Psalm 78:1-72 Book# 3 of Psalms

 

Maschil, [a.k.a. Maskil] of Asaph.

Psalm 78:1-72            Book# 3 of Psalms [in Smaller Chunks]

O people, [lend your] ear [& listen] to My Law. [Lean] your ears to the words of My mouth. * I will open My mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old; which we have heard & known & our [forefathers] have told us.

[* Matthew 13:33-35 Another parable He [spoke] to them; The kingdom of heaven is [similar] to [yeast,] which a woman took & hid in 3 measures of [flour, until] the whole [dough] was leavened. All these things, Jesus [spoke] to the multitude in parables.

He [didn't speak] without a parable to them: [so] that it might be fulfilled, [what] was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open My mouth in parables. I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.]

We won't hide them from their children, [declaring] to the generation to come, the praises of the Lord, His strength & His wonderful works that He has done. [Exodus 13:14-15 And it shall be when your son asks you in [times] to come, saying, What is this? That you shall say to him, [The] strength of the hand of the Lord, brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.

And it [happened,] when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man & [animals]. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all [first born] males, but all the firstborn of My children, I redeem.]

For He established a Testimony in Jacob & appointed a Law in Israel, which He commanded our [forefathers, so] that they should make them known to their children. [So,] that the generation to come might know them, even the children [to] be born, who should arise & declare them to their children.

[So,] that they might [put] their hope in God & not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments & might not be [like] their [forefathers,] a stubborn, rebellious generation. A generation that [doesn't correctly focus] their [hearts] & whose spirit wasn't [constantly] with God.

The children [people] of Ephraim, armed & carrying bows, turned back [on] the day of battle. They [didn't.  keep] the covenant  [contract] of God & refused to [follow] in His Law. [2 Kings 17:16-18 And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God & made [themselves molded] images, even 2 calves, made a grove & worshiped all the [stars & constellations] of heaven & served Baal.

And they caused their sons & daughters to pass through the fire & [they] used divination, enchantments & sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel & removed them out of His sight. There [were] none left, [except] only the tribe of Judah.]

And [they forgot] His works & wonders that He [showed] them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their [forefathers,] in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the [Red] Sea & caused them to pass through & He made the waters stand [like a] heap.

Also, in the daytime, He led them with a cloud & all the night with a light of fire. He [split] the rocks in the wilderness & gave them [to] drink out of the great depths. He also brought streams out of the rock & caused waters to run down like rivers.

And they [still] sinned more against Him by provoking the Most High in the wilderness. And they [tested] God in their heart by asking [for] meat [to fill their lusts.] [Yes,] they [spoke] against God. They said, Can God furnish a table [of food] in the wilderness?

[Look,] He [struck] the rock, [so] that waters gushed out & the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide [meat] for His people? Therefore, the Lord heard this & was [angry:] so a fire [grew] against Jacob & anger also came up against Israel; because they [didn't] believe in His Salvation.

[Although] He had commanded the clouds from above & opened the doors of heaven & it rained down manna upon them to eat. [God] had given them [bread] from heaven. Man did eat Angel's food & He sent them meat [until they were] full.

He caused an east wind to blow in heaven & by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained [meat] upon them [like] dust & feathered [quail] like the sand of the sea. And He let it fall in the [middle] of their camp, [around] their [dwellings.]

So, they did eat & were [very full:] for He gave them their own desire. They were not [turned away] from their [lusts.] But while the meat was [still] in their mouths, the [anger] of God came upon them & [attacked the most husky] of them & [struck] down the chosen men of Israel.

[After] all this, they still sinned & [didn't] believe His wondrous works. Therefore, He [consumed] their days in vanity & their years in trouble. [Numbers 14:35-38 I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it to all this evil congregation, [who] are gathered together against Me in this wilderness.

They shall be consumed & shall die there. And the men, [whom] Moses sent to [spy out] the land, who returned & made all the congregation [grumble] against him, by bringing up a [false report about] the land.

Even those men [who] did bring up the [bad] report upon the land, died before the Lord. But [only] Joshua, [Nun's] son & Caleb, [Jephunneh's] son, still lived [of those] men [who searched] the land.]

When He [killed] them, then they sought Him & they returned & [inquired] early after God. And they remembered that God was their Rock & the High God, their Redeemer. [However,] they [flattered] Him with their [mouths] & they lied to Him with their tongues.

For their heart was not [honest] with Him & neither were they [faithful] in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their [sin & didn't] destroy them. [Yes,] many [times,] He turned His anger away & didn't stir up all His [fury.]

[Isaiah 48:9-11 For My Name's sake, I will [hold off] My anger & for My praise, I will [withhold it] for you, [so] I [don't] cut you off. [Look,] I have refined you, but not with silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. For [My] Own sake, I will do it: for How [could] My Name be [defiled?] And I won't give My glory to another.]

