PSALM 80

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

For the choir director; set to El Shoshannim; Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.

1Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel,

You who lead Joseph like a flock;

You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!

2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power

And come to save us!

3O God, restore us

And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

20because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Justification by Faith

21But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

31Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

1) What does the mercy seat symbolize about יהוה’s presence and forgiveness?

2) How does the psalmist describe יהוה enthroned above the cherubim?

3) How does Paul connect Messiah’s blood to the mercy seat?

The Song of Deborah and Barak

1Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

2“That the leaders led in Israel,

That the people volunteered,

Bless the Lord!

3Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!

I—to the Lord, I will sing,

I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.

4Lord, when You went out from Seir,

When You marched from the field of Edom,

The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,

Even the clouds dripped water.

5The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord,

This Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

6“In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,

In the days of Jael, the highways were deserted,

And travelers went by roundabout ways.

7The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel,

Until I, Deborah, arose,

Until I arose, a mother in Israel.

8New gods were chosen;

Then war was in the gates.

Not a shield or a spear was seen

Among forty thousand in Israel.

9My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,

The volunteers among the people;

Bless the Lord!

10You who ride on white donkeys,

You who sit on rich carpets,

And you who travel on the road—sing!

11At the sound of those who divide flocks among the watering places,

There they shall recount the righteous deeds of the Lord,

The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel.

Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.

12“Awake, awake, Deborah;

Awake, awake, sing a song!

Arise, Barak, and take away your captives, O son of Abinoam.

13Then survivors came down to the nobles;

The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.

14From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down,

Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;

From Machir commanders came down,

And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.

15And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;

As was Issachar, so was Barak;

Into the valley they rushed at his heels;

Among the divisions of Reuben

There were great resolves of heart.

16Why did you sit among the sheepfolds,

To hear the piping for the flocks?

Among the divisions of Reuben

There were great searchings of heart.

17Gilead remained across the Jordan;

And why did Dan stay in ships?

Asher sat at the seashore,

And remained by its landings.

18Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death,

And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.

19“The kings came and fought;

Then fought the kings of Canaan

At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;

They took no plunder in silver.

20The stars fought from heaven,

From their courses they fought against Sisera.

21The torrent of Kishon swept them away,

The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.

O my soul, march on with strength.

22Then the horses’ hoofs beat

From the dashing, the dashing of his valiant steeds.

23‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord,

‘Utterly curse its inhabitants;

Because they did not come to the help of the Lord,

To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’

24“Most blessed of women is Jael,

The wife of Heber the Kenite;

Most blessed is she of women in the tent.

25He asked for water and she gave him milk;

In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.

26She reached out her hand for the tent peg,

And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;

And she shattered and pierced his temple.

27Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;

Between her feet he bowed, he fell;

Where he bowed, there he fell dead.

28“Out of the window she looked and lamented,

The mother of Sisera through the lattice,

‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?

Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’

29Her wise princesses would answer her,

Indeed she repeats her words to herself,

30‘Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil?

A maiden, two maidens for every warrior;

To Sisera a spoil of dyed work,

A spoil of dyed work embroidered,

Dyed work of double embroidery on the neck of the spoiler?’

31Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord;

But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”

And the land was undisturbed for forty years.

PSALM 87

The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion.

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.

1His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2The Lord loves the gates of Zion

More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.

3Glorious things are spoken of you,

O city of God. Selah.

4“I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me;

Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia:

‘This one was born there.’ ”

5But of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;

And the Most High Himself will establish her.

6The Lord will count when He registers the peoples,

“This one was born there.” Selah.

7Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say,

“All my springs of joy are in you.”