. Shepherd imagery occurs throughout the Bible, down to Jesus. See for example Jeremiah, 23:1f.: "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture."

27: A great Psalm about confidence in God: "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me." (Bob Dylan seemed to refer to this Psalm when accepting a Grammy award a few years ago.) Note a sentiment similar to Job: "I am still confidnet of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." And a strong last line: "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." By the way, this Psalm is probably post-exilic based on the last line; it's also really two poems in one (vv. 1-6) and (7-14).

32. Note the repetition of cleansing of sin in this Psalm: "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him. . . " Then the Psalmist speaks, like a modern psychologist, of the effects of hiding sin. Then, in a passage like one in JOB, there is a reference to the theme of Wisdom and Teaching: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridgle or they will not come to you."

37: This is a great Psalm comforting the religious against evil men, which begins: "Do not fret because of evil men," etc. It was probably a source text for the Gospel song, "Run On," which we heard in class ("Someday God Almighty gonna cut you down!"). Then follows a nice image: "He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of yoru cause like the noonday sun." Note the source text for Jesus' Beatitude (or "blessing"): "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace" (verse 11). Compare Jesus in Matthew 5:5.

Book two of the Psalms begins with #42, another great Psalm: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." A famous image occurs later: "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me" (v. 7). This is an image of being overwhelmed by fears. As the final refrain of Psalm 43 shows, #42 and #43 must have been one Psalm once.

46: The basis of Martin Luther's famous hymn, known throughout the world.

49: Related to the thinking of Ecclesiastes: all perish, good and bad. Note the Immortality verse (15). But it's unclear if true immortality is meant here.

51. This Psalm was supposedly written after King David's encounter with Nathan the Prophet about David's misconduct with Bathsheba. Yet the final lines suggest this is really post-exilic (after the Babylonian Exile).

55: Famous lines include, "Had I the wings of a dove." German composer, Mendelssohn set the first verses to music in a famous concert piece.

58: Great images in this angry Psalm about injustice and unjust people.

72: One of two psalms attributed to Solomon.

73: Asks the same question Jeremiah asked: "Why do the wicked prosper?"

90: A famous psalm setting the human lifespan at "3 score years and 10" (in other words, 70 years old). Note that a day in God's eyes may be a thousand years in ours. See 2 Peter 3:8 Some have used these texts to "explain" Genesis days as merely symbolic. Yet the priestly writer of Genesis 1 seems clear when he says "the evening and the morning were the first day." (Note how "evening" starts the day, not morning, showing that priestly reckoning or figuring of time beginning with sunset was common by the time that Genesis was written.)

103: A great Praise psalm, adapted in the musical, Godspell.

104: A great hymn to Nature, of Egyptian influence. But note that God is in control of everything. Observe the great image of God rebuking and setting bounds to the sea (7f.). The sea from the beginning was seen as a menace, until it is gone in Revelation: there is no longer a sea in the New Jerusalem.

110: Another messianic Psalm: "The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand." This to Christians means Jesus. In fact Jesus quotes this Psalm in Mark 12:35, Matthew 22:41, Luke 20:41.

114: This Ps. is an example of perfect parallelism: every first phrase balanced by the second until the end.

Psalms 111-18 are also known as Hallel (Praise) Psalms, because they end with the phrase, "Praise the Lord." Another way to say Praise the Lord is Hallelujah.

119: The longest Chapter in the Bible, this is nothing less than a long series of variations on the single word, "LAW." Look for synonyms of the word LAW in every verse of this long Psalm.

127: A gentle warning to trust only in God as builder of one's house.

130: Also called De Profoundis, from the opening words in Latin: "Out of the Deep" (or Depths). Oscar Wilde named a prison book after this Psalm. These are great lines: "My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."

131: Compare this short Psalm with Job; study also the wonderful last lines: "But I have stilled and quietened my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul with me."

137: The great Psalm about Babylon, which we discussed in class.