For He remembered that they were, [only] flesh [of humans: like] a wind that [blows] away & [doesn't] come again. How [often] did they provoke Him in the wilderness & grieve Him in the desert! [Yet,] turned back & [tested] God & [had] limited [faith in] the Holy One of Israel.

[Numbers 14:22-23 Because all those men [who] have seen My glory & My miracles, [that] I did in Egypt & in the wilderness, have [tested] Me now, these 10 times & haven't [paid attention] to My voice. Surely, they shall not see the land [that] I [swore] to their [forefathers] & neither shall any see it of [those who] provoked Me.]

They [didn't] remember His hand, nor the day when He delivered them from the enemy. How He had [performed] His signs in Egypt & His wonders in the field of Zoan & had turned their rivers into blood & their [streams, so] they couldn't drink. [Psalm 105:29 He turned their waters into blood & [killed] their fish.]

He sent [various] sorts of flies among them, which devoured them. [Psalm 105:31 He [spoke] & there came [various] sorts of flies & lice [on] all their coasts.] And frogs, which destroyed them. [Psalm 105:30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the [rooms] of their kings.]

He also gave the increase [of their produce] to the caterpillar & their labor to the locust. [Psalm 105:34-35 He [spoke] & the locusts came & the caterpillars, without number & they [ate] up all the [vegetation] in their land & devoured the fruit of their ground.]

He destroyed their vines with hail & their sycamore trees with frost. [Psalm 105:32-33 He gave them hail for rain & flaming fire in their land. He [struck] their vines & also their fig trees & [broke] the trees of their coasts.] He also gave up their [livestock] to the hail & their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

[Exodus 9:23-26 And Moses stretched [out] his rod toward heaven & the Lord sent thunder & hail. And the fire ran along upon the ground & the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail and [the] fire [was mixed] with the hail, very [grievously,] such as there [has been] none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

And the hail [struck] throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man & [animals.] The hail [struck down] every herb of the field & [broke] every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children [people] of Israel were, there was no hail.]

He cast on them, the fierceness of His anger, [fury,] indignation & trouble, by sending evil angels among them. [Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil & Satan, [who] deceives the whole world. He was cast out into the earth & his angels were cast out with him.]

He made a [pathway for] His anger & He [didn't] spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the [plagues] & [struck] all [Egypt's] firstborn, the [1st] of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham. But made His Own people go [out] like sheep & guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

And He led them on safely, so that they [weren't afraid:] but the [Red] Sea overwhelmed their enemies. And He brought them to the corner of His Sanctuary, even to this mountain, which His right hand had purchased.

[Exodus 15:17-18 You shall bring them in & plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, [that] You have made for You to dwell in. In the Sanctuary, O Lord, [that] Your hands have established. The Lord shall [rule] forever & ever.]

Also, He cast out the heathen before them & divided them an inheritance by [lot] & made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. [Joshua 23:3-5 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations, because of you. For the Lord your God is He, [Who] has fought for you.

[Look,] I have divided unto you, by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even westward to the [Mediterranean] Sea. And the Lord your God, He shall [remove] them from [in front of] you & drive them out from your sight. And you shall possess their land, [like] the Lord your God has promised to you.]

[Still,] they [tested] & provoked the Most High God & [didn't] keep His [covenant] [contract.] But [they] [returned] back & dealt unfaithfully like their [forefathers.] [Deuteronomy 12:2-3 You shall [totally] destroy all the places, [where] the nations [that] you shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains & upon the hills & under every green tree.

And you shall overthrow their altars & break their pillars & burn their groves with fire. And you shall [cut] down the [carved] images of their gods & destroy the names of them out of that place.]

They [went astray] like [an arrow from] a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him to anger with their high places & moved Him to jealousy with their [carved] images. When God heard this, He was [furious] & greatly [loathed] Israel. So, that He [abandoned] the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent [that] He placed among men.

[1 Samuel 4:11 And the Ark of God was taken & the 2 sons of Eli, Hophni & Phinehas, were killed.]

And delivered His strength & His glory into the enemy's hand, into captivity. [Judges 18:30-31 And the children [people] of Dan, [put] up a [carved] image. And Jonathan, [Gershom's] son, the son of Manasseh, he & his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they [put] up Micah's [carved] image, [that] he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.]

He also gave His people over to the sword & was [furious] with His inheritance.  [1 Samuel 4:10 And the Philistines fought & Israel was [defeated] & every man fled into his tent. And there was a very [large] slaughter of 30,000 footmen of Israel [who] fell.]

