4 Happy is he, whom thou choosest, And bringest near thee to dwell in thy courts! Thy holy temple! 5 By wonderful deeds dost thou answer us in thy good ness, O God, our saviour! Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, 6 Thou makest fast the mountains by thy power, Being girded with strength! 7 Thou stillest the roar of the sea, The roar of its waves, And the tumult of the people. 8 The remotest inhabitants of the earth are awed by thy wonderful works; Thou makest the regions of the morning and of the evening to rejoice! 9 Thou visitest the earth and waterest it; Thou enrichest it exceedingly; The river of God is full of water. 10 Thou waterest its furrows, And breakest down its ridges; Thou makest it soft with showers, And blessest its increase. 11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; Thy footsteps drop fruitfulness. 12 They drop it upon the pastures of the wilderness, And the hills are girded with joy. 13 The pastures are clothed with flocks, And the valleys are covered with corn; V. 8. Regions of the morning, &c. i. e. the East and the West- the places where the sun rises and sets. - V. 9. River of God; the source from which he supplies copious showers. PSALM LXVI. Thanksgiving to God after deliverance from great distress. By some crit. ics it is supposed to refer to the deliverance from Sennacherib, and the recovery of Hezekiah; by others to the return from the Babylonish captivity; by others to the restoration of tranquillity after the rebellion of Absalom. 1 For the leader of the music. A psalm. RAISE a joyful shout unto God, all ye lands! 2 Sing ye the honor of his name ; Make his praise glorious! 3 Say unto God, How terrible are thy doings! Through the greatness of thy power thine enemies are suppliants to thee! 4 Let all the earth worship thee, 5 Sing praise to thee, and celebrate thy name! Come, behold the works of God, How terrible his doings amongst the sons of men! 6 He turned the sea into dry land; They went through the deep on foot; Then we rejoiced in him. 7 By his power he ruleth for ever; 8 O bless our God, ye people, And proclaim aloud his praise! 9 It is he who preserveth our lives, And suffereth not our feet to stumble. 10 Thou hast, indeed, proved us, O God! Thou hast tried us as silver is tried. 11 Thou broughtest us into a snare, And laidest a heavy burden upon our backs; 12 Thou didst cause men to ride upon our heads, And we have gone through fire and water; 13 But thou hast now brought us to a place of abundance. I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows; 14 The vows, which my lips uttered; Which my mouth promised in my trouble. 15 Burnt sacrifices of fatlings will I offer to thee with in 16 cense; Rams, bullocks, and goats will I sacrifice to thee. Come and hear, all ye who fear God, And I will relate what he hath done for me! 17 I called upon him with my mouth, And extolled him with my tongue; 18 If I had meditated wickedness in my heart, The Lord would not have heard me ; 19 But surely God hath heard me, And had regard to the voice of my supplication. 20 Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer Nor withhold his mercy from me! V. 12. To ride upon our heads: An image of oppression, borrowed from a horse, which is under the absolute control of the rider. The expression 'to ride upon the head,' alludes to the circumstance that the rider bends over the head of the horse, when he is at full speed. PSALM LXVII. A hymn of praise. For the leader of the music. 1 To be sung on stringed in struments. A psalm. O GOD, be merciful to us, and bless us, And cause thy countenance to shine upon us! 2 That thy doings may be known on earth, And thy saving power to all nations. 3 Let the nations praise thee, O God, Yea, let all the nations praise thee! 4 Let all the nations be glad, and shout for joy! For justly dost thou judge the people, And govern the nations upon the earth. 5 Let the nations praise thee, O God, Yea, let all the nations praise thee! 6 For the earth hath yielded her increase, And God, our God, hath blessed us. 7 May God continue to bless us, And may all the ends of the earth fear him! PSALM LXVIII. An ode, on the occasion of the removal of the ark. Some suppose it to refer to the removal of the ark from the house of Obededum to Mount Zion. 2 Sam. vi. 12. Others suppose it to have been composed after David's signal and repeated victories over the combined forces of the Edomites, Ammonites, and Syrians, when the ark, having been taken to the war, was brought back in triumph to Jerusalem. 1 For the leader of the music. A psalm of David. LET God arise, and his enemies are scattered; 2 As smoke is dispersed, so thou dispersest them; As wax melteth before the fire, So perish the wicked before the face of God. 3 But the righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence, Yea, they exult exceedingly. 4 Sing unto God; sing praises to his name; Prepare the way for him, who rideth through the desert; 5 The father of the fatherless, and the protector of the widow, Is God in his holy habitation. 6 He causeth the forsaken to dwell in houses; 7 He leadeth forth to prosperity them that are bound; But the rebellious shall inhabit a barren soil. O God, when thou didst go before thy people, 8 The earth quaked, and the heavens dropped at the presence of God; Yea, Sinai trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain; Thou didst strengthen thy wearied inheritance. 10 Thy people established themselves in the land; Thou, O God, in thy goodness, didst provide for the needy! 11 The Lord gave the song of victory; Virgin minstrels published it to the numerous host. 12"The kings with their armies have fled - have fled! "And the matron at home divideth the spoil. 13 "Ye may repose yourselves in the stalls, "Like the wings of a dove covered with silver, "And her feathers with shining gold." |