Translation: The New Jerusalem Bible

The Spoken Word Set 10
Psalms for Every Day
Psalms 1 to 78

Volumes 25 to 27

The recording of the Psalms (Set 10)

read by David Guthrie

may be purchased and downloaded digitally from Naxos at

Classics Online (click here)

 and streamed from the Naxos Spoken Word Library (click here)

Psalm 26

Prayer of the blameless

I find this psalm even more difficult to identify with than the psalms of violence. At least the expressions of violence, even as we reject and deplore them, still reflect an authentic humanity. This is a psalm that I could never imagine Jesus reciting in self-identification and it seems to me to defy spiritualization of its meaning into anything other than the very phariseeism that Jesus adamantly set his face against. Perhaps it serves to us as a reminder of the perils that the religious life can succumb to so easily.

Yahweh, be my judge!
I go on my way in innocence,
my trust in Yahweh never wavers.

Probe me, Yahweh, examine me,
Test my heart and my mind in the fire.For your faithful love is before my eyes,
and I live my life by your truth.

No sitting with wastrels for me,
no travelling with hypocrites;
I hate the company of sinners,
I refuse to sit down with the wicked.

I will wash my hands in innocence
and join the procession round your altar, Yahweh,
 to make heard the sound of thanksgiving,
to proclaim all your wonders.
Yahweh, I love the beauty of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.

Do not couple me with sinners,
nor my life with men of violence,
 whose hands are stained with guilt,
their right hands heavy with bribes.

In innocence I will go on my way;
ransom me, take pity on me.
I take my stand on the right path;
I will bless you, Yahweh, in the assemblies.

Psalm 27

In God’s company there is no fear

Psalm 27 is one of the most profound expressions of spirituality to be found in any of the psalms. One way of seeing the life of faith is to conceive it as lived wholly and at all times in the sight of God, a conception well expressed here. The spiritual aspiration is to live our lives in such a manner that we can always be confident in that stance before God's face, sure at all times of God's unwavering support and faithfulness in and through everything. In consequence, when in the liturgy we openly celebrate this life before God, we sing and make music joyfully. Life in the Spirit is a life of deep confidence, even when surrounded by trouble and threat.

Yahweh is my light and my salvation,
    whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life,
    whom should I dread?

When the wicked advance against me
    to eat me up,
they, my opponents, my enemies,
    are the ones who stumble and fall.

Though an army pitch camp against me,
    my heart will not fear,
though war break out against me,
    my trust will never be shaken.

One thing I ask of Yahweh,
    one thing I seek:
to dwell in Yahweh's house
    all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
    to seek out his temple.

For he hides me away under his roof
    on the day of evil,
he folds me in the recesses of his tent,
    sets me high on a rock.

Now my head is held high
    above the enemies who surround me;
in his tent I will offer
    sacrifices of acclaim.

 I will sing, I will make music for Yahweh.

Yahweh, hear my voice as I cry,
    pity me, answer me!
Of you my heart has said,
    “Seek his face!”
Your face, Yahweh, I seek;
    do not turn away from me.

Do not thrust aside your servant in anger,
    without you I am helpless.
Never leave me, never forsake me,
    God, my Saviour.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
    Yahweh will gather me up.

Yahweh, teach me your way,
lead me on the path of integrity
    because of my enemies;
do not abandon me to the will of my foes --
false witnesses have risen against me,
    and are breathing out violence.

This I believe: I shall see the goodness of Yahweh,
    in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold,
    put your hope in Yahweh.

Psalm 28

Petition and thanksgiving

Many of the psalms express the paradoxical nature of the life of faith: on the one hand the experience of God's 'silence' and 'inaction' in our times of distress; on the other hand, our sense of sure confidence that we are in need help. From that sense of help springs thanksgiving.

To you, Yahweh, I cry,
    my rock, do not be deaf to me!
If you stay silent
    I shall be like those who sink into oblivion.

Hear the sound of my prayer
    when I call upon you,
when I raise my hands, Yahweh,
    towards your Holy of Holies.

Do not drag me away with the wicked,
    with evil-doers,
who talk to their partners of peace
    with treachery in their hearts.

Repay them as their deeds deserve,
    as befits their treacherous actions;
as befits their handiwork repay them,
    let their deserts fall back on themselves.

They do not comprehend the deeds of Yahweh,
    the work of his hands.
May he pull them down and not rebuild them!

Blessed be Yahweh
for he hears the sound of my prayer.

Yahweh is my strength and my shield,
    in him my heart trusts.
I have been helped; my body has recovered its vigour,
    with all my heart I thank him.

Yahweh is the strength of his people,
    a safe refuge for his anointed.
Save your people, bless your heritage,
    shepherd them and carry them for ever!

Psalm 29

Hymn to the Lord of the storm

I have always related to this psalm as one of my favourites for its sheer imagination and soaring poetry capturing the fury of a storm. It ends in the stillness that follows such a tempest. The storm speaks to the psalmist of the awe, power and majesty of God; the calm that follows speaks of the peace God always brings the faithful.

Give Yahweh his due, sons of God,
give Yahweh his due of glory and strength,give Yahweh the glory due to his name,
adore Yahweh in the splendour of holiness.

