Showing posts with label Exposition of the Psalms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exposition of the Psalms. Show all posts

Sunday, November 27, 2022

PSALM 80 “HOW LONG WILL YOU BE ANGRY WITH YOUR PEOPLE’S PRAYERS?”

 


Superscript:  A Psalm of Asaph. “Upon Shoshannim-eduth”[1] translated here  in the ESV as “According to Lillies”. A testimony  (Hebr. eduth [2]- reference to the contents of the Psalm as a public testimony in regard to the dealings of God with his people)

Psalm 79 closes with -  “we your people, the sheep of Your pasture” (79:13) while Psalm 80 begins with these words, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock” (80: 1). As NT believers we are immediately reminded of John 10 where Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd.

Some commentators think that the background for Psalm 80 is the Assyrian invasion and deportation of the northern tribes in 722 B.C. (see 2 Kings 17:6)- the reference to the northern tribes of Joseph – Ephraim and Manasseh; The name of Joseph  is applied to the whole nation in other Asaph psalms (Psalm 77:15; Psalm 81:5). Others think that it refers to the later Babylonian captivity in 587 BC with reference to the broken walls in 80:12.  It is impossible to determine with certainty the time or the occasion of its composition.

What is clear is that this Psalm is written by Asaph at a time when Israel   wasn’t doing well – spiritually, morally or physically.  The glory days had gone.  The heavens were like brass. This is seen in 80:4:  “how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?”   God seemed distant and absent. The world was laughing at them (80:6). 

The modern evangelical church can identify with these words in Psalm 80. While sports stadiums  and  shopping  malls  are springing  out of the ground,  bursting with enthusiastic   sports supporters and shoppers, most  churches struggle  to  keep their people  focussed  on the kingdom  of God. Those churches that appear to thrive are often pandering to the present culture and by entertaining the people. When people walk their dogs  past our church on a Sunday morning and evening,  and when they hear the sounds of our singing, what do they think? “I am missing out on something here!”  Somehow,   I don’t think so.  So, what is God doing in the world?  The straight forward answer is this: He is still building His kingdom in the midst  of this fallen humanity.  

So how come we don’t see  it? The answer to that  is more complex and it is reflected  in this 80th Psalm.

The Psalm divides into three parts. Each part ends with this refrain: “Restore us oh  God…”  : see 80: 3,7,19. This is essentially an appeal for restoration

 Outline

1.      80:1-3  An Appeal to God to hear  and save Israel

2.      80:4-7  Agony  over the lack of God’s  manifested presence among his people

3.      80: 8-19  An Appeal to God’s historical involvement   and a  renewed call for the  restoration of Israel

Expository Notes

1.         80:1-3   An appeal to God to hear  and save Israel

80:1 “Give ear O Shepherd of Israel”. It is the nature of a shepherd to hear the cries of his sheep.  God is still the Shepherd of His people, even when they do not feel like He is…. 

“ you who lead Joseph like a flock”.  The reference is here made to Joseph the second youngest son of Jacob, the firstborn to Rachel. Joseph became a second father to the tribes of Israel when they were in Egypt. He was the human agent by which Israel was saved from certain death in that great famine. See Jacob’s blessing upon Joseph in Gen. 48:15,16  and 49:22-26

Asaph appeals  to the God  of the holy of holies: “you who  are enthroned upon the cherubim shine forth ”-  a depiction of  God enthroned in the temple above the golden cherubim on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. Remember that the mercy seat (the ark of the covenant with its atoning function) in the tabernacle / temple was the place of God’s manifested presence, and here Israel always found her final court of appeal. In her darkest  times Israel would appeal  to the mercy seat.  Here at the mercy seat God heard His people’s prayers and here He revealed His grace to them.  As NT believers  we remember that  Jesus is our  atonement. He is the true mercy seat and we may appeal to Him boldly. Our greatest fear ought to be the withdrawal of the Lord’s presence which happens when sin invades  the church.

