Chapter: Book 2

Royal Psalms

These are psalms in which the Davidic king is the central figure. The king’s authority comes from God, and his task is to rule as God’s representative in the kingdom on earth. Since he is God’s representative on earth, the enemies of God oppose him. These psalms find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ when “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” (The Apostles’ Creed, BCP, p. 96)

Examples: Psalms 2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 101, 110, 144

72

Deus, judicium

¹ Give the King your judgments, O God, *

and your righteousness to the King’s son.

² Then shall he judge your people with righteousness *

and defend the poor with justice.

³ The mountains also shall bring peace, *

and the little hills righteousness to the people.

⁴ He shall vindicate the poor among the people, *

defend the children of the poor, and punish the wrongdoer.

⁵ They shall fear you as long as the sun and moon endure, *

from one generation to another.

⁶ He shall come down like the rain upon the mown grass, *

even as showers that water the earth.

⁷ In his time shall the righteous flourish, *

even an abundance of peace, so long as the moon endures.

⁸ His dominion shall be also from one sea to the other, *

and from the river unto the world’s end.

⁹ Those who dwell in the wilderness shall kneel before him; *

his enemies shall lick the dust.

¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall give presents; *

the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring gifts.

¹¹ All kings shall fall down before him; *

all nations shall do him service.

¹² For he shall deliver the poor when he cries, *

the needy also, and the one that has no helper.

¹³ He shall be favorable to the lowly and needy, *

and shall preserve the lives of the poor.

¹⁴ He shall deliver them from falsehood and wrong, *

and dear shall their blood be in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live! And unto him shall be given the gold of Arabia; *

prayer shall ever be made unto him, and daily shall he be blessed.

¹⁶ There shall be an abundance of grain on the earth, thick upon the hilltops; *

its fruit shall flourish like Lebanon, its grain like the grass upon the earth.

¹⁷ His Name shall endure for ever; his Name shall remain as long as the sun. *

All the nations shall be blessed through him and shall call him blessed.

¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord God, even the God of Israel, *

who alone does wondrous things;

¹⁹ And blessed be the Name of his majesty for ever; *

and all the earth shall be filled with his majesty. Amen, Amen.

Laments

More than 1/3 of the Psalms fall into the category of complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists share a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart. Laments came from individuals or from the community.

Examples: Psalms 3-5, 22, 27:7-14, 42, 51, 69, 90, 130, 137 and many others

71

In te, Domine, speravi

¹ In you, O Lord, have I put my trust; *

let me never be put to shame.

² Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; *

incline your ear to me and save me.

³ Be my rock and my refuge, where I may always return; *

you have promised to help me, for you are my stronghold and my fortress.

⁴ Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the ungodly, *

out of the hand of the unrighteous and the cruel.

⁵ For you, O Lord God, are the one I long for; *

you are my hope, even from my youth.

⁶ Through you have I been upheld ever since I was born; *

you took me out of my mother’s womb; my praise shall be always of you.

⁷ I have become a portent to many; *

but you are my refuge and my strength.

⁸ O let my mouth be filled with your praise, *

that I may sing of your glory all the day long.

⁹ Cast me not away in the time of old age; *

forsake me not when my strength fails me.

¹⁰ For my enemies speak against me, and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together. *

They say, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

¹¹ Go not far from me, O God; *

my God, make haste to help me.

¹² Let those who are my adversaries be confounded and perish; *

let those who seek to do me evil be covered with shame and dishonor.

¹³ As for me, I will always patiently abide, *

and will praise you more and more.

¹⁴ My mouth shall speak daily of your righteousness and salvation, *

for I know not the end of them.

¹⁵ I will go forth in the strength of the Lord God, *

and will make mention of your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁶ You, O God, have taught me from my youth; *

even to this day I am telling of your wondrous works.

¹⁷ Forsake me not, O God, in my old age, when I am gray-headed, *

until I have proclaimed your strength to this generation, and your power to all those who are yet to come.

¹⁸ Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens; *

you have done great things. Who is like you, O God?

¹⁹ Oh, what great troubles and adversities you have shown me! And yet you have turned and refreshed me; *

indeed, you have brought me again from the depths of the earth.

²⁰ You have brought me to great honor *

and comforted me on every side;

²¹ Therefore will I praise you and your faithfulness, O God, playing on a stringed instrument; *

to you will I sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

²² My lips will rejoice when I sing to you, *

and so will my soul, which you have delivered.