Yahweh's voice over the waters, the God of glory thunders;
Yahweh over countless waters,
Yahweh's voice in power, Yahweh's voice in splendour;

Yahweh's voice shatters cedars,
Yahweh shatters cedars of Lebanon,
he makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.

Yahweh's voice carves out lightning-shafts,
Yahweh's voice convulses the desert,
Yahweh convulses the desert of Kadesh,
Yahweh's voice convulses terebinths,
strips forests bare.

In his palace all cry, “Glory!”
Yahweh was enthroned for the flood,
Yahweh is enthroned as king for ever.
Yahweh will give strength to his people,
Yahweh blesses his people with peace.

Psalm 30

Thanksgiving after mortal danger

As one who has personally walked into the jaws of death and been brought back by sheer grace, I bond closely with the psalm and its expression of joy and praise. This is the wonder of the psalms. We may not identify with them all, certainly not all of the time, yet I doubt whether there is anyone with any measure of faith who will not continually find reflected in one or many of the psalms their own experience of life lived before God.

I praise you to the heights, Yahweh, for you have raised me up,
you have not let my foes make merry over me.
Yahweh, my God, I cried to you for help and you healed me.
Yahweh, you have lifted me out of Sheol,
from among those who sink into oblivion you have given me life.

Make music for Yahweh, all you who are faithful to him,
praise his unforgettable holiness.
His anger lasts but a moment, his favour through life;
In the evening come tears, but with dawn cries of joy.

    Carefree, I used to think,
    “Nothing can ever shake me!”
Your favour, Yahweh, set me on impregnable heights,
but you turned away your face and I was terrified.

    To you, Yahweh, I call,
    to my God I cry for mercy.
What point is there in my death, my going down to the abyss?
Can the dust praise you or proclaim your faithfulness?

Listen, Yahweh, take pity on me,
    Yahweh, be my help!
You have turned my mourning into dancing,
you have stripped off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
So my heart will sing to you unceasingly,
Yahweh, my God, I shall praise you for ever.

Psalm 31

Prayer in time of ordeal

Identifying with this psalmist's expression can be at many levels. It is not hard to visualise people in parts of the world where violence and oppression directed against people of faith is very real and the psalm could be read almost literally. For most, though, the psalmist's description transposes to inner struggles, or issues of health and sickness, or, in fact, almost any kind of overwhelming distress. The key word is "vexation" and that is a universal experience. The everlasting struggle is to find the confidence of faith in the face of feeling this vexation.

In you, Yahweh, I have taken refuge,
let me never be put to shame,
in your saving justice deliver me, rescue me,
turn your ear to me, make haste.

Be for me a rock-fastness,
a fortified citadel to save me.
You are my rock, my rampart;
true to your name, lead me and guide me!

Draw me out of the net they have spread for me,
for you are my refuge;
to your hands I commit my spirit,
by you have I been redeemed.

God of truth, you hate
those who serve useless idols;
but my trust is in Yahweh:
 I will delight and rejoice in your faithful love!

You, who have seen my misery,
and witnessed the miseries of my soul,
have not handed me over to the enemy,
but have given me freedom to roam at large.

Take pity on me, Yahweh,
    for I am in trouble.
Vexation is gnawing away my eyes,
    my soul deep within me.

For my life is worn out with sorrow,
    and my years with sighs.
My strength gives way under my misery,
    and my bones are all wasted away.

The sheer number of my enemies
    makes me contemptible,
loathsome to my neighbours,
    and my friends shrink from me in horror.

When people see me in the street
    they take to their heels.
I have no more place in their hearts than a corpse,
    or something lost.

All I hear is slander
    -- terror wherever I turn --
as they plot together against me,
    scheming to take my life.

But my trust is in you, Yahweh;
    I say, “You are my God,”
every moment of my life is in your hands, rescue me
    from the clutches of my foes who pursue me;
let your face shine on your servant,
    save me in your faithful love.

I call on you, Yahweh, so let disgrace fall not on me,
    but on the wicked.
Let them go down to Sheol in silence,
    muzzles on their lying mouths,
which speak arrogantly against the upright
    in pride and contempt.

Yahweh, what quantities of good things
    you have in store for those who fear you,
and bestow on those who make you their refuge,
    for all humanity to see.

Safe in your presence you hide them,
    far from human plotting,
shielding them in your tent,
    far from contentious tongues.

Blessed be Yahweh who works for me
    miracles of his faithful love.
In a state of terror I cried,
    “I have been cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my plea for help
    when I cried out to you.

Love Yahweh, all his faithful:
    Yahweh protects his loyal servants,
but he repays the arrogant
    with interest.
Be brave, take heart,
    all who put your hope in Yahweh.

Psalm 32

Candid admission of sin

Central to the life in the Spirit is our capacity to acknowledge the extent and depth of our sin. Only the person who knows little of God could ever describe hesself as "good". At the core of our experience of God lies the amazing grace of being completely forgiven, all our guilt taken away. It is in that freedom from sin that we stand so confidently before God and rejoice.

How blessed are those whose offence is forgiven,
    whose sin blotted out.
How blessed are those to whom Yahweh imputes no guilt,
    whose spirit harbours no deceit.

I said not a word, but my bones wasted away
    from groaning all the day;
day and night
    your hand lay heavy upon me;
my heart grew parched as stubble
    in summer drought.