The fire consumed their young men & their maidens weren't given [in] marriage. Their priests fell by the sword & their widows [didn't mourn.] Then, the Lord [arose like someone] out of sleep & like a mighty man [who] shouts, [because] of wine. And He [struck] His enemies in the [hidden] parts & He put them in perpetual [disgrace.]

[1 Samuel 5:6-7 But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon [those] of Ashdod & He destroyed them & [struck them with tumors,] even Ashdod & [its] coasts. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The Ark of the God of Israel shall not [stay] with us: for His hand is [excruciating] upon us & upon Dagon, our god.]

[Additionally,] He refused the tabernacle of Joseph & [didn't choose] the tribe of Ephraim; but chose Mount Zion & the tribe of Judah, which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which He has established forever.

[1 Kings 6:1 And it [happened,] in the 480th year after the children [people] of Israel [had] come out of the land of Egypt, in the 4th year Solomon [ruled] over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the 2nd month, that [Solomon] began to build the house of the Lord.]

Also, [prior to that:] He chose David, His servant & took him from the [sheep pens.] From following the [pregnant sheep] with [the] young & He brought him to feed Jacob, His people & Israel, His inheritance.

[2 Samuel 7:8 There you shall now say to My servant, David, the Lord of Hosts says [this,] I took you from the [sheep pens,] from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.] So, [David] fed them according to the integrity of his heart & guided them by the [skill] of his hands.

Psalm 77:1-20 Book#3 of Psalms

 

A Psalm of Asaph, to the chief Musician, to Jeduthun.

Psalm 77:1-20             Book#3 of Psalms [in Smaller Chunks]

With my voice, I cried [out] to God, even to God with my voice & He [lent His] ear [& listened] to me. [On] the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord. The [discharge] from [wound] ran [during] the night. [without ceasing.] My soul refused to be comforted.

I complained & was troubled & my spirit was overwhelmed, [then,] I remembered God. Selah. I am so troubled, that I can't speak & You [focus my] eyes [while] waking [up.] I have [given thought to] the days of old & the years of ancient times.

I [talked within my] own heart & my spirit [thoroughly searched] & I [remembered] my song in the night. Will the Lord [no longer find favor] & will He cast [us] off forever? Does His promise fail [forever?] Is His mercy [totally] gone forever?

[Nehemiah 9:26-27 [However] they were disobedient & rebelled against You & cast Your Law behind their backs & [killed] Your prophets, [who] testified against them, to [return] them to You & they [did large provoking things.]

Therefore, You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who [distressed] them. And in the time of their trouble, when they cried [out] to You, You heard them from heaven & according to Your [numerous] mercies, You gave them [deliverers,] who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.]

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He shut up His tender mercies in His anger? Selah. And I said, This is my [affliction:] but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. [Exodus 15:3-6 The Lord is a Man of War. The Lord is His Name. He cast Pharaoh's chariots & his [army] into the sea.

Also, [Pharaoh's] chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them & they sank to the bottom [like] a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, [has] become glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy [into] pieces.]

I will remember the [Lord's] works, surely, I will remember Your wonders of old. [Deuteronomy 8:3-4 And He humbled you & [allowed] you to hunger & fed you with manna, which you & your [forefathers hadn't previously known; so] that He might make you know that man doesn't live by bread [alone,] but man does live by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

Your clothing didn't [grow] old upon you & neither did your foot swell these 40 years. You shall also consider in your heart, that, as a man chastises his son, so the Lord your God chastises you.]

I will [think about] all Your work & talk of Your [deeds.] O God, Your way is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God, [Who] does wonders. You have declared Your strength among the people.

With Your arm, You have redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob & Joseph. Selah. The waters saw You, O God. The waters saw You & they were afraid. Also, the depths were troubled. [Exodus 14:21-22 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.

And the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night & made the sea dry land & the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground. And the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand & on their left.]

The clouds poured out water & the skies sent out a [thundering] sound. And also Your arrows went abroad. The [sound] of Your thunder was in the heaven & the lightnings [enlightened] the world. The earth trembled & shook.

[Exodus 19:16-18 And it [happened] on the 3rd day in the morning, that there were thunders & lightnings & a thick cloud upon the mount & the [sound of an exceedingly] loud trumpet; so that all the people that [were] in the camp trembled.

And Moses brought [forward] the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the [lower] part of the mount. And Mount Sinai was [totally smoking,] because the Lord [went down] upon it in fire & [its] smoke [went up like] the smoke of a furnace & the whole mount greatly quaked.]

Your [road] is in the sea & Your path in the [expansive] waters & Your footsteps are not known. You led Your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses & Aaron.

Psalm 76:1-12 Book#3 of Psalm

 

A Psalm or Song of Asaph, to the chief Musician on Neginoth.

