God, my strong deliverer, you shield me on the day of battle (Ps 140:7);
Blessed be יהוה, my rock, . . . my shield in whom I trust (Ps 144:2).
Israel’s rock:6 God only is my rock of deliverance, my strong tower, so that I stand unshaken (Ps 62:2);
יהוה lives! Blessed is my rock! High above all is God, my safe refuge (Ps 18:46);
To You, יהוה, I call; my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry (Ps 28:1);
Be to me a rock of refuge, a stronghold to keep me safe. You are my rock and my stronghold (Ps 31:2,3);
God only is my rock of deliverance, my strong tower, so that I stand unshaken (Ps 62:2);
Do not vaunt yourself against heaven or speak arrogantly against the Rock (Ps 75:5);
God is the rock of my heart (Ps 73:26);
יהוה is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him (Ps 92:15).
Blessed be יהוה, my rock, who trains my hands for battle (Ps 144:1).
יהוה God of Hosts: יהוה of Hosts, [he] is the king of glory (Ps 24:10);
יהוה of Hosts is with us (Ps 46:11);
יהוה God of Hosts, Israel’s God, arouse yourself to come to me and keep watch (Ps 59:4);
יהוה God of Hosts, how long will you fume at your people’s prayer? (Ps 80:4);
יהוה God of Hosts, let none of those who hope in you be discouraged (Ps 69:6);
יהוה God of Hosts, restore us, and make your face shine on us, that we may be saved (Ps 80:7; 19);
יהוה of Hosts, how dearly loved is your dwelling-place (Ps 84:1);
יהוה God of Hosts, hear my prayer (Ps 84:8);
יהוה God of Hosts, who is like you? Your strength and faithfulness are all around you (Ps 89:8);
The Most High: I shall rejoice and exult in you, the Most High (Ps 9:2);
Yet they provoked and defied God Most High (Ps 78:56);
. . . all sons of the Most High (Ps 82:6);
I put my trust in you, the Most High (Ps 56:3);
I shall call to God Most High (Ps 57:2);
Does the Most High know or care? (Ps 73:11);
Has the right hand of the Most High changed? (Ps 77:10);
The Most High establishes her (Ps 87:5);
[He] who lives in the shelter of the Most High . . . (Ps 91:1);
You have made the Most High your dwelling-place (Ps 91:9);
It is good to give thanks to יהוה, to sing praises to your name, O Most High (Ps 92:1).
The God of Jacob: May the name of Jacob’s God be your tower of strength (Ps 20:1);
. . . such is the fortune of those who seek [him], who seek the presence of the God of Jacob (Ps 24:6);
. . . the God of Jacob is our fortress (Ps 46:11);
Sing out in praise of God our refuge, acclaim the God of Jacob (Ps 81:1);
God of Jacob, listen . . . (Ps 84:8);
Earth, dance at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob (Ps 114:7);
. . . a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob (Ps 132:2);
Happy is he whose helper is the God of Jacob (Ps 146:5).
יהוה my God: יהוה my God, in you I find refuge; (Ps 7:1);
Look now, יהוה my God, and answer me (Ps 13:3);
יהוה my God, to you I lift my heart (Ps 25:1);
But in you, יהוה, I put my trust; I say, ‘You are my God.’ (Ps 31:14);
Judge me, יהוה my God, as you are righteous (Ps 35:24);
On you, יהוה, I fix my hope; you, יהוה my God, will answer (Ps 38:15);
יהוה my God, great things you have done (Ps 40:5);
יהוה , my God, by day I call for help, by night I cry aloud in your presence (Ps 88:1);
יהוה has been my strong tower, and my God is my rock and refuge (Ps 94:22);
יהוה my God, you are very great (Ps 104:1);
You, יהוה my God, deal with me as befits your honour (Ps 109:21);
Help me, יהוה my God; save me by your love (Ps 109:26);
I say to יהוה, ‘You are my God (Ps 140:6).
Eight, since there is not an actual Hebrew word for the presence (of God), the poets speak anthropomorphically of “the face” (לפניך lepanim) of יהוה; they speak too in potent images and language concerning the nearness and dearness, and the grandeur and intimacy of יהוה. When the poets are in trouble, they persist in the conviction that the presence of יהוה is ever near—as before the face or in the the presence of יהוה; to dwell in the presence of God is the singularly longed for experience of the one who hungers after a life of friendship with God. It is, for Israel, the highest good.7
Let the light of your face shine on us, יהוה (Ps 4:6);
For יהוה is just and loves just dealing; [his] face is turned towards the upright (Ps 11:7);
[He] asked of you life, and you gave it to [him], . . . for you bestow everlasting blessings on [him], and make [him] glad with the joy of your presence (Ps 21:4, 6);
For יהוה is just and loves just dealing; [his] face is turned towards the upright (Ps 11:7);
יהוה has not scorned [him] who is downtrodden, . . . nor hidden [his] face from [him] (Ps 22:24);
‘Come,’ my heart has said, ‘seek [his] presence.’ I seek your presence, יהוה (Ps 27:8);
How long, יהוה, will you leave me forgotten; how long will you hide your face from me? (Ps 13:1,2);
I thirst for God, the living God; when shall I come to appear before [his] presence? (Ps 42:2);
Do not drive me from your presence or take your holy spirit from me (Ps 51:11);
May God be gracious to us and bless us, may
