The Psalms of Thanksgiving To YAHWEH

10
Victory Shall Belong To YAHWEH On High

Blessed art You, 0 YAHWEH, 
for You hast never abandoned the orphan 
neither despised the poor.
Unbounded is Thy power,
and Thy glory hath no measure.

Angels of wondrous strength
minister unto Thee,
and they walk at the side of the meek
and of them that are fearful of right-doing, 
and of all the lost and lorn
that stand in need of mercy,
lifting them out of the slough 
when that their feet are mired. 

So, for mine own part,
to them that were my familiars
I had become a thing of contention;
a symbol of strife and discord 
unto my friends;
an occasion of fury and anger
unto my fellows;
of murmuring and complaint
to all mine acquaintances.

All that ate of my bread 
lifted their heels against me; 
all that shared my board
mouthed distortions about me; 
and they with whom I consorted
turned their backs upon me
and defamed me up and down.

By reason of the secret
which You hast hidden within me
they went spreading slander against me 
to men that were bent on mischief.
Because they hemmed in my way,  
and because of their infamy,
the fount of understanding was hidden 
and the secret of truth,
while they-they went on contriving
the mischief of their hearts,
opening their shameless mouths, 
unleashing their lying tongues
which were like the venom of adders  
fitfully spurting forth; 
like reptiles they shot forth their hissing 
-vipers that could not be charmed. 
It was as a constant pain, 
a fretting wound 
in the body of Thy servant,
causing his spirit to droop,
wearing down his strength, 
until he could not withstand.

They overtook me between the straits, 
where there was no escape.
(Missing text)
They thundered abuse of me
to the tune of the harp,
and in jingles chorused their jeers.
Confusion and panic beset me, 
horrendous anguish and pain,
like to the throes of travail.
My heart was distraught within me;
I clothed me in mourning garb; 
my tongue cleaved to the roof of my mouth. 
In their hearts they reviled me,
and openly vented their spleen.
The light of my face turned to darkness.
my radiance to gloom.

You, 0 my YAHWEH,
hadst enlarged my heart,
but ever they sought to constrict it.
They hedged me about with thick darkness.
I ate my bread amid sighs,
and my drink was mingled with tears 
which had none end.
Mine eyes were dimmed with anguish,
and with all that beclouds the daylight 
my soul was overcast.
Sorrow was all about me,
and the pall of shame o'er my face.
The very bread that I ate
seemed to be quarreling with me,
the very drink that I drank
to be at odds with me.
They purposed to trammel my spirit,
to wear down all my strength
with blasphemous mystic lore,
converting the works of YAHWEH
into that which they guiltily imagined.
I was bound with unbreakable cords,
with fetters that could not be sundered.
A strong wall was upreared against me;
bars of iron restrained me
and doors of brass. 
(Missing text)
Over my soul swirled the torrents of hell. 
(Missing text)
My heart was sore distraught
because of their obloquy
which they did heap upon me.
(Missing text)
Ruin encompassed me,
disaster which knew no bound,
destruction which had no end.
(Missing text)
But You, 0 my YAHWEH,
didst open mine ear, 
didst vindicate my cause
against all them that traduced me.
Yea, You didst deliver me
from the company of the vain,
from fellowship with crime,
and bring me into communion
with all the kodesh and pure,
purging my soul of guilt.

So am I come to know
that in Thy loving kindness
lies hope for them that repent
and for them that abandon sin,
and confidence for him
who walks in the way of Thy heart without perversity.
Therefore, though peoples roar,
though kingdoms rage, 
I shall go comforted.
When that they gather together,
I shall not be dismayed,
knowing that in a space
You wilt raise a reviving for Thy people 
and grant to Thine inheritance a remnant, 
and refine them, to purge them of guilt.
When as in all their deeds
they have done as Thy truth* enjoined, 
You wilt judge them with lovingkindness, 
with plenteous compassion
and abundance of forgiveness,
guiding them according to Thy word,
stablishing them by Thy counsel,**
by Thine unswerving truth.

