7. True worship. Yahweh is the God of righteousness and mercy (Psalm 49, 74, 81, 102)

These psalms echo the preaching of the prophets of the eighth and sixth centuries and teach that true service to God cannot be limited to rituals, for its basis is faithfulness to the moral precepts of Revelation.

1 Psalm of Asaph. The God of Gods, the Lord has spoken and called the earth, from the rising of the sun to the setting of the earth. 2 From Zion, which is the height of beauty, God appears, 3 our God comes, and not in silence: before him is a consuming fire, and around him is a mighty storm. 4 He calls heaven and earth from above to judge His people: 5 "Gather together unto Me My saints, who have made covenant with Me at the sacrifice." 6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is this judge. 7 "Hear, my people, I will speak; Israel! I will bear witness against you: I am God, your God. 8 It is not for thy sacrifices that I will reproach thee; thy burnt offerings are always before me; 9 I will not receive a bull out of your house, nor a goat out of your courts, 10 For I am all the beasts in the forest, and the cattle in a thousand mountains, 11 I know all the birds in the mountains, and the animals in the fields before me. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that fills it. 13 Do I eat the flesh of oxen, and drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer praise to God as a sacrifice, and render thy vows unto the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me." 16 And God saith unto the sinner, Why dost thou preach my statutes, and take my covenant in thy mouth? 17 and yet thou hate my instruction, and cast my words for thyself? 18 And when thou seest a thief, thou hast controversy with him, and hast associated with adulterers; 19 Thou hast opened thy mouth to reproach, and thy tongue weaveth deceit; 20 You sit and speak against your brother, you slander your mother's son; 21 Thou didst do this, and I was silent; you thought I was just like you. I will expose thee, and set thy sins before thy eyes. 22 Consider this, you who forget God, lest I rapture, and there shall be no one who delivers. 23 He that sacrificeth praise honours me, and he that watcheth his way shall I shew unto him the salvation of God."

1 To the head of the choir. Do not ruin. Psalm of Asaph. Canto. 2 We praise thee, O God, we praise thee, for thy name is near; declare Thy wonders. 3 "When I choose the time, I will execute judgment in righteousness. 4 The earth is shaken, and all that dwell in it: I will establish its pillars." 5 I say to the foolish, 'Do not be foolish,' and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horns,6 do not lift up your horns, do not speak stiff-necked,' 7 for the exaltation is not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the wilderness, 8 but God is the judge: he humbles the one, and exalts the other; 9 for the cup is in the hand of the Lord, the wine boils in it, full of confusion, and he pours out of it. Even its yeast will squeeze and drink all the wicked lands. 10 But I will proclaim for ever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob, 11 I will break all the horns of the wicked, and the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

1 Psalm of Asaph. God became in the assembly of gods; In the midst of the gods he pronounced judgment: 2 How long will you judge unrighteously, and show partiality to the wicked? 3 Give judgment to the poor and the fatherless; do justice to the oppressed and the poor; 4 deliver the poor and needy; pluck it out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know, they do not understand, they walk in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaking. 6 I said, You are gods, and the sons of the Most High are all of you; 7 but ye shall die as men, and fall as every prince. 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth, for thou art the heir of all nations.

1 Psalm of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all my inward part is His holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his good works. 3 He forgives all thy iniquities, healeth all thy infirmities; 4 He delivereth thy life from the grave, He crowneth thee with mercy and mercies; 5 Thy desire is satisfied with good things: thy youth is renewed like an eagle. 6 The Lord does righteousness and judgment to all who are wronged. 7 He shewed his ways to Moses, and his works to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and merciful, long-suffering and abundant in mercy: 9 He is not angry to the end, neither is He indignant for ever. 10 Not according to our iniquities did He do unto us, nor according to our sins did He repay us: 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the mercy of the Lord to them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so has he removed our iniquities from us; 13 As a father has mercy on his sons, so does the Lord have mercy on them that fear him. 14 For he knoweth our constitution, remembereth that we are dust. 15 The days of man are like grass; Like the flower of the field, so it blooms. 16 The wind shall pass over him, and he shall be gone, and his place shall know him no more. 17 But the mercy of the Lord endureth from everlasting to everlasting unto them that fear him, 18 and his righteousness is upon the sons of the sons, who keep his covenant, and remember his commandments, to do them. 19 The LORD hath set his throne in heaven, and his kingdom doth possess all things. 20 Bless the Lord, all his angels, mighty in power, doing his word, obeying the voice of his word; 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his servants who do his will. 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all the places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

8. The Fall of Israel and Judah (Psalm 59, 73 [123], 78 [124], 79 [125], 107)

1 To the head of the choir. On the musical instrument Shushan-Eduf. David's Scripture for Study, 2 when he was at war with Syria in Mesopotamia and with Syria in Zovan, and when Joab returned, slew twelve thousand Edomites in the valley of Salt. 3 God! Thou hast rejected us, Thou hast crushed us, Thou hast become angry: turn unto us. 4 Thou hast shaken the earth, hast broken it: heal its wounds, for it is shaken. 5 Thou hast caused thy people to experience cruelty, thou hast made us drunk with the wine of amazement. 6 Give them that fear thee an ensign, that they may lift it up for the sake of truth, 7 that thy beloved may be delivered; save me with Thy right hand, and hear me. 8 God said in his sanctuary, "I will triumph, I will divide Shechem, and I will measure the valley of Succoth: 9 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, Ephraim is the fortress of my head, Judah is my scepter, 10 Moab is my washbowl; Upon Edom I will stretch out My boots. Cry out to me, O land of the Philistines!" 11 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom? 12 Are you not, O God, who hast rejected us, and do not go out, O God, with our armies? 13 Give us help in distress, for the protection of men is vain. 14 With God we will show power, he will bring down our enemies.

1 Ode. Psalm of David. 2 My heart is ready, O God; I will sing and sing in my glory. 3 Arise, psalter and harp! I'll get up early. 4 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to thee among the nations, 5 for Thy mercy is above the heavens, and Thy truth is unto the clouds. 6 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Thy glory be over all the earth, 7 that thy beloved may be delivered: save me with thy right hand, and hear me. 8 God said in his sanctuary, 'I will triumph, I will divide Shechem, and I will measure the valley of Succoth; 9 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, Ephraim is the fortress of my head, Judah is my scepter, 10 Moab is my washbowl, I will stretch out my boots on Edom, I will shout over the land of the Philistines." 11 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom? 12 Are you not, O God, who hast rejected us, and hast not gone out, O God, with our armies? 13 Give us help in distress, for the protection of men is vain. 14 With God we will show power: he will bring down our enemies.