Chapter: Book 2

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

58

Si vere utique

¹ Do you indeed decree righteousness, O you rulers, *

and do you judge uprightly, O children of men?

² No, you devise evil in your heart, *

and on the earth your hands deal out violence.

³ The ungodly err even from their mother’s womb; *

as soon as they are born, they go astray and speak lies.

⁴ They are as venomous as the poison of a serpent, *

even like the deaf adder that stops its ears,

⁵ Which refuses to hear the voice of the charmer, *

no matter how skillful his charming.

⁶ Break their teeth, O God, in their mouths; *

smite the jawbones of the ungodly.

⁷ Let them fall away like water that runs off; *

let them wither like the grass that is trodden underfoot.

⁸ Let them melt away like a snail, *

and be like a stillborn child that does not see the sun.

⁹ Before they bear fruit, let them be cut off like a briar; *

let them be like thorns and weeds that are swept away.

¹⁰ The righteous shall rejoice when they see the vengeance; *

they shall wash their feet in the blood of the ungodly.

¹¹ So that people shall say, “Truly, there is a reward for the righteous; *

surely, there is a God who judges the earth.”

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

57

Miserere mei, Deus

¹ Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for my soul trusts in you, *

and under the shadow of your wings shall be my refuge, until this tribulation has passed.

² I will call unto the Most High God, *

even unto the God who shall fulfill his purpose for me.

³ He shall send from heaven and save me; he shall confound those who trample on me. *

God shall send forth his mercy and truth.

⁴ My soul is among lions that devour the people; *

their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

⁵ Exalt yourself, O God, above the heavens; *

let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶ They have laid a net for my feet, and brought down my soul; *

they dug a pit before me, but have fallen into the midst of it themselves.

⁷ My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *

I will sing and give praise.

⁸ Awake, my soul; awake, lute and harp; *

I myself will awaken the dawn.

⁹ I will give thanks unto you, O Lord, among the peoples, *

and I will sing praises unto you among the nations.

¹⁰ For the greatness of your mercy reaches unto the heavens, *

and your truth unto the clouds.

¹¹ Exalt yourself, O God, above the heavens; *

let your glory be over all the earth.

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

56

Miserere mei, Deus

¹ Be merciful to me, O God, for my adversaries are treading me down; *

they are daily fighting and troubling me.

² My enemies go about hounding me daily, *

for there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

³ Nevertheless, though I am sometimes afraid, *

yet I put my trust in you.

⁴ In God whose word I praise, in God I trust and fear not, *

for what can flesh do to me?

⁵ They daily distort my words; *

all that they imagine is to do me evil.

⁶ They all gather together and lie in wait, *

and mark my steps, while they seek after my life.

⁷ Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *

O God, in your displeasure cast them down.

⁸ You record my lamentation; put my tears into your bottle. *

Are not these things noted in your book?

⁹ Whenever I call upon you, then shall my enemies be put to flight; *

this I know, for God is on my side.

¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise, *

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

¹¹ In God have I put my trust; *

I will not be afraid, for what can mortals do to me?

¹² Unto you, O God, will I pay my vows; *

unto you will I give thanks.

¹³ For you have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, *

that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

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

Exaudi, Deus

¹ Hear my prayer, O God, *

and hide not yourself from my petition.

² Give heed to me, and hear me, *

for I am troubled in my prayer and am tormented,

³ Because of the cry of the enemy, and oppression by the ungodly; *

for they are of a mind to do me great harm, so maliciously are they set against me.

⁴ My heart is disquieted within me, *

and the fear of death has fallen upon me.

⁵ Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, *

and a horrible dread has overwhelmed me.

⁶ And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove, *

for then would I fly away and be at rest.

⁷ Indeed, then I would get away to a far off place *

and make my dwelling in the wilderness.

⁸ I would make haste to escape, *

because of the stormy wind and tempest.”

⁹ Confuse their speech, O Lord, and divide them, *

for I have seen unrighteousness and strife in the city.

¹⁰ Day and night they go about within her walls; *

trouble and sorrow are in the midst of her.

¹¹ Great wickedness is there; *

deceit and guile do not leave her streets.

¹² For it is not an enemy who has done me this dishonor, *

for then I could have borne it;

¹³ Neither was it my adversary who exalted himself against me, *

for then I would have hidden myself from him.

¹⁴ But it was you, my companion, *

my comrade and my own familiar friend.

¹⁵ We took sweet counsel together *

and walked in the house of God as friends.