You hast acted for Thyself and for Thy glory,
that the Torah may come to fruition,
and has sent among mankind
men that be schooled in Thy counsel
to tell forth Thy wonders through the ages,
world without end,
to rehearse Thy deeds of power
without surcease,
that all nations may know Thy truth,
and all peoples Thy glory.
All these men hast You brought
into communion with Thee,
and hast given them common estate
with the Angels of Thy Presence. 
There stands no intermediary among them
to approach Thee in their behalf
and bring them back Thy word 
filtered through their mind (?) ;
for they themselves are answered
from out of Thy glorious mouth.
They are Thy courtiers,
sharing the high estate
of all the heavenly beings.

The seed which these men sow
shall yield a flower unfading,
the twig shall put forth thick leaves,
become an evergreen,
give shade to all things;
the branches shall tower to heaven,
the roots sink down to the abyss. 
All the rivers of Eden
shall water its boughs;
it shall thrive beyond all bounds,
burgeon beyond all measure.
But the plant of Belial shall fade,
that it be no more,
and its roots shall sink down into hell.
The Fountain of Light shall well forth,
a perpetual spring unfailing,
but in its fiery sparks all infamous men shall be burned; 
it shall be as a flame devouring the guilty,
until they be destroyed.

They who were my familiars,
who shared the same fortune as I,
were all of them seduced
by garblers of truth,
that they no longer wished to do right.
You hadst given them commandments, 0 YAHWEH,
that they might have profit of their lives
by walking Thy kodesh way,
whereon the uncircumcised and unclean
and profane may not pass.
But they wavered from the way of Thy heart
and ensnared themselves in their lusts.
Mischief counselled their hearts 
and, through their wicked devisings,
they tainted themselves with guilt.
Wherefore on their account
I was as a sailor in a ship
when the seas do froth and foam.
All the breakers thereof
kept pounding against me,
and the whirlwind blew about me,
and there was no moment of calm
wherein to catch my breath,
neither could I steer
a course upon the waters.
The deeps echoed my groaning,
and I came near to the gates of death. 

But now I am as one
that hath entered a stronghold,
taken refuge behind a high wall
until deliverance come.
For I have stayed myself on Thy truth, 0 my YAHWEH, 
knowing full well
that You foundest Thy structure on a rock, 
that its rafters are truly poised
and its stones well laid,
that of tested stone  are its walls
and unbreakably strong its bars,
that all who repair unto it
shall never be moved,
for there shall no stranger invade it.
Its doors are a sheet of protection
which none may force,
and its bars are strong bars
which cannot be broken.
No armed band can storm it,
neither all the war hosts of wickedness together.
For, should they so essay,
the sword of YAHWEH will be swift
to wreak a final judgment,
and all who acknowledge HIS truth
will rouse themselves to do battle
against the forces of wickedness,
and all the sons of guilt
will be no more.
The Warrior  will bend his bow,
and lift the siege for ever,
and open the gates everlasting
to bring forth HIS weapons of war;
and HIS legions shall go marching
from end to end of the earth,
and there shall be no escape
for the guilty impulse of men.
They shall trample it to destruction,
that naught remain thereof. 
There shall be no hope for it 
in weapons never so many, 
neither any escape
for all that fight in its cause.
For the victory shall belong
unto YAHWEH on High,
(Missing text)
and though they that lie in the dust
will have raised their flag, 
and though this worm which is man 
will have lifted up his banner
to do battle against the truth,
yet shall they be cut off
when battle is joined with the presumptious;
and he that sought to bring
the scourge of a flood overflowing 
will never reach that stronghold.
(Missing text)
** I.e., the Scriptures.
* Or, 'in Thy council'.
t Heb. 'princes'. The word is commonly used in post-Biblical Hebrew to denote angels.

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