I made my sin known to you,
    did not conceal my guilt.
I said, “I shall confess
    my offence to Yahweh.”
And you, for your part, took away my guilt,
    forgave my sin.

That is why each of your faithful ones prays to you
    in time of distress.
Even if great floods overflow,
    they will never reach your faithful.
You are a refuge for me,
    you guard me in trouble,
with songs of deliverance you surround me.

I shall instruct you and teach you the way to go;
I shall not take my eyes off you.

Be not like a horse or a mule;
that does not understand bridle or bit;
if you advance to master them,
there is no means of bringing them near.

Countless troubles are in store for the wicked,
but one who trusts in Yahweh is enfolded in his faithful love.

Rejoice in Yahweh,
exult all you upright,
shout for joy, you honest of heart.

Psalm 33

Hymn to Providence

Here is a cosmic vision and a psalm that may speak to the global issues of the 21st century. We face vast environmental, social and cultural changes, threatening human life itself. Can we believe that God's is in control and God's grace is to be found in the midst of it? Can we confront everything that is happening and echo the final verse of this psalm?

Shout for joy, you upright;
praise comes well from the honest.
Give thanks to Yahweh on the lyre,
play for him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song,
make sweet music for your cry of victory.

The word of Yahweh is straightforward,
all he does springs from his constancy.
He loves uprightness and justice;
the faithful love of Yahweh fills the earth.

By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made,
by the breath of his mouth all their array.
He collects the waters of the sea like a dam,
he stores away the abyss in his treasure-house.

Let the whole earth fear Yahweh,
let all who dwell in the world revere him;
for, the moment he spoke, it was so,
no sooner had he commanded, than there it stood!

Yahweh thwarts the plans of nations,
frustrates the counsels of peoples;
but Yahweh's own plan stands firm for ever,
his heart's counsel from age to age.
How blessed the nation whose God is Yahweh,
the people he has chosen as his heritage.

From heaven Yahweh looks down,
he sees all the children of Adam,
 from the place where he sits he watches
 all who dwell on the earth;
he alone moulds their hearts,
he understands all they do.

A large army will not keep a king safe,
nor his strength save a warrior's life;
it is delusion to rely on a horse for safety,
for all its power it cannot save.

But see how Yahweh watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his faithful love,
to rescue them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

We are waiting for Yahweh;
 he is our help and our shield,
for in him our heart rejoices,
in his holy name we trust.
Yahweh, let your faithful love rest on us,
as our hope has rested in you.

Psalm 34

In praise of God’s justice

This is a psalm that we have to handle with great care and, if we are wise, we read with knowledge of the Book of Job that does an effective hatchet job on the sentiment expressed here.

There is a depth at which what the psalmist is saying rings true, but as a script for life, as Job reveals, it is a recipe for disaster and disillusionment. Life as portrayed here is sheer illusion.

I will bless Yahweh at all times,
his praise continually on my lips.
I will praise Yahweh from my heart;
let the humble hear and rejoice.

Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh,
let us acclaim his name together.
I seek Yahweh and he answers me,
frees me from all my fears.

Fix your gaze on Yahweh and your face will grow bright,
you will never hang your head in shame.
A pauper calls out and Yahweh hears,
saves him from all his troubles.

The angel of Yahweh encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.
Taste and see that Yahweh is good.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him.

Fear Yahweh, you his holy ones;
those who fear him lack for nothing.
Young lions may go needy and hungry,
but those who seek Yahweh lack nothing good.

Come, my children, listen to me,
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
Who among you delights in life,
longs for time to enjoy prosperity?

Guard your tongue from evil,
your lips from any breath of deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good,
seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of Yahweh are on the upright,
his ear turned to their cry.
But Yahweh's face is set against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

They cry in anguish and Yahweh hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
Yahweh is near to the broken-hearted,
he helps those whose spirit is crushed.

Though hardships without number beset the upright,
Yahweh brings rescue from them all.
Yahweh takes care of all their bones,
not one of them will be broken.

But to the wicked evil brings death,
those who hate the upright will pay the penalty.
Yahweh ransoms the lives of those who serve him,
and there will be no penalty for those who take refuge in him.

Psalm 35

Prayer of the virtuous in persecution

Few of us, at the level of ordinary lives lived out in the relative peace of Western societies, can connect personally with the psalm – though many can and do. But even in our own society, we can project these words onto the political arena and see how meaningful they can be: or see the situation of persecution experienced in other parts of the world. Even if we cannot find a personal identification, these words can provide a lens that can vivify intercession for those for whom these words are all too real.

Accuse my accusers, Yahweh,
    attack my attackers.
Grasp your buckler and shield,
    up, and help me.

Brandish spear and pike
    to confront my pursuers,
give me the assurance, “I am your Saviour.”

Shame and humiliation on those
    who are out to kill me!
Defeat and repulse in dismay
    on those who plot my downfall.

May they be like chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of Yahweh to chase them.
May their way be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of Yahweh to hound them.

Unprovoked they laid their snare for me,
    unprovoked dug a trap to kill me.
Ruin comes upon them unawares;
    the snare they have laid will catch them,
    and into their own trap they will fall.

Then I shall delight in Yahweh,
    rejoice that he has saved me.
My very bones will all exclaim,
    Yahweh, who can compare with you
in rescuing the poor from the oppressor;
    the needy from the exploiter?

False witnesses come forward against me
    asking me questions I cannot answer,
they cross-examine me, repay my kindness with cruelty,
    make my life barren.

But I, when they were ill, had worn sackcloth,
    and mortified myself with fasting,
praying ever anew in my heart,
    as if for a friend or brother; I had wandered restless,
    as if mourning a mother,
    so bowed had I been in sorrow.

When I stumble they gather in glee,
    gather around me;
strangers I never even knew
    tear me apart incessantly.
If I fall they surround me,
    grinding their teeth at me.

How much longer, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their onslaughts,
    from young lions rescue the one life that I have.

I will give you thanks in the great assembly
    praise you where the people gather.

Let not my lying enemies
    gloat over me;
those who hate me unprovoked
    look askance at me.

They have no greeting of peace
    to the peace-loving people of the land;
they think up deceptive speeches.
Their mouths wide open to accuse me,
    they say, “Come on now, we saw you.”

You saw it, Yahweh, do not stay silent;
    Lord, do not stand aloof from me.
Up, awake, to my defence,
    my God and my Lord, to my cause.
In your saving justice give judgement for me, Yahweh my God,
    and do not let them gloat over me.

Do not let them think, “Just as we hoped,”
    nor, “Now we have swallowed him up.”
Shame and dismay on them all
    who gloat over my misfortunes.
Let all who profit at my expense
    be covered with shame and disgrace.

But let all who delight in my uprightness
    shout for joy and gladness;
let them constantly say,
    “Great is Yahweh,
who delights to see his servant in peace.”

And my tongue shall recount your saving justice,
    all day long sing your praise.

Psalm 36

The perversity of sinners and the benevolence of God

Responses to the psalms are subjective: this is their power and their authenticity. Psalm 36 is one I have difficulty in relating to – yet for many there is no such difficulty. My reaction to this poem is to sense it is as statement that arises from convention, not from the heart. Its sentiments are worthy but as something one is expected to offer.

Sin is the oracle of the wicked
    in the depths of his heart;
there is no fear of God
    before his eyes.

He sees himself with too flattering an eye
    to detect and detest his guilt;
all he says is malicious and deceitful,
    he has turned his back on wisdom.

To get his way he hatches malicious plots
    even in his bed;
once set on his evil course
    no wickedness is too much for him.

Yahweh, your faithful love is in the heavens,
your constancy reaches to the clouds,
your saving justice is like towering mountains,
your judgements like the mighty deep.

Yahweh, you support both man and beast;
how precious, God, is your faithful love.
So the children of Adam
take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the bounty of your house,
you let them drink from your delicious streams;
in you is the source of life,
by your light we see the light.

Maintain your faithful love to those who acknowledge you,
and your saving justice to the honest of heart.
Do not let the foot of the arrogant overtake me
or wicked hands drive me away.

There they have fallen, the evil-doers,
flung down, never to rise again.

Psalm 37

The fate of the upright and the wicked

This is a classic psalm of the Hebrew wisdom tradition. As a guide to the concrete experience of life, it is far from the mark, as noted in relation to Psalm 34. Yet equally, at a deep level it strikes true, in the same way as do the Beatitudes of Matthew and Luke. It is about our fundamental ethical orientation, and the inner conviction that orientation to ‘uprightness’ brings its reward while the rejection of uprightness creates consequences that are ultimately negative.

Do not get heated about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
Quick as the grass they wither,
fading like the green of the fields.

Put your trust in Yahweh and do right,
make your home in the land and live secure.
Make Yahweh your joy
and he will give you your heart's desires.

Commit your destiny to Yahweh,
be confident in him, and he will act,
making your uprightness clear as daylight,
and the justice of your cause as the noon.

Stay quiet before Yahweh, wait longingly for him,
do not get heated over someone who is making a fortune,
succeeding by devious means.

Refrain from anger, leave rage aside,
do not get heated -- it can do no good;
for evil-doers will be annihilated,
while those who hope in Yahweh shall have the land for their own.

A little while and the wicked will be no more,
however well you search for the place, the wicked will not be there;
but the poor will have the land for their own,
to enjoy untroubled peace.

The wicked plots against the upright
and gnashes his teeth at him,
but Yahweh only laughs at his efforts,
knowing that his end is in sight.

Though the wicked draw his sword
and bend his bow to slaughter the honest
and bring down the poor and the needy,
his sword will pierce his own heart,
and his bow will be shattered.

What little the upright possesses
outweighs all the wealth of the wicked;
for the weapons of the wicked shall be shattered,
while Yahweh supports the upright.

The lives of the just are in Yahweh's care,
their birthright will endure for ever;
they will not be put to shame when bad times come,
in time of famine they will have plenty.

The wicked, enemies of Yahweh, will be destroyed,
they will vanish like the green of the pasture,
they will vanish in smoke.

The wicked borrows and will not repay,
but the upright is generous in giving;
those he blesses will have the land for their own,
and those he curses be annihilated.

Yahweh guides a strong man's steps and keeps them firm;
and takes pleasure in him.
When he trips he is not thrown sprawling,
since Yahweh supports him by the hand.

