Historical
Fourth Book—Psalms 90–106
Psalm 90[a]
God’s Eternity and Human Frailty
1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
I
Lord, you have been our refuge
through all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born,
the earth and the world brought forth,
from eternity to eternity you are God.(A)
3 You turn humanity back into dust,[b]
saying, “Return, you children of Adam!”(B)
4 A thousand years in your eyes
are merely a day gone by,(C)
Before a watch passes in the night,
5 [c]you wash them away;(D)
They sleep,
and in the morning they sprout again like an herb.
6 In the morning it blooms only to pass away;
in the evening it is wilted and withered.[d](E)
II
7 Truly we are consumed by your anger,
filled with terror by your wrath.
8 You have kept our faults before you,
our hidden sins in the light of your face.(F)
9 Our life ebbs away under your wrath;(G)
our years end like a sigh.
10 Seventy is the sum of our years,
or eighty, if we are strong;
Most of them are toil and sorrow;
they pass quickly, and we are gone.
11 Who comprehends the strength of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear it inspires.
12 Teach us to count our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
III
13 Relent, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Fill us at daybreak with your mercy,(H)
that all our days we may sing for joy.
15 Make us glad as many days as you humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.(I)
16 Show your deeds to your servants,
your glory to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God be ours.(J)
Prosper the work of our hands!
Prosper the work of our hands!
Psalm 91[e]
Security Under God’s Protection
I
1 You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,[f]
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
2 Say to the Lord, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”(K)
3 He will rescue you from the fowler’s snare,
from the destroying plague,
4 He will shelter you with his pinions,
and under his wings you may take refuge;(L)
his faithfulness is a protecting shield.
5 You shall not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,(M)
6 Nor the pestilence that roams in darkness,
nor the plague that ravages at noon.(N)
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
near you it shall not come.
8 You need simply watch;
the punishment of the wicked you will see.(O)
9 Because you have the Lord for your refuge
and have made the Most High your stronghold,
10 No evil shall befall you,
no affliction come near your tent.(P)
11 [g]For he commands his angels with regard to you,(Q)
to guard you wherever you go.(R)
12 With their hands they shall support you,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.(S)
13 You can tread upon the asp and the viper,
trample the lion and the dragon.(T)
II
14 Because he clings to me I will deliver him;
because he knows my name I will set him on high.(U)
15 He will call upon me and I will answer;(V)
I will be with him in distress;(W)
I will deliver him and give him honor.
16 With length of days I will satisfy him,
and fill him with my saving power.(X)
Psalm 92[h]
A Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Fidelity
1 A psalm. A sabbath song.
I
2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,(Y)
3 To proclaim your love at daybreak,
your faithfulness in the night,
4 With the ten-stringed harp,
with melody upon the lyre.(Z)
5 For you make me jubilant, Lord, by your deeds;
at the works of your hands I shout for joy.
II
6 How great are your works, Lord!(AA)
How profound your designs!
7 A senseless person cannot know this;
a fool cannot comprehend.
8 Though the wicked flourish like grass(AB)
and all sinners thrive,
They are destined for eternal destruction;
9 but you, Lord, are forever on high.
10 Indeed your enemies, Lord,
indeed your enemies shall perish;
all sinners shall be scattered.(AC)
III
11 You have given me the strength of a wild ox;(AD)
you have poured rich oil upon me.(AE)
12 My eyes look with glee on my wicked enemies;
my ears shall hear what happens to my wicked foes.(AF)
13 The just shall flourish like the palm tree,
shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon.(AG)
14 [i]Planted in the house of the Lord,
they shall flourish in the courts of our God.
15 They shall bear fruit even in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
16 To proclaim: “The Lord is just;
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.”(AH)
Psalm 93[j]
God Is a Mighty King
1 The Lord is king,[k] robed with majesty;
the Lord is robed, girded with might.(AI)
The world will surely stand in place,
never to be moved.(AJ)
2 Your throne stands firm from of old;
you are from everlasting.(AK)
3 [l]The flood has raised up, Lord;
the flood has raised up its roar;
the flood has raised its pounding waves.
4 More powerful than the roar of many waters,
more powerful than the breakers of the sea,
powerful in the heavens is the Lord.
5 Your decrees are firmly established;
holiness befits your house, Lord,
for all the length of days.
Psalm 94[m]
A Prayer for Deliverance from the Wicked
I
1 Lord, avenging God,
avenging God, shine forth!(AL)
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give the proud what they deserve!(AM)
II
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked glory?(AN)
4 How long will they mouth haughty speeches,
go on boasting, all these evildoers?(AO)
5 They crush your people, Lord,
torment your very own.
6 They kill the widow and alien;
the orphan they murder.(AP)
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”(AQ)
III
8 Understand, you stupid people!
You fools, when will you be wise?(AR)
9 Does the one who shaped the ear not hear?
The one who formed the eye not see?(AS)
10 Does the one who guides nations not rebuke?
The one who teaches man not have knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the plans of man;
they are like a fleeting breath.(AT)
IV
12 Blessed the one whom you guide, Lord,(AU)
whom you teach by your instruction,
13 To give rest from evil days,
while a pit is being dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people,
nor abandon his inheritance.(AV)
15 Judgment shall again be just,
and all the upright of heart will follow it.
V
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord were not my help,
I would long have been silent in the grave.(AW)
18 When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, Lord, holds me up.(AX)
19 When cares increase within me,
your comfort gives me joy.
VI
20 Can unjust judges be your allies,
those who create burdens by decree,
21 Those who conspire against the just
and condemn the innocent to death?
22 No, the Lord is my secure height,
my God, my rock of refuge,
23 (AY)Who will turn back their evil upon them(AZ)
and destroy them for their wickedness.
Surely the Lord our God will destroy them!
Psalm 95[n]
A Call to Praise and Obedience
I
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
cry out to the rock of our salvation.(BA)
2 Let us come before him with a song of praise,
joyfully sing out our psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great king over all gods,(BB)
4 Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;
who owns the tops of the mountains.
5 The sea and dry land belong to God,
who made them, formed them by hand.(BC)
II
6 Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
7 For he is our God,
we are the people he shepherds,
the sheep in his hands.(BD)
III
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:(BE)
8 Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the desert.[o]
9 There your ancestors tested me;
they tried me though they had seen my works.(BF)
10 Forty years I loathed that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray;
they do not know my ways.”(BG)
11 Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”[p]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.