139. Job quotes this Psalm sarcastically.

146: A warning to "not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing."

148: Another reference to how God controls the creatures in the sea, since the sea was always a fear of the Israelites.

150: A great Praise psalm.

THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PSALM 20

May he answer you in the day of your trouble and may he set you safely on high. May he send help from his sanctuary and may he grant you your heart's desire. Oh Lord, we praise your name and praise it for all to see. This is our prayer. you give us victory. Some folks use weapons, some people use armies, but we will boast in the name of the Lord. Oh, Lord we sing for joy for you is all the victory. Oh Lord we praise your name and raise it high for all to see. Oh Lord my God this is our prayer. Oh Lord up high in Heaven you give us victory. May he answer you in the day of your trouble and may he set you safely on high. May he send help from his sanctuary and may he grant you your heart's desire. Oh Lord, we sing for joy for yours alone is the victory. Oh Lord above, this is our prayer. Oh Lord from highest heaven you give us victory.

Psalm 23

This is the most famous Bible text. Cissy Houston recorded a Gospel version for the soundtrack of her daughter Whitney's film, The Preacher's Wife, affixing words from the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 9:6:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. AMEN.
"Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace, Mightiful (?) Shepherd, I love you."

PSALM 24

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. They that dwell therein. For he hath established it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. He shall receive the blessings from the Lord and the righteousness. seek thy face of Jacob, selah. Lift up your gates and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory Lift up your heads all ye gates. Who is the king of glory? The Lord of Hosts, he is the king of glory.

PSALM 103

Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. He has done great things. He has done great things. He has done great things, bless his holy name. He has done great things (so many great things). He has done great things (so many great things). He has done great things, bless his holy name. I will bless the Lord, oh my soul and everything that is within me, bless his holy name. I will bless the Lord, oh my soul and everything that is within me, bless his holy name.

PSALM 103
This adaptation of one of the "ascent" psalms is from the Broadway and film musical, Godspell. An "ascent" psalm (120-34) was a psalm composed for the journey to the temple in Jerusalem. "Ascent" may refer to the road to Jerusalem or to the Temple steps or to the step-by-step progress to God. This of course is the same psalm as the above, with different phrasing.

Oh bless the Lord my soul! His praise to thee proclaim! And all that is within me join, To bless His holy name! Oh yeah! Oh bless the Lord my soul! His mercies bear in mind! Forget not all His benefits, The Lord, to thee, is kind. He will not always chide
He will with patience wait His wrath is ever slow to rise Oh bless the Lord And ready to abate And ready to abate Oh yeah! Oh bless the lord Bless the lord my soul Oh bless the lord my soul! He pardons all thy sins Prolongs thy feeble breath He healeths thine infirmities And ransoms thee from death He clothes thee with his love Upholds thee with his truth And like an eagle he renews The vigor of thy youth Then bless His holy name Whose grace hath made thee whole Whose love and kindness crowns Thy days
Oh bless the lord Bless the lord my soul Oh bless the lord my soul! Bless the lord my soul Oh bless the lord my soul! Bless the lord my soul Oh bless the lord my soul! Bless the lord, bless the lord My soul! Bless the lord my soul!

Psalm 121: A SIMPLE SONG
This "simple" song is from Leonard Bernstein's MASS, with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote the Oscar-winning "When You Believe" (from Prince of Egypt). It's adapted from Psalm 121, though those verses don't appear until midway through the song. Bernstein was one of the legendary musical icons of the twentieth-century both as conductor and composer (West Side Story, Mass, etc.).

Sing God a simple song. Make it up as you go along. Sing like you like to sing, God loves all simple things. For God is the simplest of all. (2) Let us sing the Lord a little song to praise him, to bless him, to bless the Lord. I will sing his praises all of my days. Blessed is the man who loves the song, blessed is the man who praises him and walks in his ways. I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help, I will lift up my voice to the Lord, singing. For the Lord is my shade, is the shade upon my right hand and the sun shall not smite me by day nor the moon by night. Blessed is the man who loves the Lord and walks in his ways. All of my days.