Psalm 76:1-12            Book#3 of Psalms [in Smaller Chunks]

God is known in Judah. His Name is great in Israel. Also His tabernacle is in Salem, [a.k.a. Jerusalem] & His dwelling place in Zion. There, He [broke] the arrows of the bow, the shield, the sword & the battle. Selah. You are more glorious & excellent than the mountains of [plunder.]

[Ezekiel 38:11-12 And You shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages to take [plunder & booty.] I will go to [those who] are at rest, that [live] safely, all of [those who dwell] without walls & [have] neither bars nor gates & to turn Your hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited & upon the people [who] are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten [livestock] & goods & [live] in the midst of the land.]

The [valiant] are [plundered] & they have slept their [final] sleep. And none of the men of [strength] have [raised] their hands. O God of Jacob, at Your [scolding,] both the chariot & the horse are cast into a dead sleep. [Exodus 14:26-28 And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the seas, [so] that the waters may [return] again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots & upon their horsemen.

And Moses stretched [out] his hand over the sea & the sea returned to [its] strength when the morning appeared & the Egyptians fled against it. And the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned & covered the chariots, horsemen & all [Pharaoh's army, who] came into the sea after them. Not so much as one remained of them.]

You, even You are to be feared [respected.]  When once You are angry, who may stand in Your sight? You [caused justice] to be heard from heaven. The earth feared and was still. [Psalm 46:8-11 Come [see] the works of the Lord, what desolations He has made in the earth.

He makes wars to [stop] to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow, cuts the spear [into pieces] & burns the chariot in the fire. Be still & know that I Am God. I will be exalted among the heathen & I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob, [a.k.a. Israel,] is our refuge.]

When God arose to save all the meek of the earth, [through] judgment. Selah.  [Psalm 9:7-9 But the Lord shall endure forever. He has prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall [administer justice] to the people [fairly.] The Lord will be a refuge in times of trouble & also a refuge for the oppressed.]

Surely, the wrath of man shall praise You & You shall restrain the [rest] of wrath. [Joel 2:12-14 The Lord says, Therefore, also now, [return yourselves,] even to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping & mourning.

And [tear apart] your heart & not your [clothing] & [return] to the Lord your God: for He is gracious & merciful, slow to anger & of great kindness & [sometimes He withdraws] the evil. Who knows if He will [come back & withdraw it] & leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering & a drink offering to the Lord your God?]

Vow & pay [what you vowed] to the Lord your God. Let all [who are around] Him bring presents to Him, Who [should] be feared [respected.] He shall cut off the spirit of princes. He is [terribly awesome] to the kings of the earth.

[Psalm 68:35 O God, You are terrible out of Your holy places. The God of Israel is He, [Who] gives strength & power to His people. Blessed be God.]

Psalm 75:1-10 Book# 3 of Psalms

 

A Psalm or Song of Asaph, to the chief Musician, Altaschith.

Psalm 75:1-10           Book# 3 of Psalms [in Smaller Chunks]

Unto You, O God, we give thanks. We give thanks unto You, for Your Name is near [so,] that [we] declare Your wondrous works. [Psalm 105:38-41 Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of [the Israelites] fell upon them.

He spread a cloud for a covering & a fire to give light in the night. The people asked & He brought quails & satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock & the waters gushed out. They ran in the dry places like a river.]

I will judge [fairly,] when I shall receive the congregation. The earth & all [its] inhabitants are dissolved & I [hold] up the pillars of it. Selah. [2 Peter 3:9-10 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, [like] some men [consider] slackness; but is [patient] to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the Day of the Lord will come [like] a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise & the elements shall melt with fervent heat & also the earth & the [things made] that are [in there,] shall be burned up.]

I said to the fools, [Don't behave] foolishly. And to the wicked, [Don't] lift up [your] horn. [Psalm 94:4 How long shall they utter & speak [disrespectful] things? And all the workers of [wickedness] boast [about] themselves?]

[Don't] lift up your horn on high & [don't] speak with a stiff [stubborn] neck. For [elevated status doesn't] come from the east, west, nor south, but God is the judge. He puts down one & sets up another.

For in the hand of the Lord, there is a cup & the wine is red. It is full of mixture & He pours out of the same: but all the wicked of the earth shall wring [its] dregs out & drink them.

[Revelation 14:9-10 And the 3rd Angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man [worships] the beast & his image & [receives] his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation & he shall be tormented with fire & brimstone in the presence of the holy Angels & in the presence of the Lamb.]

But I will declare & I will sing praises to the God of Jacob, [a.k.a. Israel,] forever. All the horns of the wicked, I will also cut off: but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.