¹⁶ Let death come hastily upon them, and let them go down alive into the grave, *

for there is wickedness in their hearts.

¹⁷ As for me, I will call upon God, *

and the Lord shall save me.

¹⁸ In the evening, and morning, and at noonday will I pray and lament, *

and he shall hear my voice.

¹⁹ It is he who shall deliver my soul in peace from the battle that is against me, *

for there are many who fight me.

²⁰ God, who endures for ever, shall hear me and bring them down; *

for they never change, nor do they fear God.

²¹ My familiar friend has laid his hands upon those who were at peace with him, *

and he has broken his covenant.

²² The words of his mouth were softer than butter, yet war was in his heart; *

his words were smoother than oil, and yet they were drawn swords.

²³ O cast your burden upon the Lord, and he shall nourish you, *

and shall not allow the righteous to fall for ever.

²⁴ But as for the bloodthirsty and deceitful, *

you, O God, shall bring them into the pit of destruction.

²⁵ They shall not live out half their days; *

but my trust shall be in you, O Lord.

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

54

Deus, in Nomine

¹ Save me, O God, for your Name’s sake, *

and avenge me in your strength.

² Hear my prayer, O God, *

and hearken to the words of my mouth.

³ For the arrogant have risen up against me, *

and tyrants, who do not have God before their eyes, seek after my life.

⁴ Behold, God is my helper; *

the Lord is he who upholds my life.

⁵ He shall repay the evil of my enemies. *

O destroy them in your faithfulness.

⁶ A freewill offering will I give you, *

and praise your Name, O Lord, because it is good.

⁷ For he has delivered me out of all my trouble, *

and my eye has seen the ruin of my enemies.

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

53

Dixit insipiens

¹ The fool has said in his heart, *

“There is no God.”

² They are corrupt and have become abominable in their wickedness; *

there is none that does good.

³ God looked down from heaven upon the children of men *

to see if there were any who would understand and seek after God.

⁴ But they have all gone astray; they have altogether become abominable; *

there is none that does good, no, not one.

⁵ Have they no knowledge, all the workers of evil *

who eat up my people as they would eat bread, and call not upon God?

⁶ They were afraid where no fear was, *

for God has broken the bones of those who besieged you;

⁷ You have put them to shame, *

because God has rejected them.

⁸ Oh, that salvation were given unto Israel out of Zion! *

Oh, that God would deliver his people out of captivity!

⁹ Then shall Jacob rejoice, *

and Israel shall be glad.

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

52

Quid gloriaris?

¹ Why do you boast, you tyrant, *

that you can do evil;

² Whereas the goodness of God *

endures all the day long?

³ Your tongue devises wickedness, *

and with lies you cut like a sharp razor.

⁴ You have loved unrighteousness more than goodness *

and to utter lies more than truth.

⁵ You have loved to speak all words that hurt, *

O you deceitful tongue.

⁶ Therefore, God shall destroy you for ever; *

he shall catch you, and pluck you out of your dwelling, and root you out of the land of the living.

⁷ The righteous also shall see this and fear, *

and shall laugh him to scorn:

⁸ “Behold, this is the one who did not take God for his strength, *

but trusted in the multitude of his riches and relied on his wickedness.”

⁹ As for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; *

my trust is in the tender mercy of God for ever and ever.

¹⁰ I will always give thanks unto you for what you have done, *

and I will declare your Name among the faithful, for it is good.

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

51

Miserere mei, Deus

¹ Have mercy upon me, O God, in your great goodness; *

according to the multitude of your mercies wipe away my offences.

² Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness *

and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I acknowledge my faults, *

and my sin is ever before me.

⁴ Against you only have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight, *

so that you are justified in your sentence, and blameless in your judgment.

⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in wickedness, *

and in sin my mother conceived me.

⁶ But behold, you desire truth in the inward parts *

and shall make me understand wisdom secretly.

⁷ You shall purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; *

you shall wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸ You shall make me hear of joy and gladness, *

that the bones which you have broken may rejoice.

⁹ Turn your face from my sins, *

and blot out all my misdeeds.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, *

and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence, *

and take not your holy Spirit from me.

¹² O give me the comfort of your help again, *

and sustain me with your willing Spirit.

¹³ Then shall I teach your ways unto the wicked, *

and sinners shall return unto you.

¹⁴ Deliver me from blood-guilt, O God, the God of my salvation, *

and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, *

and my mouth shall show forth your praise.

