Psalms 78:62-72; Psalms 79; Psalms 80; Psalms 81; Psalms 82:1

Psalms 78:62-72

62 He gave his people over to the sword; he was furious with his inheritance.

63 Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs;

64 their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.

66 He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame.

67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved.

69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.

70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens;

71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.

72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

Psalms 79

1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.

3 They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead.

4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

5 How long, LORD? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name;

7 for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.

8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.

9 Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.

10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.

11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.

12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.

13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.

Psalms 80

1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.

3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

4 How long, LORD God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us.

7 Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.

11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,its shoots as far as the River.

12 Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

13 Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.

14 Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine,

15 the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself.

16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.

17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

19 Restore us, LORD God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.

Psalms 81

1 Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

2 Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre.

3 Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;

4 this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

5 When God went out against Egypt, he established it as a statute for Joseph. I heard an unknown voice say:

6 “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.

7 In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

8 Hear me, my people, and I will warn you— if you would only listen to me, Israel!

9 You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.

10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

11 “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways,

14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!

15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.

16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Psalms 82:1

1 God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: