The Book of Hymns or Psalms of Thanksgiving To YAHWEH

1
The Spirit Of YAHWEH

You art the source of all might
 
yet art You also rich in wisdom and great in counsel.
Thy fury is vented in the presence of ; yet are Thy mercies beyond number.
You are YAHWEH that visits wrongdoing; yet also YAHWEH longsuffering in judgment.
In whatsoever You doest,
You hast ever done justly.
In Thy wisdom didst You call into being spirits immortal,
and ere You didst create them,
didst determine their works for all time.
Apart from Thee can naught be done,
and naught apprehended save by Thy will.
You it is formed every spirit,
and set due rule and role for all their works.
When You didst stretch out the heavens for Thy glory,
and command all their host to do Thy will,
You didst also make potent spirits to keep them in bounds.
Or ever spirits immortal took on the form of kodesh angels,
You didst assign them to bear rule over divers domains:
over the sun and moon, to govern their hidden powers;
over the stars, to hold them to their courses;
over rain and snow, to make them fulfill their functions;
over meteors and lightnings,
to make them discharge their tasks;
over the treasures of the deeps,
to make them serve their ends;
over fire and water,
to control their hidden force.
When, too, You didst create in Thy power earth and seas and deeps,
in Thy wisdom didst You set in their depths spirits immortal,
and thereby dispose to Thy will all that therein is.
So too hast You done touching the spirit of man
which You hast created in the world for all the days of time
and for ages infinite, to bear rule over all his works.
You hast assigned the tasks of men's spirits duly,
moment by moment, throughout their generations;
and You hast determined the mode in which they shall wield their sway,
season by season;
yea, You hast prescribed their works,
age after age alike when they shall be visited with peace
and when they shall suffer affliction. You hast man's spirit
and duly assigned its role for all his offspring
throughout the generations of time; and You hast it
for all years of eternity. And in Thy knowing wisdom
You hast ordained its fate, or ever it came into being.
By Thy will all things exist, and without Thee is nothing wrought.
Shapen of clay and kneaded with water,
a bedrock of shame and a source of pollution,
a cauldron of iniquity and a fabric of sin,
a spirit errant and wayward, distraught by every just judgment
what can I say that hath not been foreknown,
or what disclose that hath not been foretold?
All things are inscribed before Thee in a recording script,
for every moment of time,
for the infinite cycles of years,
in their several appointed times.
No single thing is hidden,
naught missing from Thy presence.
How can man say aught to account for his sins?
How argue in excuse of his misdeeds?
How can he enter reply
to any just sentence upon him?
Thine, 0 YAHWEH of all knowledge,
are all works of righteousness
and the secret of truth;
while man's is but thralldom to wrongdoing, and works of deceit.
The spirit that lies in man's speech, You didst create.
You hast known all the words of man's tongue
and determined the fruit of his lips,
ere those lips themselves had being.
It is You that disposeth all words in due sequence
and giveth to the spirit of the lips ordered mode of expression;
that bringeth forth their secrets in measured utterances,
and granteth unto spirits means to express their thoughts,
that Thy glory may be made known,
and Thy wonders told forth
in all Thine unerring works,
and that Thy righteousness may be proclaimed,
and Thy name be praised in the mouth of all things,
and that all creatures may know Thee,
each to the meed of his insight,
and bless Thee alway.
But You in Thy mercy
and Thy great lovingkindness
hast strengthened the spirit of man to face his afflictions,
and hast cleansed it of the taint of multifarious wrongdoing,
to the end that Thy wonders may be shown forth in the sight of all Thy works.
So, for mine own part,
I am braced against all the afflictions
whereto I am condemned;
and will tell unto men all Thy wonders
wherein, through me,
You hast shown Thy power.

Hearken, O ye wise,
ye, too, that are witless and rash,
and be of sober mind.
Ye  sharpen your wits!
Ye righteous, have done with wrongdoing!
And all ye that are blameless of conduct,
hold fast to the  meek!
Be slow to anger and spurn not 
For men that are foolish at heart
cannot understand these things, 
and men of unbridled temper
can but gnash their teeth.

Up  1 This Page 2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  10a  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24