Study Desk

When God heard that, he was furious— his anger flared against Jacob, he lost his temper with Israel. It was clear they didn't believe God, had no intention of trusting in his help. But God helped them anyway, commanded the clouds and gave orders that opened the gates of heaven. He rained down showers of manna to eat, he gave them the Bread of Heaven. They ate the bread of the mighty angels; he sent them all the food they could eat. He let East Wind break loose from the skies, gave a strong push to South Wind. This time it was birds that rained down— succulent birds, an abundance of birds. He aimed them right for the center of their camp; all round their tents there were birds. They ate and had their fill; he handed them everything they craved on a platter. But their greed knew no bounds; they stuffed their mouths with more and more. Finally, God was fed up, his anger erupted— he cut down their brightest and best, he laid low Israel's finest young men.

And—can you believe it?—they kept right on sinning; all those wonders and they still wouldn't believe! So their lives dribbled off to nothing— nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town. When he cut them down, they came running for help; they turned and pled for mercy. They gave witness that God was their rock, that High God was their redeemer, But they didn't mean a word of it; they lied through their teeth the whole time. They could not have cared less about him, wanted nothing to do with his Covenant.

But they kept on giving him a hard time, rebelled against God, the High God, refused to do anything he told them. They were worse, if that's possible, than their parents: traitors—crooked as a corkscrew. Their pagan orgies provoked God's anger, their obscene idolatries broke his heart. When God heard their carryings-on, he was furious; he posted a huge No over Israel. He walked off and left Shiloh empty, abandoned the shrine where he had met with Israel. He let his pride and joy go to the dogs, turned his back on the pride of his life. He turned them loose on fields of battle; angry, he let them fend for themselves. Their young men went to war and never came back; their young women waited in vain. Their priests were massacred, and their widows never shed a tear.

An Asaph Psalm God! Barbarians have broken into your home, violated your holy temple, left Jerusalem a pile of rubble! They've served up the corpses of your servants as carrion food for birds of prey, Threw the bones of your holy people out to the wild animals to gnaw on. They dumped out their blood like buckets of water. All around Jerusalem, their bodies were left to rot, unburied. We're nothing but a joke to our neighbors, graffiti scrawled on the city walls.

"But my people didn't listen, Israel paid no attention; So I let go of the reins and told them, ‘Run! Do it your own way!'

"I commissioned you judges, each one of you, deputies of the High God, But you've betrayed your commission and now you're stripped of your rank, busted."

Do to them what you did to Midian, to Sisera and Jabin at Kishon Brook; They came to a bad end at Endor, nothing but dung for the garden. Cut down their leaders as you did Oreb and Zeeb, their princes to nothings like Zebah and Zalmunna, With their empty brags, "We're grabbing it all, grabbing God's gardens for ourselves."

There's no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord, and nothing to compare with your works. All the nations you made are on their way, ready to give honor to you, O Lord, Ready to put your beauty on display, parading your greatness, And the great things you do— God, you're the one, there's no one but you!

Train me, God , to walk straight; then I'll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I'll worship in joyful fear. From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord; I've never kept secret what you're up to. You've always been great toward me—what love! You snatched me from the brink of disaster! God, these bullies have reared their heads! A gang of thugs is after me— and they don't care a thing about you. But you, O God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit. So look me in the eye and show kindness, give your servant the strength to go on, save your dear, dear child! Make a show of how much you love me so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed, As you, God , gently and powerfully put me back on my feet.

A long time ago you spoke in a vision, you spoke to your faithful beloved: "I've crowned a hero, I chose the best I could find; I found David, my servant, poured holy oil on his head, And I'll keep my hand steadily on him, yes, I'll stick with him through thick and thin. No enemy will get the best of him, no scoundrel will do him in. I'll weed out all who oppose him, I'll clean out all who hate him. I'm with him for good and I'll love him forever; I've set him on high—he's riding high! I've put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other; he'll call out, ‘Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!' Yes, I'm setting him apart as the First of the royal line, High King over all of earth's kings. I'll preserve him eternally in my love, I'll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised. I'll guarantee his family tree and underwrite his rule. If his children refuse to do what I tell them, if they refuse to walk in the way I show them, If they spit on the directions I give them and tear up the rules I post for them— I'll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion and make them face the music. But I'll never throw them out, never abandon or disown them. Do you think I'd withdraw my holy promise? or take back words I'd already spoken? I've given my word, my whole and holy word; do you think I would lie to David? His family tree is here for good, his sovereignty as sure as the sun, Dependable as the phases of the moon, inescapable as weather."

But God , you did walk off and leave us, you lost your temper with the one you anointed. You tore up the promise you made to your servant, you stomped his crown in the mud. You blasted his home to kingdom come, reduced his city to a pile of rubble Picked clean by wayfaring strangers, a joke to all the neighbors. You declared a holiday for all his enemies, and they're celebrating for all they're worth. Angry, you opposed him in battle, refused to fight on his side; You robbed him of his splendor, humiliated this warrior, ground his kingly honor in the dirt. You took the best years of his life and left him an impotent, ruined husk. How long do we put up with this, God ? Are you gone for good? Will you hold this grudge forever? Remember my sorrow and how short life is. Did you create men and women for nothing but this? We'll see death soon enough. Everyone does. And there's no back door out of hell. So where is the love you're so famous for, Lord? What happened to your promise to David? Take a good look at your servant, dear Lord; I'm the butt of the jokes of all nations, The taunting jokes of your enemies, God , as they dog the steps of your dear anointed.

