August 3rd
Psalm 83
A Song or Psalm of Asaph
Defeat
them, O Lord
1:
Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O
God. 2: For, lo, thine
enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the
head. 3: They have taken
crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden
ones. 4: They have said,
Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of
Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5:
For they have consulted together with one consent: they are
confederate against thee: 6:
The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the
Hagarenes; 7: Gebal, and
Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8:
Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot.
Selah. 9: Do unto them as
unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of
Kison: 10: Which perished at
Endor: they became as dung for the earth. 11:
Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as
Zebah, and as Zalmunna: 12:
Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
13: O my God, make them like
a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. 14:
As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on
fire; 15: So persecute them
with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. 16:
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. 17:
Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to
shame, and perish: 18: That
men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most
high over all the earth.
To
the chief musician upon Gittith
Psalm 84 – 89 The
Sanctuary in relation to Jehovah
Psalm 84
A Psalm for the sons of Korah
Yearning
for Home
1:
How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! 2:
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my
heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 3:
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for
herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of
hosts, my King, and my God. 4:
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising
thee. Selah. 5: Blessed is
the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of
them. 6: Who passing through
the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7: They go from strength to
strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. 8:
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9: Behold, O God our shield,
and look upon the face of thine anointed. 10:
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness. 11: For the LORD
God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good
thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12:
O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
To
the chief musician
Today we are
reading Psalm 83 & 84. In Psalm 83 Asaph brings to us a Psalm
which describes the destruction of those who want to defile the
sanctuary of the Lord. Asaph begins and ends with an appeal to the
Lord to rise up against his enemies, then between them, he describes
their wickedness twice and then describes their punishment twice.
Asaph begins saying, Do not remain silent O Lord. Because your
enemies are making a riot and those who hate you stand up to oppose
you. They have hatched a clever plot and they plan to totally destroy
this nation, so that even its name will be forgotten from the face of
the earth. They have joined forces, Edom, Ishaelities, Moab,
Hagarenes, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek; the Philistines with the men of
Tyre; Assur, the children of Lot. Think about that. Lord, do to them
what you did to the Midianites; and as you did to Sisera, and Jabin,
They became as the dung for the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb,
and Zeeb: and make all their princes like Zebah, and Zalmunna. All
these peoples faced the judgment of the Lord at Israel’s hands.
They said tell us go and occupy the houses of God. O Lord make them
like a wheel that turns around and like chaff in the wind, like fire
burning wood and like a forest fire. Trouble them like a storm and
make them afraid. May they not want to lift up their faces for shame
so that in their hearts they will seek you, O LORD. May they be
conquered and disturbed forever and perish in shame. Then all men
will know that you, whose name is Jehovah, are the most high over all
the kingdoms of men. In Psalm 84 Korah brings a Psalm which describes
the blessedness of those who come to the sanctuary of the Lord. The
Psalm is in two verses. Both verses describes the blessedness of
those who dwell in the sanctuary (The Levites) and those who approach
the sanctuary, (Israel and the nations). And between these verses
Korah brings two prayers in v8-9. Korah begins saying how beloved are
the tabernacles of the Lord. He says my inner-man longs for them and
even faints to think about the presence of God. My mind and body
cries out for the living God. The sparrows have a home and the
swallows build nests for their young near to your altars - O Lord, my
king, my God. Blessed are all those that live in your house O Lord,
they will always praise you. Think about that. And blessed is the man
who is strengthened by the Lord and whose mind is full of your ways.
When they come to seek you O Lord they will pass by the valley of
Baca whose pools become full of rain. They will go from strength to
strength all those who appear before the Lord in Zion. So Korah
prays, O LORD God of hosts hear my prayer and listen to me O God of
Jacob. Think about that. Look and see that God is our protector and
look at the face of Gods anointed one. Just one day in thy courts of
the Lord is better than a thousand days outside. And I would rather
be a doorkeeper1
in the House of the Lord than to live in the tents of the wicked.
Because the Lord is my sun and shield. And the Lord will give grace
and glory and no good thing will he hold back from those that walk
uprightly according to law. O LORD of hosts - blessed is the man who
puts his trust in you. This Psalm may have a prophetic significance
as it seems to describe the coming of the nations to meet the
anointed one - Christ in his kingdom.
- Why does Asaph call on God not to be silent?
- How does the Psalmist long for fellowship with God?
- How does the Lord bless his people?
1
The
lowest status of servant. The one who listens for visitors and
washes their dirty feet.
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