Book of Psalms

Date for Book of Psalms:
The Book of Psalms, written over several centuries, spans from 1000 BCE to 400 BCE. It is a collection of religious songs, prayers, and poems, many attributed to King David, expressing the full range of human emotions in relation to God. The Psalms highlight themes of praise, lament, thanksgiving, and trust in God.

Psalms From Man’s Perspective:
From man’s perspective, the Psalms express the deep emotional and spiritual journey of humanity. They speak to God in times of joy, sorrow, fear, and hope, providing words for personal and communal worship.

Psalms From God's Perspective:
From God's perspective, the Psalms are a reflection of the relationship between God and His people. They are expressions of faith, calling the people to trust in His sovereignty, mercy, and faithfulness.

Psalms From Historical Perspective:
Historically, Psalms provides insight into the worship practices of ancient Israel. The book includes hymns, songs of thanksgiving, and laments that reveal how Israel related to God in both individual and community settings.

Historical and Archaeological Findings Related to the Book of Psalms:

1. The Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 250 BCE): These texts include several Psalms, showing the significance of these prayers in the religious practices of ancient Jewish communities.
2. The Psalter of the Septuagint (c. 3rd century BCE): The Greek translation of the Psalms in the Septuagint reveals how the Psalms were used and interpreted in the Hellenistic Jewish world.
3. The Temple in Jerusalem: Archaeological findings related to the ancient temple provide context for the Psalms, many of which were sung in worship at the Temple.

1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

3 “Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.

8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

1 Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

3 Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

4 Tremble and do not sin;
when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the Lord.

6 Many, Lord, are asking,
“Who will bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.

7 Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.

8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.

1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.

2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

3 My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, Lord, how long?

4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.

5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.

7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do wrong,
for the Lord has heard my weeping.

9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
the Lord accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens.

2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:

7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,

8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.

4 In his pride the wicked do not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.

6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;

9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”

12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.

13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?

14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.

17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.

3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue.

4 Those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”

6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.

7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,

8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.

1 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.

3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord.

5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be gla 

1 Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”

3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

1 I love you, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering,
his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence
clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.

22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.

24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.

27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect:
the Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.

36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.

39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.

40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.

41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.

42 I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind;
I poured them out like mud in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,

44 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.

45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.

46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!

47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,

48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.

49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.

50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.