Psalm 122

I was glad, I was glad, I was glad, I was glad when they said unto me (I was glad), I was glad when they said unto me, I was glad when they said unto me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." I rejoiced, I rejoiced, I rejoiced, I rejoiced when they said unto me (I rejoiced), I rejoiced when they said unto me, I rejoiced when they said unto me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." Amen.

On the Willows

This is a setting of Psalm 137 from the Broadway/film musical, Godspell. The original Psalm begins in sadness as the exiles remember their homeland. The Psalmist asks that if he ever sings a song of God to entertain his tormenters, he forget how to sing or play his music at all:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.4How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. On the willows, there we hung up our lives. For our captors there required of us songs and our tormentors' mirth. On the willows, there we hung up our lives. For our captors there required of us songs and our tormentor's mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion. Sing us one of the songs of Zion." But how can we sing--sing the Lord's songs in a foreign land?

PSALM 137

Rastafarianism is an Afro-centered movement that "recovers" or re-uses the Bible to protest social power and injustice. It is famous because of Jamaican Reggae music, based largely on the Rasta religion.
     In this way, Bible images are made current. "Babylon" is now white or "Western" power; the Jordan is the Atlantic ocean, which can be crossed into the promised land of Africa.
     Rasta salvation history is traced (through Solomon and Sheba) to the tribe of Judah, in the figure of the lion, as in Jacob's blessing (GENESIS 49:9 ) and REVELATION (5:5). Psalm 68 promised that, "Ethiopia will surrender to God" (v. 31).
     Rasta sees this as joy, not suffering, as in its version of the famous Psalm 137, "By the rivers of Babylon," one of the most famous Bible texts from the so-called "Babylonian Captivity" (after the fall of Judah in 586 BCE, most Jews were sent to "a strange land," Babylon). In the song, "Rivers of Babylon," by the Melodians, the "strange land" is Jamaica.
     Psalm 137 is used closely. Famous lines from Psalm 19 are also used: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight" (v. 14).
     "Alpha" refers to Ras Tafari (Prince Tafari, later Emperor of Ethiopia), believed to be Jesus Christ, and from whom Rastafarianism gets its name. (In Revelation, Jesus is the "Alpha and Omega" or "beginning and end" [1:8, 22:13]. "Alpha" and "Omega" are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, thus the beginning and the end.)
     The song becomes a song of freedom and joy, not sadness. "Far-I" is word play on Ras Tafari, linking "God" and "I" (Rastas use "I" instead of "me"):

RIVERS OF BABYLON

By the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down, and there we wept, when we remembered Zion. When the wicked carried us away in captivity--required
from us a song. How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? When the wicked carried us away in captivity--required from us a song. How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? Sing it aloud! Sing the song of freedom, brothers! Sing the song of freedom, brothers! We gonna talk about it! We gonna jump and shout it! So, let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight. Oh, Far-I.
So, let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight. Oh, Far-I. Sing it aloud! We got to sing it together, Everyone of us!
By the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down and there we wept, when we remembered Zion. When the wicked carried us away in captivity--required
from us a song. How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? When the wicked carried us away in captivity--required from us a song. How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land?

'HOW LOVELY ARE THY DWELLINGS FAIR'
PSALM 84

HEAR MY PRAYER

This popular concert aria by the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (famous for his Wedding March) is based on the first verses of Psalm 55 (vv. 1-6).

The first thing to remember is the basic principle of Hebrew poetry, which is repetition, either as synonymic, progressive, or antithetic.
     Note our first Psalm, 1, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
                                          Or stand in the way of sinners,
                                          or sit in the seat of mockery."
Here we get three ideas repeating the same thought. Another common thought in the Wisdom literature of the Bible is that sinners are like "chaff that the wind blows away. AGain we get a synonymic restatement of this idea in v. 5. We also briefly discussed the beautiful image in verse 3: "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither."
     This image of yielding or bearing fruit in "due season" is repeated throughout the Hebrew Bible and down into the Christian New Testament, when Jesus talks about sowing seeds of righteousness that bear fruit in good season.

Psalm 2 is the Messianic psalm, referring to God's anointed (king), but which Christians interpret to mean Jesus, the King of Kings: "You are my Son, today I have become your Father" (v. 7).

Psalm 8 has the famous line, "from the mouths of babes you have ordained strength." Simply God provides what is necessary. (Some translators write "wisdom" instead of "strength.") Vv. (verses) 3-5 are also very famous, and Shakespeare refers to them in Hamlet, as does Job in the Book of Job.

14: The fool says in his heart there is no God, so he can do evil. As usual, the Psalmist is certain God will prevail (win). Note how the final lines suggest this is a post-exilic psalm. (Also note, this is the same as Psalm 53.)

15: A "decalogue" Psalm that recites ten laws of the just person.

19: A great psalm comparing Justice to Nature, both in images of Light and Seeing.

22: The is the famous Passion Psalm, since Jesus recites the first lines on the cross. (Mark 15:34, Matthew 27:46). Other references to the Passion of Jesus are in vv. 7-8 & 18.

23: Certainly the most famous text in the Bible, even more than the Lord's Prayer (because both Jews and Christians recite the Psalm but only Christians recite the Lord's Prayer (from the New Testament). This Psalm is timeless, but then so are many others. Shepherd imagery occurs throughout the Bible, down to Jesus. See for example Jeremiah, 23:1f.: "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture."

27: A great Psalm about confidence in God: "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me." (Bob Dylan seemed to refer to this Psalm when accepting a Grammy award a few years ago.) Note a sentiment similar to Job: "I am still confidnet of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." And a strong last line: "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." By the way, this Psalm is probably post-exilic based on the last line; it's also really two poems in one (vv. 1-6) and (7-14).

32. Note the repetition of cleansing of sin in this Psalm: "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him. . . " Then the Psalmist speaks, like a modern psychologist, of the effects of hiding sin. Then, in a passage like one in JOB, there is a reference to the theme of Wisdom and Teaching: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridgle or they will not come to you."

37: This is a great Psalm comforting the religious against evil men, which begins: "Do not fret because of evil men," etc. It was probably a source text for the Gospel song, "Run On," which we heard in class ("Someday God Almighty gonna cut you down!"). Then follows a nice image: "He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of yoru cause like the noonday sun." Note the source text for Jesus' Beatitude (or "blessing"): "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace" (verse 11). Compare Jesus in Matthew 5:5.

Book two of the Psalms begins with #42, another great Psalm: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." A famous image occurs later: "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me" (v. 7). This is an image of being overwhelmed by fears. As the final refrain of Psalm 43 shows, #42 and #43 must have been one Psalm once.

46: The basis of Martin Luther's famous hymn, known throughout the world.

49: Related to the thinking of Ecclesiastes: all perish, good and bad. Note the Immortality verse (15). But it's unclear if true immortality is meant here.

51. This Psalm was supposedly written after King David's encounter with Nathan the Prophet about David's misconduct with Bathsheba. Yet the final lines suggest this is really post-exilic (after the Babylonian Exile).

55: Famous lines include, "Had I the wings of a dove." German composer, Mendelssohn set the first verses to music in a famous concert piece.

58: Great images in this angry Psalm about injustice and unjust people.

72: One of two psalms attributed to Solomon.

73: Asks the same question Jeremiah asked: "Why do the wicked prosper?"