Now I am old, but ever since my youth
I never saw an upright person abandoned,
or the descendants of the upright forced to beg their bread.
The upright is always compassionate, always lending,
so his descendants reap a blessing.

Turn your back on evil and do good,
you will have a home for ever,
for Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful.

Evil-doers will perish eternally,
the descendants of the wicked be annihilated,
but the upright shall have the land for their own,
there they shall live for ever.

Wisdom comes from the lips of the upright,
and his tongue speaks what is right;
the law of his God is in his heart,
his foot will never slip.

The wicked keeps a close eye on the upright,
looking out for a chance to kill him;
Yahweh will never abandon him to the clutches of the wicked,
nor let him be condemned if he is tried.

Put your hope in Yahweh, keep to his path,
he will raise you up to make the land your own;
you will look on while the wicked are annihilated.

I have seen the wicked exultant,
towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
When next I passed he was gone,
I searched for him and he was nowhere to be found.

Observe the innocent, consider the honest,
for the lover of peace will not lack children.
But the wicked will all be destroyed together,
and their children annihilated.

The upright have Yahweh for their Saviour,
their refuge in times of trouble;
Yahweh helps them and rescues them,
he will rescue them from the wicked,
and save them because they take refuge in him.

Psalm 38

Prayer in distress

How real is the experience captured here? We may not identify with the account of the persecution, but it is a near universal experience to sense times when God seems aloof and far away, deserting us when we feel low and isolated.

Yahweh, do not correct me in anger,
do not discipline me in wrath.
For your arrows have pierced deep into me,
your hand has pressed down upon me.
Your indignation has left no part of me unscathed,
my sin has left no health in my bones.

My sins stand higher than my head,
they weigh on me as an unbearable weight.
I have stinking, festering wounds,
thanks to my folly.
I am twisted and bent double,
I spend my days in gloom.

My loins burn with fever,
no part of me is unscathed.
Numbed and utterly crushed
I groan in distress of heart.

Lord, all my longing is known to you,
my sighing no secret from you,
my heart is throbbing, my strength has failed,
the light has gone out of my eyes.

Friends and companions shun my disease,
even the dearest of them keep their distance.
Those with designs on my life lay snares,
those who wish me ill speak of violence
and hatch treachery all day long.

But I hear nothing, as though I were deaf,
as though dumb, saying not a word.
I am like the one who, hearing nothing,
has no sharp answer to make.

For in you, Yahweh, I put my hope,
you, Lord my God, will give answer.
I said, “Never let them gloat over me,
do not let them take advantage of me if my foot slips.”

There is no escape for me from falling,
no relief from my misery.
But I make no secret of my guilt,
I am anxious at the thought of my sin.

There is no numbering those who oppose me without cause,
no counting those who hate me unprovoked,
repaying me evil for good,
slandering me for trying to do them good.

Yahweh, do not desert me,
my God, do not stand aloof from me.
Come quickly to my help,
Lord, my Saviour!

Psalm 39

Insignificance of human beings before God

This psalm speaks for itself and needs no comment. It reminds us of our mortality and frailty.

I said, “I will watch how I behave
so that I do not sin by my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as any sinner is near.”
I stayed dumb, silent, speechless,
but the sinner's prosperity redoubled my torment.

My heart had been smouldering within me,
but at the thought of this it flared up
and the words came bursting out,
“Yahweh, let me know my fate,
how much longer I have to live.
Show me just how frail I am.

 “Look, you have given me but a hand's breadth or two of life,
the length of my life is as nothing to you.
Every human being that stands on earth is a mere puff of wind,
every human being that walks only a shadow;
a mere puff of wind is the wealth stored away --
no knowing who will profit from it.”

So now, Lord, what am I to hope for?
My hope is in you.
Save me from all my sins,
do not make me the butt of fools.
I keep silence, I speak no more
since you yourself have been at work.

Take your scourge away from me.
I am worn out by the blows you deal me.
You correct human beings by punishing sin,
like a moth you eat away all their desires --
a human being is a mere puff of wind.

Yahweh, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for help,
do not remain deaf to my weeping.
For I am a stranger in your house,
a nomad like all my ancestors.
Turn away your gaze that I may breathe freely
before I depart and am no more!

Psalm 40

Song of praise and prayer for help

The core Hebrew experience from the sixth century BC to the present day has been one of living in a cauldron of trouble and it is out of this cauldron and that their essential witness was and is made. The base-line experience was the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. What the Hebrew Testament witnesses to in its entirety is how the community came out of that devastating experience as a totally transformed people with a transformed faith. That core experience became the foundation that has enabled the Hebrew people to overcome every crisis that has faced them ever since. It was this core experience that enabled the 'new Israel', the disciples of Christ, to meet and rise above their own devastating experience of the crucifixion and emerge a transformed community with a transformed faith.

I waited, I waited for Yahweh,
    then he stooped to me
    and heard my cry for help.

He pulled me up from the seething chasm,
    from the mud of the mire.
He set my feet on rock,
    and made my footsteps firm.

He put a fresh song in my mouth,
    praise of our God.
Many will be awestruck at the sight,
    and will put their trust in Yahweh.

How blessed are those
    who put their trust in Yahweh,
who have not sided with rebels
    and those who have gone astray in falsehood.

How much you have done,
    Yahweh, my God --
your wonders, your plans for us --
    you have no equal.
I will proclaim and speak of them;
    they are beyond number.