But you've made me strong as a charging bison, you've honored me with a festive parade. The sight of my critics going down is still fresh, the rout of my malicious detractors. My ears are filled with the sounds of promise: "Good people will prosper like palm trees, Grow tall like Lebanon cedars; transplanted to God 's courtyard, They'll grow tall in the presence of God, lithe and green, virile still in old age."

Can Misrule have anything in common with you? Can Troublemaker pretend to be on your side? They ganged up on good people, plotted behind the backs of the innocent. But God became my hideout, God was my high mountain retreat, Then boomeranged their evil back on them: for their evil ways he wiped them out, our God cleaned them out for good.

Moses and Aaron were his priests, Samuel among those who prayed to him. They prayed to God and he answered them; He spoke from the pillar of cloud. And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them. And then God , our God, answered them (But you were never soft on their sins). Lift high God , our God; worship at his holy mountain. Holy. Yes, holy is God our God.

A David Psalm My theme song is God's love and justice, and I'm singing it right to you, God . I'm finding my way down the road of right living, but how long before you show up? I'm doing the very best I can, and I'm doing it at home, where it counts. I refuse to take a second look at corrupting people and degrading things. I reject made-in-Canaan gods, stay clear of contamination. The crooked in heart keep their distance; I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil. I put a gag on the gossip who bad-mouths his neighbor; I can't stand arrogance. But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people— they're the ones I want working with me; Men and women on the straight and narrow— these are the ones I want at my side. But no one who traffics in lies gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars. I've rounded up all the wicked like cattle and herded them right out of the country. I purged God 's city of all who make a business of evil.

I'm wasting away to nothing, I'm burning up with fever. I'm a ghost of my former self, half-consumed already by terminal illness. My jaws ache from gritting my teeth; I'm nothing but skin and bones. I'm like a buzzard in the desert, a crow perched on the rubble. Insomniac, I twitter away, mournful as a sparrow in the gutter. All day long my enemies taunt me, while others just curse. They bring in meals—casseroles of ashes! I draw drink from a barrel of my tears. And all because of your furious anger; you swept me up and threw me out. There's nothing left of me— a withered weed, swept clean from the path.

God sovereignly brought me to my knees, he cut me down in my prime. "Oh, don't," I prayed, "please don't let me die. You have more years than you know what to do with! You laid earth's foundations a long time ago, and handcrafted the very heavens; You'll still be around when they're long gone, threadbare and discarded like an old suit of clothes. You'll throw them away like a worn-out coat, but year after year you're as good as new. Your servants' children will have a good place to live and their children will be at home with you."

God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet. He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him. He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we're made of mud. Men and women don't live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here. God 's love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear him, Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said.

O my soul, bless God ! God , my God, how great you are! beautifully, gloriously robed, Dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent. You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever. You blanketed earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters; Then you roared and the water ran away— your thunder crash put it to flight. Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them. You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded. You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills. All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst. Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard. You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water. You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground. Oh yes, God brings grain from the land, wine to make people happy, Their faces glowing with health, a people well-fed and hearty. God 's trees are well-watered— the Lebanon cedars he planted. Birds build their nests in those trees; look—the stork at home in the treetop. Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; badgers burrow among the rocks. The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day. When it's dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out. The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper. When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens. Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening. What a wildly wonderful world, God ! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. Oh, look—the deep, wide sea, brimming with fish past counting, sardines and sharks and salmon. Ships plow those waters, and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them. All the creatures look expectantly to you to give them their meals on time. You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it. If you turned your back, they'd die in a minute— Take back your Spirit and they die, revert to original mud; Send out your Spirit and they spring to life— the whole countryside in bloom and blossom. The glory of God —let it last forever! Let God enjoy his creation! He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake, points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt. Oh, let me sing to God all my life long, sing hymns to my God as long as I live! Oh, let my song please him; I'm so pleased to be singing to God . But clear the ground of sinners— no more godless men and women! O my soul, bless God !

class="poetry"> O my soul, bless God ! God , my God, how great you are! beautifully, gloriously robed, Dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent. You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever. You blanketed earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters; Then you roared and the water ran away— your thunder crash put it to flight. Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them. You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded. You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills. All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst. Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard. You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water. You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground. Oh yes, God brings grain from the land, wine to make people happy, Their faces glowing with health, a people well-fed and hearty. God 's trees are well-watered— the Lebanon cedars he planted. Birds build their nests in those trees; look—the stork at home in the treetop. Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; badgers burrow among the rocks. The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day. When it's dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out. The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper. When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens. Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening. What a wildly wonderful world, God ! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. Oh, look—the deep, wide sea, brimming with fish past counting, sardines and sharks and salmon. Ships plow those waters, and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them. All the creatures look expectantly to you to give them their meals on time. You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it. If you turned your back, they'd die in a minute— Take back your Spirit and they die, revert to original mud; Send out your Spirit and they spring to life— the whole countryside in bloom and blossom. The glory of God —let it last forever! Let God enjoy his creation! He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake, points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt. Oh, let me sing to God all my life long, sing hymns to my God as long as I live! Oh, let my song please him; I'm so pleased to be singing to God . But clear the ground of sinners— no more godless men and women! O my soul, bless God !