90: A famous psalm setting the human lifespan at "3 score years and 10" (in other words, 70 years old). Note that a day in God's eyes may be a thousand years in ours. See 2 Peter 3:8 Some have used these texts to "explain" Genesis days as merely symbolic. Yet the priestly writer of Genesis 1 seems clear when he says "the evening and the morning were the first day." (Note how "evening" starts the day, not morning, showing that priestly reckoning or figuring of time beginning with sunset was common by the time that Genesis was written.)

103: A great Praise psalm, adapted in the musical, Godspell.

104: A great hymn to Nature, of Egyptian influence. But note that God is in control of everything. Observe the great image of God rebuking and setting bounds to the sea (7f.). The sea from the beginning was seen as a menace, until it is gone in Revelation: there is no longer a sea in the New Jerusalem.

110: Another messianic Psalm: "The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand." This to Christians means Jesus. In fact Jesus quotes this Psalm in Mark 12:35, Matthew 22:41, Luke 20:41.

114: This Ps. is an example of perfect parallelism: every first phrase balanced by the second until the end.

Psalms 111-18 are also known as Hallel (Praise) Psalms, because they end with the phrase, "Praise the Lord." Another way to say Praise the Lord is Hallelujah.

119: The longest Chapter in the Bible, this is nothing less than a long series of variations on the single word, "LAW." Look for synonyms of the word LAW in every verse of this long Psalm.

127: A gentle warning to trust only in God as builder of one's house.

130: Also called De Profoundis, from the opening words in Latin: "Out of the Deep" (or Depths). Oscar Wilde named a prison book after this Psalm. These are great lines: "My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."

131: Compare this short Psalm with Job; study also the wonderful last lines: "But I have stilled and quietened my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul with me."

137: The great Psalm about Babylon, which we discussed in class.

139. Job quotes this Psalm sarcastically.

146: A warning to "not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing."

148: Another reference to how God controls the creatures in the sea, since the sea was always a fear of the Israelites.

150: A great Praise psalm.

PROVERBS

Concerning Proverbs we pointed out how Lady Wisdom was contrasted against Lady Folly, and how carefully Wisdom builds her house of "seven pillars." Wisdom is Life, while Folly is Death. Note that by the Gospel of John, Wisdom is seated next to God (Jesus = the Word of God, or God's Wisdom). So Jehovah finally gets a "consort," or companion, but not female as in other theologies. This idea of Wisdom seated next to God at the beginning of Creation precedes Jesus and is in many scriptures considered "deuterocanonical" (or of the Secondary Canon) by Catholics.
Also observe the last chapter praising the good wife. But this whole book should afford many pleasures of casual reading too.

ECCLESIASTES

This is one of the most beautiful books in the Bible, rewarding countless readings. The opening lines (Vanity of Vanaities) are world famous, as is the poem about the Seasons in Chapter 3:1ff. There is a great pessimism in the poem, yet it was included in the canonical (accepted) scriptures. Still, many scholars believe the final verses about fearing God were added on by a later writer or redactor, to make the Book more acceptable and less pessimistic in its conclusion. Chapter 12 is a great symbolic picture of Death and Dying. This book alone is worth the price of a Bible.

Epiphany

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Bible 2006-2007

Psalm 3

Psalm 4

Psalm 5

Psalm 6

Psalm 7

Psalm 10

Psalm 11

Psalm 12

Psalm 13

Psalm 17

Psalm 22

Psalm 25

Psalm 26

Psalm 28

Psalm 35

Psalm 38

Psalm 39

Psalm 40

Psalm 41

Psalm 42

Psalm 43

Psalm 51

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Psalm 53

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Psalm 55

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Psalm 74

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Psalm 130

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Psalm 44

Psalm 74

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Psalm 4

Psalm 11

Psalm 16

Psalm 23

Psalm 27

Psalm 62

Psalm 121

Psalm 131

Psalm 9

Psalm 18

Psalm 30

Psalm 32

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Psalm 40

Psalm 66

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Psalm 100

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Psalm 8

Psalm 78

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Psalm 117

Psalm 48