You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering,
    but you gave me an open ear,
you did not ask for burnt offering or sacrifice for sin;
    then I said, “Here I am, I am coming.”

In the scroll of the book it is written of me,
    my delight is to do your will;
your law, my God,
    is deep in my heart.

I proclaimed the saving justice of Yahweh
    in the great assembly.
See, I will not hold my tongue,
    as you well know.

I have not kept your saving justice locked in the depths of my heart,
    but have spoken of your constancy and saving help.
I have made no secret of your faithful and steadfast love,
    in the great assembly.

You, Yahweh, have not withheld
    your tenderness from me;
your faithful and steadfast love
    will always guard me.

For troubles surround me,
    until they are beyond number;
my sins have overtaken me;
    I cannot see my way.
They outnumber the hairs of my head,
    and my heart fails me.

Be pleased, Yahweh, to rescue me,
    Yahweh, come quickly and help me!
Shame and dismay to all
    who seek to take my life.

Back with them, let them be humiliated
    who delight in my misfortunes.
Let them be aghast with shame,
    those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

But joy and happiness in you
    to all who seek you!
Let them ceaselessly cry, “Great is Yahweh”
    who love your saving power.

Poor and needy as I am,
    the Lord has me in mind.
You, my helper, my Saviour,
    my God, do not delay.

Psalm 41

Prayer of a sufferer deserted

Sometimes I have to question how we are to take psalms where the modelling is, at best, suspect and, at worst, unhealthy. This is such a psalm. We may indeed identify with the mood and feelings expressed at times in our lives but how the psalmist deals with his feelings is not one any competent spiritual director would commend.

Blessed is anyone who cares for the poor and the weak;
in time of trouble Yahweh rescues him.
Yahweh protects him, gives him life and happiness on earth.
Do not abandon him to his enemies' pleasure!
Yahweh sustains him on his bed of sickness;
you transform altogether the bed where he lies sick.

For my part I said, “Yahweh, take pity on me!
Cure me for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies speak to me only of disaster,
“When will he die and his name disappear?”
When people come to see me their talk is hollow,
when they get out they spread the news with spite in their hearts.

All who hate me whisper together about me
and reckon I deserve the misery I suffer.
“A fatal sickness has a grip on him;
now that he is down, he will never get up again.”
Even my trusted friend on whom I relied,
who shared my table, takes advantage of me.

But you, Yahweh, take pity on me!
Put me on my feet and I will give them their due.
This will convince me that you delight in me,
if my enemy no longer exults over me.
Then you will keep me unscathed,
and set me in your presence for ever.

Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
    from eternity to eternity.
          Amen, Amen.

Psalms 42 and 43

Lament of a Levite in exile

This psalm was probably written a few years after the initial exile of 598 BC but before the temple was finally destroyed 11 years later. The priest, in exile, is in agony over the loss of worship. In the framework of the religious thinking at that time, God could be worshipped only in Jerusalem. During the exile, though, occurred the revolution begun by Ezekiel in 593 BC when he experienced the revelation of God in Babylon. This broke the concept that Yahweh could not appear outside Palestine. The priest is grasped by this new realisation that Yahweh is present even in Babylon.

In Psalm 39, the comment was made about the transforming impact of the exile of Hebrew faith. This psalm is a glimpse into the beginning of the process of transformation. The key element was the grasp that God could relate to his people and support them even an exile. From the place that they thought would separate them forever from that God, they encountered God and rebuilt their hope.

As a deer yearns
    for running streams,
so I yearn
    for you, my God.

I thirst for God,
    the living God;
when shall I go to see
    the face of God?

I have no food but tears
    day and night,
as all day long I am taunted,
    “Where is your God?”

This I remember
    as I pour out my heart,
how I used to pass under the roof of the Most High
    used to go to the house of God,
among cries of joy and praise,
    the sound of the feast.

Why be so downcast,
    why all these sighs?
Hope in God! I will praise him still,
    my Saviour,  my God.

When I am downcast
    I think of you:
from the land of Jordan and Hermon,
    I think of you, humble mountain.

Deep is calling to deep
    by the roar of your cataracts,
all your waves and breakers
    have rolled over me.

In the daytime God sends his faithful love,
   and even at night;
the song it inspires in me
    is a prayer to my living God.

I shall say to God, my rock,
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around in mourning,
    harrassed by the enemy?”

With death in my bones,
    my enemies taunt me,
all day long they ask me,

Why so downcast,
    why all these sighs?
Hope in God! I will praise him still,
    my Saviour, my God.

Judge me, God, defend my cause
    against a people who have no faithful love;
from those who are treacherous and unjust,
    rescue me.

For you are the God of my strength;
    why abandon me?
Why must I go around in mourning,
    harrassed by the enemy?

Send out your light and your truth;
    they shall be my guide,
to lead me to your holy mountain
   to the place where you dwell.

Then I shall go to the altar of God,
    to the God of my joy.
I will rejoice and praise you on the harp,
    O God, my God.

Why so downcast,
    why all these sighs?
Hope in God! I will praise him still,
    my Saviour, my God.