80:2  “Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your might and come to save us!”  Rachel’s sons Joseph (v.1) and Benjamin (v.2) represent the Northern and the Southern kingdoms, respectively. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons. They became the dominant tribes of what was later known as the northern kingdom.  In Numbers 2:17-24 these three tribes were always camped together on the western side of the tabernacle.  

80:3 “Restore us (lit. turn us), O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved”  (so also vv.  7, 19). God’s people in desperate days  need  the restoring and refreshing of their souls that only the Shepherd can provide (Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul”).  God’s face “shining upon” someone is symbolic of His favour. (see the  Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26)

2.         80:4-7  Agony  over the lack of God’s  manifested presence among his people

80:4 “O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?  God is angry with the nation, and the question is “how long?” (cf. Psalm 13:1ff)  This question is asked in 79:5. 

80:5 “You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure”. The absence of God causes grief. This is the same dilemma which troubles many people today. Prayers are  unanswered for reasons they do not fully understand. All they knew was that life was harsh and painful. Tears were their daily diet, tears were given them  to drink in full measure.’

80:6  Worse still, their  neighbours and enemies (Edom, Moab)  were laughing and jeering at them. Where is your God? (Psalm 42:3,10)

80:7  Refrain repeated

3.         80: 8-19 An appeal to God’s historical involvement  and a renewed call for restoration of Israel

80:8 - 10 “You brought out a vine from Egypt” Genesis 49:22 is probably in view here. Other such metaphors include the vineyard in Isaiah 3:14-15; 5:1-7; 27:2-6; Jeremiah 2:21; 12:10; Hosea 10:1; Matthew 21:33-46; and John 15:1.  The vine is a metaphor for Israel. This vine settled  and established in the promised land by God. The purpose of this vine  was to flourish  and produce fruit.

80:11It sent out its branches to the sea . . . the River”. These geographical references identify western and eastern limits of the Promised Land: the Mediterranean Sea and the River Euphrates.

80:12-13 These boundaries were now invaded and disregarded by “a boar from the forest”.   The boar might symbolize Assyria and her invasion of Israel and Judah. Assyria carried the northern ten tribes into captivity (722 B.C.).  It could also refer to the Babylonian exile. 

[Interesting fact:  According to the Talmud, the middle letter in the Hebrew word translated “forest” as the middle letter of the Psalter.]

80:14 -16 “O God of hosts”  (cf. vv. 3, 7, 19). Their prayer is that the God of hosts (He can summon all the powers of heaven and earth to do His will, to help His people—will look down from heaven and take care of “this vine”…  “turn again now” - the crux of the Psalm: a plea that in his mercy God will look on this vine again, and thus do for  this vine something  that it cannot do for itself.  This Shepherd of Israel must bring the straying sheep back, for they will never come back of their own accord.

80:17 “the man of Your right hand”. This could be a reference to Benjamin (whose name means, “son of my right hand”), “the son of man”. Some commentators take this as a reference to the Messiah. This was also the view of the early rabbis.Such phraseology in this verse could also refer to Israel (cf. v. 15; Ex 4:22) or to their king, but from a NT perspective we know that  only  the Son of God  can fix this broken  generation. Our hope is in Him alone.

 COMMENTARY

We learn from the Scriptures  and from history  that a  people who has received God’s  Word and His favours, and  who are  then  despising  the means of His grace, ignoring  God’s call  to holy living in favour of the pursuit of  their pleasures and idols – that  such people   are  left behind by  God,  and  they are left exposed to their enemies  (see  80:6,13,16)

The Shepherd of Israel, who is also the good Shepherd of the church (Ps. 80:1; Jn. 10) has brought this nation, this people, this vine  out of Egypt  to be planted in  Canaan (80:8). In  pursuit of that goal He  drove out the nations from Canaan. He made this nation to grow and prosper (80: 10,11), particularly  under the reigns of David and Solomon.  But it all ended – first with  the divided kingdom under Rehoboam, and then  with the exile of the respective kingdoms- the northern kingdom under the prophetic ministry of Isaiah (around  722 BC) and the  southern kingdom  under the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah  (around 586 BC).

