Psalm 90–106

BOOK IV

(Psalms 90–106)

Psalm 90

ETERNAL GOD AND MORTAL MAN

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

¹Lord, you have been our refuge^A

in every generation.^a

²Before the mountains were born,

before you gave birth to the earth and the world,

from eternity to eternity, you are God.^b

³You return mankind to the dust,

saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”^c

⁴For in your sight a thousand years

are like yesterday that passes by,

like a few hours of the night.^d

⁵You end their lives;^B they sleep.^e

They are like grass that grows in the morning—

⁶in the morning it sprouts and grows;

by evening it withers and dries up.^f

⁷For we are consumed by your anger;

we are terrified by your wrath.^g

⁸You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.^h

⁹For all our days ebb away under your wrath;

we end our years like a sigh.ⁱ

¹⁰Our lives last^C seventy years

or, if we are strong, eighty years.

Even the best of them are^D struggle and sorrow;

indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.^j

¹¹Who understands the power of your anger?

Your wrath matches the fear that is due you.^k

¹²Teach us to number our days carefully

so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.^El

¹³Lord—how long?

Turn and have compassion on your servants.^m

¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love

so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.ⁿ

¹⁵Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us,

for as many years as we have seen adversity.^o

¹⁶Let your work be seen by your servants,

and your splendor by their children.^p

¹⁷Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;

establish for us the work of our hands—

establish the work of our hands!^q

Psalm 91

THE PROTECTION OF THE MOST HIGH

¹The one who lives under the protection of the Most High

dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.^r

²I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,

my God in whom I trust:^s

³He himself will rescue you from the bird trap,^t

from the destructive plague.

⁴He will cover you with his feathers;

you will take refuge under his wings.^u

His faithfulness will be a protective shield.^v

⁵You will not fear the terror of the night,

the arrow that flies by day,^w

⁶the plague that stalks in darkness,

or the pestilence that ravages at noon.^x

⁷Though a thousand fall at your side

and ten thousand at your right hand,

the pestilence will not reach you.^y

⁸You will only see it with your eyes

and witness the punishment of the wicked.^z

⁹Because you have made the Lord—my refuge,^aa

the Most High—your dwelling place,^ab

¹⁰no harm will come to you;

no plague will come near your tent.^a

¹¹For he will give his angels orders concerning you,

to protect you in all your ways.^b

¹²They will support you with their hands

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.^c

¹³You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the young lion and the serpent.^d

¹⁴Because he has his heart set on me,

I will deliver him;

I will protect him because he knows my name.^e

¹⁵When he calls out to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble.

I will rescue him and give him honor.^f

¹⁶I will satisfy him with a long life^g

and show him my salvation.^h

Psalm 92

GOD’S LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS

A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.

¹It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praise to your name, Most High,ⁱ

²to declare your faithful love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night,^j

³with a ten-stringed harp^A

and the music of a lyre.^k

⁴For you have made me rejoice, Lord,

by what you have done;

I will shout for joy

because of the works of your hands.^l

⁵How magnificent are your works, Lord,

how profound your thoughts!^m

⁶A stupid person does not know,

a fool does not understand this:ⁿ

⁷though the wicked sprout like grass^*

and all evildoers flourish,

they will be eternally destroyed.^o

⁸But you, Lord, are exalted forever.^p

⁹For indeed, Lord, your enemies—

indeed, your enemies will perish;

all evildoers will be scattered.^q

¹⁰You have lifted up my horn^r

like that of a wild ox;

I have been anointed^B with the finest oil.^s

¹¹My eyes look at my enemies;

when evildoers rise against me,

my ears hear them.^t

¹²The righteous thrive like a palm tree

and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.^u

¹³Planted in the house of the Lord,

they thrive in the courts of our God.^v

¹⁴They will still bear fruit in old age,

healthy and green,^w

¹⁵to declare, “The Lord is just;

he is my rock,

and there is no unrighteousness in him.”^x

Psalm 93

GOD’S ETERNAL REIGN

¹The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty;

the Lord is robed, enveloped in strength.