Psalm 44

National lament

This is another psalm from the exile. Several key developments took place over the 70 years, all combining together to effect a transformation among the Hebrew people in exile. One of these developments was the emergence of the story about how God created the people in Egypt and brought them out through the desert, making a covenant with them and then leading them to sweeping victories over the people's inhabiting Palestine. The story was to generate a tremendous sense of hope and confidence, but it also created problems, as reflected in the psalm. The first problem was that for at least some people it had the effect of increasing despair, creating a sense of disillusionment and hopelessness. The contrast was stark between this 'past' and the reality of the present. The other problem reflects the major issue that the exilic transformation had to address. Prior to the exile, Hebrew religion was cultic and polytheistic and being right with the gods, including Yahweh, was a matter of faithfully maintaining the rituals. The writer of this psalm is confident that he and people did properly perform the rites, so it was incomprehensible that Yahweh abandoned them when he had the power to give them victory. The message of God's ethical claim, preached by the reformers and the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, had not yet reached this writer.

This psalm stands as a reminder and witness to us that the process of growth and transformation is an ongoing one, as real for us as for this psalmist in his time.

God, we have heard for ourselves,
our ancestors have told us,
of the deeds you did in their days,
in days of old, by your hand.

To establish them in the land you drove out nations,
to make room for them you harried peoples.
It was not their own sword that won the land,
nor their own arms which made them victorious,
but your hand it was and your arm,
and the light of your presence, for you loved them.

You are my king, my God,
who decreed Jacob's victories;
through you we conquered our opponents,
in your name we trampled down those who rose up against us.

For my trust was not in my bow,
my victory was not won by my sword;
it was you who saved us from our opponents,
you who put to shame those who hate us.
Our boast was always of God,
we praised your name without ceasing.

Yet now you have abandoned and humiliated us,
you no longer take the field with our armies,
you leave us to fall back before the enemy,
those who hate us plunder us at will.

You hand us over like sheep for slaughter,
you scatter us among the nations,
you sell your people for a trifle
and make no profit on the sale.

You make us the butt of our neighbours,
the mockery and scorn of those around us,
you make us a by-word among nations,
other peoples shake their heads over us.

All day long I brood on my disgrace,
the shame written clear on my face,
from the sound of insult and abuse,
from the sight of hatred and vengefulness.

All this has befallen us though we had not forgotten you,
nor been disloyal to your covenant,
our hearts never turning away,
our feet never straying from your path.
Yet you have crushed us in the place where jackals live,
and immersed us in shadow dark as death.

Had we forgotten the name of our God
and stretched out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God have found this out,
for he knows the secrets of the heart?
For your sake we are being massacred all day long,
treated as sheep to be slaughtered.

Wake, Lord! Why are you asleep?
Awake! Do not abandon us for good.
Why do you turn your face away,
forgetting that we are poor and harrassed?

For we are bowed down to the dust,
and lie prone on the ground.
Arise! Come to our help!
Ransom us, as your faithful love demands.

Psalm 45

Royal wedding song

If there were any psalm in the whole collection that I would choose to drop out of the canon (apart from the passages of violent retribution) it would be this psalm. By stretching our imagination we can make it an analogy of the relationship between Christ and his bride, the church.

My heart is stirred by a noble theme,
I address my poem to the king,
my tongue the pen of an expert scribe.

Of all men you are the most handsome,
gracefulness is a dew upon your lips,
for God has blessed you for ever.

Warrior, strap your sword at your side,
in your majesty and splendour advance, ride on
in the cause of truth, gentleness and uprightness.

Stretch the bowstring tight, lending terror to your right hand.
Your arrows are sharp, nations lie at your mercy,
the king's enemies lose heart.

Your throne is from God, for ever and ever,
the sceptre of your kingship a sceptre of justice,
you love uprightness and detest evil.

This is why God, your God, has anointed you
with oil of gladness, as none of your rivals,
your robes all myrrh and aloes.

From palaces of ivory, harps bring you joy,
in your retinue are daughters of kings,
the consort at your right hand in gold of Ophir.

Listen, my daughter, attend to my words and hear;
forget your own nation and your ancestral home,
then the king will fall in love with your beauty;
he is your lord, bow down before him.
The daughter of Tyre will court your favour with gifts,
and the richest of peoples with jewels set in gold.
Clothed in brocade, the king's daughter is led within
to the king with the maidens of her retinue;
her companions are brought to her,
they enter the king's palace with joy and rejoicing.
Instead of your ancestors you will have sons;
you will make them rulers over the whole world.

I will make your name endure from generation to generation,
so nations will sing your praise for ever and ever.

Psalm 46

God is with us

Along with Psalm 23, Psalm 46 counts among the most popular psalms and expresses itself with a raw power that is compelling. It is also salutary to recognise that this was a psalm that pre-dates the great transformation of Hebraic faith and articulates, in fact, the belief that brought the people to crisis and nearly destroyed them. In the last years of the seventh century BC, the Hebrews thought themselves impregnable to the political storms created by the geo-political conflict between Assyria (and then Babylonia) and Egypt. Jerusalem was the seat of the cult of Yahweh, god of battle and protector of the land of Palestine. Yahweh’s power would eternally protect the city, making it impregnable. That faith was shattered a few years later, nearly bringing down the entire edifice of faith in Yahweh, God of Israel.