In  80:12 all hangs in the balance: “Why then have you broken down its walls….?“. It is at this low point  in Israel’s history that Asaph  calls upon God in prayer (Psalm 80:14-19). From the Scriptures we  know that God hears His people’s  prayers when they cry out to Him with truly repentant hearts. He never forsakes His people- even when they sin.  Though He  cannot  ignore their sin  because of  His holiness (He must  punish all  their sin to remain holy and just), yet  He is  also committed to delivering  His people from their  sin. Those are twin truths  about God that must never be  separated!

With that as our background 80:17&18  become truly meaningful: “But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!  Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call  upon your name!

Our man is the Lord Jesus Christ! And brothers and sisters,  the church of these last 2000 years has gone through prosperity and adversity, according to her  faithfulness or  faithlessness  to God her Saviour, and then being   restored  at various times (in revival and reformation) according to the mercy of God, and  through pleadings like  this Psalm.  This Son of man  is our  only hope: But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!  Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call  upon your name!

We have entered the season  of Advent. We shall  now  enter into a period of remembering  the Lord Jesus, the Son of God who became the Son of man, so that the sons of men  might become the sons of God. 

Let us use this season then to seek Him afresh, trusting Him for  another restoration of the church of our day.

O may  He shine His face upon us that  He will no longer  be angry with His people’s prayers  - and that we may be saved.  



[1] Psalms 45,60,69

[2] See  60

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

PSALM 99 “EXALT THE LORD OUR GOD … HE IS HOLY ”

 


This Psalm is part of a group of theocratic Psalms (Psalms 93– 100). The general subject is the kingship of God the LORD (Yahweh), and the praise derived from the fact that He reigns. OUTLINE

I. The LORD Is Holy in His  Being (vv. 1-3)

II. The LORD Is Holy in His  Justice (vv. 4-5)

III. The LORD Is Holy in His  Forgiveness (vv. 6-9)

This threefold repetition of God’s holiness reminds us of the angels refrain in Isaiah’s vision of God: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:3). Spurgeon calls it the “Holy, holy, holy Psalm”.[1] In Isaiah, the manifestation of God’s presence causes the thresholds of the temple to tremble (Isa 6:4); so here in Ps. 99:1b, the whole earth quakes.

I chose this Psalm for this evening, because I wanted us to think about the attribute of God’s holiness. There is probably no attribute of God which needs to be rediscovered more in our day than His holiness. The modern church seems to be more enamoured with the therapeutic and psychological uses of God to provide us with inner peace, than  with the fact that He is holy and therefore, having created us in His image, He is calling us to be holy.  

Holiness is what defines God’s character most fundamentally. The holiness of God (Hebr. quodesh) is a quality which separates God from everything else He has created. To use a German phrase  - “ER ist der ganz Andere” – He is the wholly Other. God’s holiness is closely associated with His glory (Hebr. kabod),  a word which associates God with being weighty. The point is that if we do not revere God as holy, then He rests lightly on us. And that is the curse that we find in our modern church. God is not seen and understood as holy and glorious. He rests lightly on us.We easily  substitute Him for created glory,  and that is what causes  God to  hand  us over to our depraved  beings (Romans 1:8ff) - when we are, as it where, left to our own devices and left to destroy ourselves. Oh, brothers and sisters pray that the Lord would rend the heavens and come down … to make His name known to our adversaries  and that the nations  might tremble at His presence” (Isaiah 64:1 ,2)

I.                    99: 1-3 The LORD Is Holy in His  Being

99:1 The Lord reigns.  He is the Great I AM that I AM. YAHWEH is His Name. He is the undisputed Ruler of the Universe – there is no one besides Him. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end; let the people tremble[2] (cf. 96:9)... let the  earth quake.

