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(A song and a psalm by Asaph.)

God Rules All the Earth

Our God, don't just sit there,
    silently doing nothing!
Your hateful enemies
are turning against you
    and rebelling.
They are sly, and they plot
    against those you treasure.
They say, “Let's wipe out
    the nation of Israel
and make sure that no one
    remembers its name!”

All of them fully agree
in their plans against you,
    and among them are
Edom and the Ishmaelites;
    Moab and the Hagrites;
Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
    Philistia and Phoenicia.[a]
Even Assyria has joined forces
    with Moab and Ammon.[b]

(A) Our Lord, punish all of them
    as you punished Midian.
Destroy them, as you destroyed
    Sisera and Jabin
at Kishon Creek 10 near Endor,
    and let their bodies rot.
11 (B) Treat their leaders as you did
    Oreb and Zeeb,
    Zebah and Zalmunna.
12 All of them said, “We'll take
    God's valuable land!”

13 Our God, scatter them around
    like dust in a whirlwind.
14 Just as flames destroy forests
    on the mountains,
15 pursue and terrify them
    with storms of your own.
16 Make them blush with shame,
until they turn and worship
    you, our Lord.
17 Let them be forever ashamed
and confused.
    Let them die in disgrace.
18 Make them realize that you
are the Lord Most High,
    the only ruler of earth!

(For the music leader.[c] A psalm by the clan of Korah.)

The Joy of Worship

Lord God All-Powerful,
    your temple is so lovely!
Deep in my heart I long
    for your temple,
and with all that I am
    I sing joyful songs to you.

Lord God All-Powerful,
    my King and my God,
sparrows find a home
    near your altars;
swallows build nests there
    to raise their young.

You bless everyone
who lives in your house,
    and they sing your praises.
You bless all who depend
    on you for their strength
and all who deeply desire
    to visit your temple.
When they reach Dry Valley,[d]
    springs start flowing,
and the autumn rain fills it
    with pools of water.[e]
Your people grow stronger,
and you, the God of gods,
    will be seen in Zion.

Lord God All-Powerful,
the God of Jacob,
    please answer my prayer!
You are the shield
    that protects your people,
and I am your chosen one.
    Won't you smile on me?

10 One day in your temple
is better than a thousand
    anywhere else.
I would rather serve
    in your house,
than live in the homes
    of the wicked.

11 Our Lord and our God,
you are like the sun
    and also like a shield.
You treat us with kindness
    and with honor,
never denying any good thing
    to those who live right.

12 Lord God All-Powerful,
you bless everyone
    who trusts you.

(A psalm by the clan of Korah for the music leader.)

A Prayer for Peace

Our Lord, you have blessed
    your land
and made all go well
    for Jacob's descendants.
You have forgiven the sin
and taken away the guilt
    of your people.
Your fierce anger is no longer
    aimed at us.

Our Lord and our God,
    you save us!
Please bring us back home
    and don't be angry.
Will you always be angry
    with us and our families?
Won't you give us fresh life
and let your people be glad
    because of you?
Show us your love
    and save us!

I will listen to you, Lord God,
    because you promise peace
to those who are faithful
    and no longer foolish.
You are ready to rescue
    everyone who worships you,
so that you will live with us
    in all your glory.

10 Love and loyalty
    will come together;
goodness and peace
    will unite.
11 Loyalty will sprout
    from the ground;
justice will look down
    from the sky above.

12 Our Lord, you will bless us;
our land will produce
    wonderful crops.
13 Justice will march in front,
making a path
    for you to follow.

(A prayer by David.)

A Prayer for Help

Please listen, Lord,
and answer my prayer!
    I am poor and helpless.
Protect me and save me
    because you are my God.
I am your faithful servant,
    and I trust you.
Be kind to me!
    I pray to you all day.
Make my heart glad!
I serve you,
    and my prayer is sincere.
You willingly forgive,
and your love is always there
    for those who pray to you.
Please listen, Lord!
    Answer my prayer for help.
When I am in trouble, I pray,
    knowing you will listen.

No other gods are like you;
    only you work miracles.
(C) You created each nation,
and they will all bow down
    to worship and honor you.
10 You perform great wonders
    because you alone are God.

11 Teach me to follow you,
and I will obey your truth.
    Always keep me faithful.
12 With all my heart I thank you.
    I praise you, Lord God.
13 Your love for me is so great
that you protected me
    from death and the grave.

14 Proud and violent enemies,
    who don't care about you,
have ganged up to attack
    and kill me.
15 But you, the Lord God,
    are kind and merciful.
You don't easily get angry,
and your love
    can always be trusted.
16 I serve you, Lord,
and I am the child
    of one of your servants.
Look on me with kindness.
    Make me strong and save me.
17 Show that you approve of me!
Then my hateful enemies
    will feel like fools,
because you have helped
    and comforted me.

(A psalm and a song by the clan of Korah.)

The Glory of Mount Zion

Zion was built by the Lord
    on the holy mountain,
and he loves that city
more than any other place
    in all of Israel.
Zion, you are the city of God,
and wonderful things
    are told about you.

Egypt,[f] Babylonia, Philistia,
    Phoenicia,[g] and Ethiopia[h]
are some of those nations
    that know you,
and their people all say,
    “I was born in Zion.”

God Most High will strengthen
    the city of Zion.
Then everyone will say,
    “We were born here too.”
The Lord will make a list
    of his people,
and all who were born here
    will be included.

All who sing or dance will say,
    “I too am from Zion.”

Footnotes

  1. 83.7 Phoenicia: The Hebrew text has “Tyre,” the main city in Phoenicia.
  2. 83.8 Moab and Ammon: The Hebrew text has “the descendants of Lot,” whose older daughter was the mother of the Moabites and whose younger daughter was the mother of the Ammonites (see Genesis 19.30-38).
  3. Psalm 84 leader: See the note at Psalm 8.
  4. 84.6 Dry Valley: Or “Balsam Tree Valley.” The exact location is not known.
  5. 84.6 and … water: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 87.4 Egypt: The Hebrew text has “Rahab,” the name of a monster that stands for Egypt (see Isaiah 30.7).
  7. 87.4 Phoenicia: See the note at 83.7.
  8. 87.4 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.

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