The psalm, therefore, while a potent expression of faith, is also a reminder that we can misdirect our faith and lodge it in institutions and governments that are, like Jerusalem, in reality, transitory. The exilic experience devastated the faith of the Hebrews but by grace they rose out of the ashes and established the foundation of faith that has been determinative ever since.

God is both refuge and strength for us,
a help always ready in trouble;
so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil,
though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,
and its waters roar and seethe,
and the mountains totter as it heaves.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to God's city,
it sanctifies the dwelling of the Most High.
God is in the city, it cannot fall;
at break of day God comes to its rescue.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are tumbling,
when he raises his voice the earth crumbles away.

Yahweh Sabaoth is with us,
our citadel, the God of Jacob.

Come, consider the wonders of Yahweh,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth;
he puts an end to wars over the whole wide world,
he breaks the bow, he snaps the spear,
shields he burns in the fire.
“Be still and acknowledge that I am God,
supreme over nations, supreme over the world.”

Yahweh Sabaoth is with us,
our citadel, the God of Jacob

Psalm 47

Yahweh, king of Israel, king of the world

Among the many strands of change that transformed the Hebrews in the exile was to grasp God, Yahweh, as universal Lord and King. Pre-exilic Yahweh was god only of the Palestinians and hes power was both shared polytheisticly with other gods and strictly limited to the soil of Palestine. The exile in this respect too, delivered a blow to the faith because, first, the Hebrews assumed that, far from Palestine, they had no access to God, but, second, that in Babylon they became immersed in a religious culture redolent with cosmic gods.

Out of this crisis was born the universal and monotheistic vision of God proclaimed by Isaiah II (Isaiah chapters 40 to 56) and celebrated by this psalm.

Clap your hands, all peoples,
acclaim God with shouts of joy.

For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious,
the great king over all the earth.
He brings peoples under our yoke
and nations under our feet.

He chooses for us our birthright,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.

God goes up to shouts of acclaim,
Yahweh to a fanfare on the ram's horn.

Let the music sound for our God, let it sound,
let the music sound for our king, let it sound.

For he is king of the whole world;
learn the music, let it sound for God!
God reigns over the nations,
seated on his holy throne.

The leaders of the nations rally
to the people of the God of Abraham.
The shields of the earth belong to God,
who is exalted on high.

Psalm 48

Zion, the mountain of God

Christians spiritualise this and other psalms to apply to our sense of the rock-like permanence of our faith. That is a legitimate use of the psalms.

Like Psalm 46, though, this psalm can and should also act as a warning against a misplaced focus of faith. This psalm has the feel of a post-exilic writing, reflecting on a re-built Jerusalem, though with poetic licence. If this is correct, it demonstrates how, even after the exilic transformation, the old elements of faith endured and reemerged, now changed but still with the inherent danger of misplaced faith.

Great is Yahweh and most worthy of praise
     in the city of our God,
the holy mountain, towering in beauty,
    the joy of the whole world:

Mount Zion in the heart of the north,
    the settlement of the great king;
God himself among its palaces
    has proved himself its bulwark.

For look, kings made alliance,
     together they advanced;
without a second glance, when they saw,
    they panicked and fled away.

Trembling seized them on the spot,
    pains like those of a woman in labour;
it was the east wind,
    that wrecker of ships from Tarshish.

What we had heard we saw for ourselves
    in the city of our God,
in the city of Yahweh Sabaoth,
    which God has established for ever.

We reflect on your faithful love, God,
    in your temple!
Both your name and your praise, God,
    are over the whole wide world.

Your right hand is full of saving justice,
    Mount Zion rejoices,
the daughters of Judah delight
    because of your saving justice.

Go round Zion, walk right through her,
    count her bastions,
admire her walls,
    examine her palaces,

to tell future generations
    that such is God;
our God for ever and ever,
    he is our guide!

Psalm 49

The futility of wealth

This psalm requires little comment. Its wisdom is timeless.

Hear this, all nations,
listen, all who dwell on earth,
people high and low,
rich and poor alike!

My lips have wisdom to utter,
my heart good sense to whisper.
I listen carefully to a proverb,
I set my riddle to the music of the harp.

Why should I be afraid in times of trouble?
Malice dogs me and hems me in.
They trust in their wealth,
and boast of the profusion of their riches.

But no one can ever redeem himself
or pay his own ransom to God,
the price for himself is too high;
it can never be that he will live on for ever
and avoid the sight of the abyss.

For he will see the wise also die
no less than the fool and the brute,
and leave their wealth behind for others.

For ever no home but their tombs,
their dwelling-place age after age,
though they gave their name to whole territories.

In prosperity people lose their good sense,
they become no better than dumb animals.
So they go on in their self-assurance,
right up to the end they are content with their lot.

They are penned in Sheol like sheep,
Death will lead them to pasture,
and those who are honest will rule over them.

In the morning all trace of them will be gone,
Sheol will be their home.
But my soul God will ransom
from the clutches of Sheol, and will snatch me up.

Do not be overawed when someone gets rich,
and lives in ever greater splendour;
when he dies he will take nothing with him,
his wealth will not go down with him.

Though he pampered himself while he lived
-- and people praise you for looking after yourself-
he will go to join the ranks of his ancestors,
who will never again see the light.

In prosperity people lose their good sense,
they become no better than dumb animals.

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