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim (cf. Ps 80:1). The allusion here is to the Shechinah glory - manifested in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, in the holy of holies on the mercy-seat, between the cherubim. Here God promised to have His earthly visible dwelling[3]. The cherubim are first mentioned as guarding the gates of Paradise (Gen.3:24);  In Ezekiel 1 & Ezekiel 10 we find them carrying the throne of God upon their wings through the clouds;  But here in the tabernacle/ temple they are made as statues overlaid with gold. They overshadow the cover of the ark of the covenant. Between the two cherubim in the temple, the Shechinah, or visible symbol of the presence of God, rested and therefore God is represented here as “dwelling between the cherubim,”[4]

99:2 The Lord is great in Zion – (cf. Psalm 95:3). We have already seen that the LORD reigns in the earth. That signifies His greatness. But we see now in particular that He is great in Zion -  in context Jerusalem, but beyond that  this also refers to  the  manifested presence of  the  city of God, which is the church – His people,  and ultimately the bride of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9).   God is ever within the true Church. But remember this – the greatness of the true Church is God. Not her wealth, prestige, orthodoxy, culture, or intelligence, but His inhabitation – according to the covenantal promise: I will be your God- you will be my people!

And “he is exalted above all the peoples” - Above all the nations. He has them under his control. He rules over all. The God who rules in Zion – the church, also rules all the nations of the earth.  The peoples of the earth do not bow to him now, but the day will come when every knee will bow, and every tongue confess to God (Isa. 45:23 cf. Rom. 14:11; see also Phil. 2:10-11 where  this is applied to  the Lord Jesus)

99:3 Let them praise your great and awesome (being feared) name. The Name and the Being of God in its very nature evokes awe and reverence. The word “them” here refers to both Zion and all peoples. The entire world owes  God praise by virtue of who He is – and again , if they do not do so now, they will then, when He appears in glory!

The first section ends, as the second and third do, by stating, ”Holy is He!  This fundamental attribute of God needs to be meditated upon. We need to understand this. We need to see Him for who He is, being absolutely distinct from all His creatures, and exalted above His creatures in infinite majesty. His holiness is seen by us in His display of holiness. No man can see God and live. The holiness of God is seen in  His absolute moral purity. He is completely without sin and apart from it. “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This means that nothing unclean, defiled, sinful, dark can enter His presence.

Do you now appreciate the atoning death of Jesus, whose blood cleanses us from sin, and who presents us faultless in the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24)?

God is called holy more often than any other title. His name, which signifies all his attributes is holy (Ps. 103:1).  There is no other attribute of God repeated three times in the praise of it. We never read of the angels crying out, “Eternal, eternal, eternal” or “Faithful, faithful, faithful” or “Love, love, love.” In fact, we can say that God’s holiness relates to all of His perfections: His justice is a holy justice; his wisdom a holy wisdom; his love is a holy love  etc.

II.  99:4-5 The LORD Is Holy in His  Justice

99:4 The King in his might loves justice. The word king here refers to God as a king, cf. 99:1. The word rendered “might” means strength and the reference here is to what constitutes the main strength or power of His character and the nature of His government. God’s essential character, and all the displays of his authority, display justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.  God is always on the side of justice and  always on the side of that that which is  right.

99:5 Exalt the LORD our God - Let his name be lifted up on high. Let it be seen from far away.  Let it be done with a raised voice!  Worship at his footstool.  Worship (Hebr. shahah here literally translates as “be prostrated/ bowed down”). Exalting God as a human being relates to the act of lowering/ humbling ourselves – to see ourselves in proper relation to Him. To worship at his footstool.  The reference here is to the footstool on which the feet of a king rested when he sat on his throne (see also Ps. 132:7 ). It reflects a common ancient near eastern practice of bowing at the feet of a king on his throne. Holy is he (cf. 99:3). The fact that God is holy is a reason for humbling ourselves, bowing down before Him.

III.  99:6-9 The LORD Is Holy in His  Forgiveness

99: 6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among them that call upon his name.  Moses, Aaron and Samuel were spiritual leaders. These three interceded for the people of Israel and at various times acted as guardians of the Lord’s testimonies and statutes that they had received. They were responsible for leading Israel in true worship.   They called to the Lord and he answered them. They were the example, they were the custodians of public worship. They taught Israel how to approach God, as the elders of our church are also reminding you this coming week concerning how to approach God in prayer and fasting.

“And he answered them” -  When they approached God, He heard their prayers. He” is an emphatic pronoun: “They called on the LORD, and He Himself answered them.”

