Keep Not Silence, O God

"And I will bless those who bless you,

who confer prosperity or happiness upon you,

and curse them who curses or uses insolent language

toward you; in you will all the families and kindred

of the earth be blessed and by you they will bless themselves."

Genesis 12:3

"And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify

the Gentiles in consequence of faith, proclaimed the Gospel,

foretelling the glad tidings of a Savior long beforehand to

Abraham in the promise, saying, In you shall all the

nations of the earth be blessed."

Galatians 3:8

 The Tree of Life
Marc Chagall
(1948)

PSALM 83

A Psalm of Asaph

Keep not silence, O God; hold not Your peace,

or be still, O God.

For behold, Your enemies are in tumult, and those

who hate You have raised their heads.

They lay crafty schemes against Your people

and consult together against Your hidden and precious ones.

They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation;

Let the name of Israel be in remembrance no more.

For they have consulted together with one accord and one heart;

against You they make a covenant-

The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab, and the Hagrites,

Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, the Philistines, with the

inhabitants of Tyre.

Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children

of  Lot, the Ammonites and the Moabites, and have been an arm to them.

Selah, (pause and calmly think of that!)

Do to them as You did to the Midianites, as to Sisera and Jabin

at the brook of Kishon.

Who perished at Endor, who became like the manure of the earth.

Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, yes, all their princes as

Zebah and Zalmunna.

Who say, Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.

O my God, make them like whirling dust, like stubble or chaff before the wind!

As the fire consumes the forest, and as the flame sets the mountains ablaze

So pursue and afflict them with Your tempest and terrify them

 with Your tornado or hurricane.

Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek, inquire for, and

Insistently require Your name, O Lord.

Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; yes, let them

be put to shame and perish,

That they may know that You, Whose name alone is the Lord,

are the Most High over all the earth.

Lion Judah
Jerusalem Windows
Marc Chagall
(1962)

This post is dedicated to the memory of the

lives tragically lost at the Tree of Life Synagogue

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.