¹⁶ For you desire no sacrifice, or else I would give it to you; *

but you delight not in burnt-offerings.

¹⁷ The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you shall not despise.

¹⁸ O be favorable and gracious unto Zion; *

may you build up the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Then you shall be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations; *

then shall they offer young bullocks upon your altar.

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

50

Deus deorum

¹ The Lord, even the most mighty God, has spoken *

and called the world, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof.

² Out of Zion, perfect in her beauty, *

has God shone forth in glory.

³ Our God shall come and shall not keep silence; *

there shall go before him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him.

⁴ He shall call to the heavens above, *

and to the earth beneath, that he may judge his people:

⁵ “Gather my faithful together unto me, *

those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

⁶ And the heavens shall declare his righteousness, *

for God himself is Judge.

⁷ “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; *

I myself will testify against you, O Israel, for I am God, even your God.

⁸ I will not rebuke you because of your sacrifices, or for your burnt offerings, *

because they are always before me.

⁹ I will take no bull calf out of your house, *

nor he-goat out of your folds.

¹⁰ For all the beasts of the forest are mine, *

and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills.

¹¹ I know all the birds of the air, *

and the wild beasts of the field are in my sight.

¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell you, *

for the whole world is mine, and all that is therein.

¹³ Do you think that I will eat the flesh of bulls *

and drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴ Offer unto God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, *

and pay your vows unto the Most High,

¹⁵ And call upon me in the time of trouble; *

so will I hear you, and you shall praise me.”

¹⁶ But to the ungodly God says: *

“Why do you recite my laws, and take my covenant in your mouth,

¹⁷ Though you hate to be disciplined, *

and have cast my words behind you?

¹⁸ When you saw a thief, you agreed with him, *

and you have taken part with adulterers.

¹⁹ You have let your mouth speak wickedness, *

and with your tongue you have set forth deceit.

²⁰ You sat and spoke against your brother; *

yes, and have slandered your own mother’s son.

²¹ These things you have done, and I held my tongue, *

and you thought wickedly that I am such a one as yourself.

²² But I will reprove you, *

and set before you the things that you have done.

²³ O consider this, you who forget God, *

lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you.

²⁴ Whoever offers me a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me, *

and to him who orders his way aright will I show the salvation of God.”

Wisdom Psalms

Some Psalms reflect the wisdom movement in Israel which taught that the foundation of wisdom is faith in God and reverence for him. Wisdom psalms are meditations on the good life, the blessings of living the wise way of life of dependence on God as opposed to the way destruction which the foolish live who rely on themselves to work out their own destiny.

Examples: Psalms 37, 49, 73

49

Audite hæc, omnes

¹ Hear this, all you peoples; *

ponder it with your ears, all who dwell in the world,

² High and low, rich and poor, *

everyone with his neighbor.

³ My mouth shall speak of wisdom, *

and my heart shall muse on understanding.

⁴ I will incline my ear to a parable, *

and declare my dark sayings with the harp.

⁵ Why should I fear in the days of wickedness, *

and when the wicked at my heels encompass me round about?

⁶ There are some who put their trust in their goods, *

and boast in the multitude of their riches.

⁷ But no one can deliver his brother, *

nor pay unto God a price for him;

⁸ For it is so costly to redeem their souls, *

that we should never have enough to pay it,

⁹ So that they should live for ever, *

and should not see the grave.

¹⁰ For we see that wise men die, as well as the ignorant and foolish; *

they perish alike and leave their riches for others.

¹¹ And yet they think that their houses shall continue for ever, and that their dwelling places shall endure from one generation to another, *

and they call lands after their own names.

¹² Man is like an ox that has no understanding; *

he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the way of their foolishness, *

yet their posterity praise their sayings.

¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed to die, and death shall be their shepherd; *

they shall go down straight into the sepulcher.

¹⁵ Their beauty shall consume away in the grave, *

which shall be their dwelling place for ever.

¹⁶ But God shall save me from the power of death, *

for he shall deliver my soul.

¹⁷ Be not envious if one is made rich, *

or if the glory of his house is increased,

¹⁸ For he shall carry nothing away with him when he dies, *

neither shall his glory follow him.

¹⁹ For while he lived, he counted himself happy, *

and so long as he did well for himself, people spoke well of him.

²⁰ He shall follow the generation of his fathers *

and shall never see the light.

²¹ Those who are honored but have no understanding *

are like the beasts that perish.