It is not a useless thing to praise and worship God Him. In fact, it is right and fitting for His creatures to do so! We must come to God in prayer expecting to hear from Him. Indeed, prayer and praise is a right response  to  a holy God.

99:7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them - the pillar which guided the Israelites in the wilderness - the “Shechinah” - the visible symbol of the divine presence. They kept his testimonies ...  They obeyed his laws, and therefore God heard them and answered them.  Note – “He spoke . . . He gave . . . You answered (v.8)”.  God is a prayer answering God.

9:8 O Lord our God you answered them.  You were a forgiving God to them - They were not perfect; they were sinners; they often offended  the LORD , and yet He  answered them, and showed them mercy. He is a forgiving God.  Only God can forgive our sin.

“…but an avenger of their wrongdoings”  -  their sins. There is no allusion to  any particular sin  here, and so we take it in a general sense. God being holy does not overlook sin – whether it be the sin of these leaders of the sin of this nation.  Most commentators believe that the reference is primarily to Israel’s sin.

99:9 Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain - In 99:5, “at his footstool.” The “holy hill” here refers to Zion, as the seat of the national worship. For the Lord our God is holy – cf. 99:5. This closes the Psalm with the repeated fact he fact that God is a holy God This remains at all times the highest reason for our praise of Him.

APPLICATION

·         The Lord is  King – let us  tremble. This is true for all peoples of the world

·         The Lord loves justice

·         We must abandon sin, because God is holy.

·         We must praise Him  because He is holy

·         We must bring our petitions to God, because He answers prayer.

·         We must exalt and worship God, because He forgives sin.

·         Our prayer and praise becomes richer and deeper when we study the holiness of God.

 



[1] C.H. Spurgeon : The Treasury of David, Vol II, p.225

[2] The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate render this, “Let the people rage” - or, be angry: as if the idea were that God reigned, although the people were enraged, and were opposed to him.

[3] Exodus 25:18, Exodus 25:22; Exodus 37:7; 1Sa 4:4; 1 Kings 6:25

[4] Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1

Friday, November 11, 2022

PSALM 25 “Good Theology and Prayer”

 


SUPERSCRIPT:  A Psalm of David. 

Good theology is fundamental to prayer. God  responds to His own handwriting. Show God His handwriting!

This Psalm, like so many Psalms is a personal prayer to God. It clearly is a prayer attributed to his later years, for he prays in 25:7 “Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions…”. 

This is  an acrostic poem.[1] The 22 verses of this Psalm in the original begin each begin with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This is an aid to memorisation.

We are not sure what the occasion is. He has to deal with his enemies (vv.2,19) as well as his own sin (vv.7,11,18) and  vulnerability (let me not be put to shame vv.2,20) and  personal trials  such  as  a sense of loneliness, affliction, a troubled heart, distress (vv.16-18).

We do not discern a particular structure in this prayer.  If we follow the Psalm we   see the following …

1.   25:1-3  David confidently trusts in God when assailed by  his enemies.

2.  25:4-5 David desires to be led in the way of truth.

3.  25:6-7  David desires that God would deal with him in mercy.

4.  25:8-9 David reaffirms his belief that God will guide those who trust Him.

5.  25:10  David  affirms God’s covenantal kindness

6.  25:11  David asks to be pardoned of  his sin.

7.  25:12-15 David affirms that God will instruct and guide those who fear Him.

8.  25:16-21  David pleads  with God for deliverance from all trouble.

9.  25:22 David pleads for God’s redemption of Israel, the people of God.

If we stand back and survey the Psalm as a whole, this is actually a wonderful study in praying the attributes of God – reminding ourselves of who God is and what He is like. God’s attributes are the characteristics which define God, which explain what God is like.  

The attributes of God gleaned from this Psalm are the following….