²³ My tongue also shall speak of your righteousness all the day long, *

for they are confounded and brought to shame who seek to do me evil.

Laments

More than 1/3 of the Psalms fall into the category of complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists share a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart. Laments came from individuals or from the community.

Examples: Psalms 3-5, 22, 27:7-14, 42, 51, 69, 90, 130, 137 and many others

70

Deus, in adjutorium

¹ Hasten, O God, to deliver me; *

make haste to help me, O Lord.

² Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek after my life; *

let them be turned back and put to confusion who wish me evil.

³ Let them be soon brought to shame *

who cry over me, “Aha! Aha!”

⁴ But let all those who seek you be joyful and glad in you; *

and let all who delight in your salvation say always, “The Lord be praised.”

⁵ As for me, I am poor and in misery; *

hasten to me, O God.

⁶ You are my helper and my deliverer; *

O Lord, do not tarry.

Laments

More than 1/3 of the Psalms fall into the category of complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists share a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart. Laments came from individuals or from the community.

Examples: Psalms 3-5, 22, 27:7-14, 42, 51, 69, 90, 130, 137 and many others

69

Salvum me fac

¹ Save me, O God, *

for the waters have come up even to my neck.

² I sink down in the deep mire, where there is no ground; *

I have come into deep waters, so that the floods run over me.

³ I am weary of crying; my throat is dry; *

my sight fails me from waiting so long for my God.

⁴ Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; *

those who are my enemies, and would destroy me wrongfully, are mighty.

⁵ They bid me restore things I never took. *

O God, you know my foolishness, and my faults are not hidden from you.

⁶ Let not those who trust in you, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; *

let not those who seek you be confounded through me, O God of Israel.

⁷ Surely for your sake have I suffered reproach; *

shame has covered my face.

⁸ I have become a stranger to my brethren, *

unknown to my mother’s children,

⁹ Because zeal for your house has consumed me, *

and the reproaches of those who reproached you have fallen upon me.

¹⁰ I wept, and humbled myself with fasting, *

but that was turned to my reproach.

¹¹ I put on sackcloth also, *

and I became a byword among them.

¹² Those who sit in the gate speak against me, *

and the drunkards make songs about me.

¹³ But, Lord, I make my prayer to you *

in an acceptable time.

¹⁴ Hear me, O God, in the multitude of your mercy, *

even in the truth of your salvation.

¹⁵ Take me out of the mire, lest I sink; *

O let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.

¹⁶ Let not the floodwaters drown me, neither let the deep swallow me up, *

and let not the pit shut its mouth upon me.

¹⁷ Hear me, O Lord, for your loving-kindness is good; *

turn to me according to the multitude of your mercies;

¹⁸ And hide not your face from your servant, for I am in trouble; *

O hasten and hear me.

¹⁹ Draw near to me and save me; *

O deliver me because of my enemies.

²⁰ You have known my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; *

my adversaries are all in your sight.

²¹ Reproach has broken my heart; I am full of heaviness; *

I looked for some to have pity on me, but there was no one, neither have I found any to comfort me.

²² They gave me gall to eat, *

and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink.

²³ Let their table become a snare for them, *

and let their prosperity become a trap for them.

²⁴ Let their eyes be blinded, that they may not see, *

and make their loins tremble continually.

²⁵ Pour out your indignation upon them, *

and let your wrathful displeasure overtake them.

²⁶ Let their habitation be desolate, *

and let no one dwell in their tents.

²⁷ For they persecute him whom you have stricken, *

and they talk of the pain of those you have wounded.

²⁸ Lay to their charge guilt upon guilt, *

and let them not receive your vindication.

²⁹ Let them be wiped out of the book of the living, *

and not be written among the righteous.

³⁰ As for me, when I am poor and in pain, *

your help, O God, shall lift me up.

³¹ I will praise the Name of God with a song, *

and magnify it with thanksgiving.

³² This also shall please the Lord *

more than an ox or a bullock that has horns and hooves.

³³ The humble shall consider this and be glad; *

seek after God and your hearts shall live.

³⁴ For the Lord hears the poor *

and does not despise his prisoners.

³⁵ Let heaven and earth praise him, *

the sea, and all that moves therein.

³⁶ For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, *

that they may dwell there and have it in possession.

³⁷ The posterity of his servants shall inherit it, *

and those who love his Name shall dwell therein.