1.      God can be trusted. (v.2)

2.      God is faithful (v.3)

3.      God speaks truth (vv.4-5)

4.      God is  a Saviour (v.5)

5.      God’s  is merciful and  covenantally loving (vv. 6,11)

6.      God is good and upright (v.8)

7.      God is forgiving (vv.11,18)

8.      God is  the instructor of the  God fearing (vv.12- 14)

9.      God is our deliverer (vv.15,17)

10.  God is gracious (v.16).

11.   God is the guardian of our soul and our refuge (v.20)

In prayer  remind  yourself of  God’s attributes. The better you know God the more confidence and boldness  you will  show in  your prayer. There are a number of subjects, which flow freely from David’s heart. Remember that this is a prayer, and prayer does not always follow a structure. It is like water gushing from a spring and running from the heart and the lips. This is a wonderful study in heartfelt prayer to God. Let’s learn from David. Let’s see how this Psalm helps us to find our rest in God when we travel on this highway called life, through many perplexities and against the background of our own sinfulness, vulnerabilities and personal trials. 

David  faces  two common sets of troubles: the trouble that comes from  the outside and the trouble that  comes from within. Troubles without and fears within! (2 Corinthians 7:5)

1.   Troubles  without

David is struggling because his life or his reputation is in danger. He is facing real enemies -  See verses 2 &19. David’s life is far from being a tame existence. Your life as a Christian  is not a tame existence. You will be familiar with the pounding heart and the sweaty hands as you must face life in a fallen world.

2.  Fears within

 (i)           David is struggling with loneliness and inward afflictions. See v.16. The trouble is felt in his heart. He feels distressed  v.17

(ii)          David feels the inward weight of past sin  (vv.7,11,18), and  far from  forgetting the sins of his youth he vividly remembers these.  Look at verse 17 again:  "The troubles of my heart are enlarged."

Outward and inward trials have the ability to deeply unsettle our souls. The ground under our feet seems shaky. We feel as if we lose our bearings. We feel uncertain. We feel as if God is far away.  What do we need  most at such a time?

Prayer! 

There are at least 18 petitions in this Psalm.

The definition of  a petition is to make a request. So when we come to God in petition we are asking Him to do something - either for ourselves or others.  [See the petitions in the Lord’s prayer  - Matthew 6:9-13]

Petitions

·         Let me not be put to shame…

·         Let not my enemies exult over me …

·         Make me to know your ways O Lord… teach me your paths; lead me in your truth and teach me…

·         Remember your mercy…  and your steadfast love …

·         Remember not the sins of my youth… 

  • etc.

David comes to God with his outer  and inner challenges and he pleads with God to help him, to lead him in His ways, his paths, his truth (vv.4&5) 

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM  DAVID’S PRAYER ?

David’s prayer rests on...

·         the nature of God’s character (see attributes)

·          but in particular God’s mercy and steadfast love (v.6)

·         The fact that  God  loves and instructs  the contrite sinner (v.8)  in heart – the humble (v.9); those who fear God receive His instruction, friendship  (vv. 12,14).

RESULTS 

Faith in God as expressed in prayer  is the way  to  spiritual stability. Faith is informed by good theology. 

The counsel that you hear in Psalm 25 is . . .

1.     Being a man woman of God does not  exempt you from  outward and inward trouble.

2.    When you are assailed from without and within  you should come to God in prayer  and petition and bring all your struggles with no hesitation.

3.    Be prepared to wait on God for the answer to your prayer (vv.3,5,21) Waiting on God implies acceptance of His timing in His wisdom.

4.    Be  completely humble and transparent  before God. Confess sin.  Fear God

5.    Stand on the revealed character of God. Learn to know His attributes. Pray them.



[1] Other acrostic  uses are found in Psalms 34; 37; 111:1-10; 112:1-10; 119; 145.  Proverbs 31:10-32;  the Lamentations of Jeremiah, except the last chapter. In the Psalm before us, the general order of the Hebrew alphabet is observed, with the following exceptions: the two first verses commence with the Hebrew letter א ('), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; while the second letter, ב (b), is omitted. The Hebrew letters, ו (w) and ק (q), are also omitted, while two verses begin with the Hebrew letter ר (r), and at the close of the psalm, after the Hebrew letter ת (t), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet - another verse is added, beginning with the Hebrew letter פ (p). We cannot account for these variations.

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