Covenant Renewal Liturgy

In their early history, before the time of David, the Israelites probably had a special time in the autumn of each year to renew their conditional covenant with God, the Mosaic covenant. “If you will obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession…” (Exodus 19:5) The saving deeds of God in Israel’s history were proclaimed and the people were asked to reaffirm their allegiance to God.

Examples: Psalms 50 and 81

Songs of Zion

Several psalms express the view that God chose Zion as the earthly center of the divine rule. Mount Zion was the site of the Jerusalem temple. It was the place where God chose to be present in the midst of the people. So it became a sanctuary to which the people made pilgrimages. To the psalmists, Zon was the center of historical meaning that God had disclosed to Israel and, through Israel, to the whole world. The psalmists glorify Zion at that location. Zion came to represent the meeting place of heaven and earth and a foreshadowing of eternal life.

Examples: Psalms 46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 121, 122

68

Exsurgat Deus

¹ Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; *

let those who hate him also flee before him.

² As the smoke vanishes, so shall you drive them away; *

and as wax melts before the fire, so let the ungodly perish before the presence of God.

³ But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; *

let them also be merry and joyful.

⁴ O sing unto God, and sing praises unto his Name; magnify him who rides upon the heavens. *

The Lord is his Name; rejoice before him.

⁵ He is a father of the fatherless and defends the cause of the widows, *

God in his holy habitation.

⁶ He is the God who gives the solitary a home, and brings the prisoners out of captivity, *

but lets the rebellious dwell in a desert land.

⁷ O God, when you went forth before the people, *

when you went through the wilderness,

⁸ The earth shook, and the heavens poured forth rain at the presence of God, *

even as Sinai also was moved at the presence of God, who is the God of Israel.

⁹ You, O God, sent a gracious rain upon your inheritance *

and refreshed the land when it was weary.

¹⁰ Your congregation found a dwelling there, *

for you, O God, of your goodness have provided for the poor.

¹¹ The Lord gave the word; *

great was the company of those who proclaimed the tidings.

¹² Kings with their armies fled, they fled, *

and the women at home divided the spoil.

¹³ Though you have lain among the sheepfolds, *

yet shall you be like the wings of a dove that are covered with silver, and whose feathers shine like gold.

¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered kings, *

it was as if it snowed in Zalmon.

¹⁵ As the hill of Bashan, so is God’s hill, *

even a high hill, as the hill of Bashan.

¹⁶ Why look with envy, you high hills? This is God’s hill, on which it pleases him to dwell; *

surely, the Lord will abide on it for ever.

¹⁷ The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels, *

and the Lord has come from Sinai into the holy place.

¹⁸ You have gone up on high; you have led captivity captive, and received gifts from men, *

even from your enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.

¹⁹ Praised be the Lord daily, *

even the God who helps us and pours his benefits upon us.

²⁰ He is our God, the God from whom salvation comes; *

God is the Lord, by whom we escape death.

²¹ God shall wound the head of his enemies, *

and the hairy scalp of those who persist in their wickedness.

²² The Lord has said, “I will bring back my people again, as I did from Bashan; *

my own will I bring back again, as I did before from the depths of the sea,

²³ That your foot may be dipped in the blood of your enemies, *

and that the tongues of your dogs may be red with blood.”

²⁴ Your solemn procession is seen, O God, *

how you go into the sanctuary, my God and King.

²⁵ The singers go before, the musicians follow after; *

in the midst are the maidens playing the timbrels.

²⁶ Give thanks unto God in the congregations, *

unto the Lord, the fountain of Israel.

²⁷ There is little Benjamin their ruler, and the princes of Judah their counsel, *

the princes of Zebulon, and the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸ O God, send forth your strength; *

establish, O God, what you have wrought in us.

²⁹ For your temple’s sake at Jerusalem, *

kings shall bring presents unto you.

³⁰ Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, *

a herd of bulls with their calves;

³¹ Rebuke the peoples who trample on those whom you have tried as silver, *

and scatter the peoples who delight in war.

³² Then shall they bring tribute out of Egypt; *

Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God.

³³ Sing unto God, O you kingdoms of the earth; *

O sing praises unto the Lord,

³⁴ Unto God who sits in the heavens over all from the beginning; *

he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.

³⁵ Ascribe power to God over Israel; *

his worship and strength are in the clouds.

³⁶ O God, you are wonderful in your holy places; *

the God of Israel will give strength and power to his people. Blessed be God.