The world is firmly established;

it cannot be shaken.^y

²Your throne has been established

from the beginning;^C

you are from eternity.^z

³The floods have lifted up, Lord,

the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods lift up their pounding waves.^aa

⁴Greater than the roar of a huge torrent—

the mighty breakers of the sea—

the Lord on high is majestic.^ab

⁵Lord, your testimonies are completely reliable;^ac

holiness adorns your house

for all the days to come.^ad

Psalm 94

THE JUST JUDGE

¹Lord, God of vengeance—

God of vengeance, shine!^ae

²Rise up, Judge of the earth;

repay the proud what they deserve.^af

³Lord, how long will the wicked—

how long will the wicked celebrate?^ag

⁴They pour out arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.^ah

⁵Lord, they crush your people;

they oppress your heritage.^a

⁶They kill the widow and the resident alien

and murder the fatherless.^b

⁷They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.

The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”^c

⁸Pay attention, you stupid people!

Fools, when will you be wise?^d

⁹Can the one who shaped the ear not hear,

the one who formed the eye not see?^e

¹⁰The one who instructs nations,

the one who teaches mankind knowledge—

does he not discipline?^f

¹¹The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind;

they are futile.^g

¹²Lord, how happy is anyone you discipline

and teach from your law^h

¹³to give him relief from troubled times

until a pit is dug for the wicked.ⁱ

¹⁴The Lord will not leave his people

or abandon his heritage,^j

¹⁵for the administration of justice will again be righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow^A it.^k

¹⁶Who stands up for me against the wicked?

Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?^l

¹⁷If the Lord had not been my helper,

I would soon rest in the silence of death.^m

¹⁸If I say, “My foot is slipping,”

your faithful love will support me, Lord.ⁿ

¹⁹When I am filled with cares,

your comfort brings me joy.^o

²⁰Can a corrupt throne be your ally,

a throne that makes evil laws?^p

²¹They band together against the life of the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death.^q

²²But the Lord is my refuge;

my God is the rock of my protection.^r

²³He will pay them back for their sins

and destroy them for their evil.

The Lord our God will destroy them.^s

Psalm 95

WORSHIP AND WARNING

¹Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord,

shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!^t

²Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving;

let’s shout triumphantly to him in song.^u

³For the Lord is a great God,

a great King above all gods.^v

⁴The depths of the earth are in his hand,

and the mountain peaks are his.^w

⁵The sea is his; he made it.

His hands formed the dry land.^x

⁶Come, let’s worship and bow down;

let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.^y

⁷For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

the sheep under his care.^Az

Today, if you hear his voice:^aa

⁸Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,

as on that day at Massah in the wilderness^ab

⁹where your ancestors tested me;

they tried me, though they had seen what I did.^ac

¹⁰For forty years I was disgusted with that generation;

I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;

they do not know my ways.”^ad

¹¹So I swore in my anger,

“They will not enter my rest.”^ae

Psalm 96^af

KING OF THE EARTH

¹Sing a new song to the Lord;

let the whole earth sing to the Lord.^ag

²Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

proclaim his salvation from day to day.^ah

³Declare his glory among the nations,

his wondrous works among all peoples.^a

⁴For the Lord is great and is highly praised;

he is feared above all gods.^b

⁵For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.^c

⁶Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.^d

⁷Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.^e

⁸Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;^f

bring an offering and enter his courts.^g

⁹Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;^h

let the whole earth tremble before him.ⁱ

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.^j

The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.^k

He judges the peoples fairly.”^l

¹¹Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;

let the sea and all that fills it resound.^m

¹²Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.

Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joyⁿ

¹³before the Lord, for he is coming—

for he is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness

and the peoples with his faithfulness.^o

Psalm 97

THE MAJESTIC KING

¹The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice;

let the many coasts and islands be glad.^p

²Clouds and total darkness surround him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.^q

³Fire goes before him

and burns up his foes on every side.^r

⁴His lightning lights up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.^s

⁵The mountains melt like wax

at the presence of the Lord—

at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.^t

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness;^u

all the peoples see his glory.^v

⁷All who serve carved images,

those who boast in worthless idols, will be put to shame.^w

All the gods must worship him.^x

⁸Zion hears and is glad,

Judah’s villages^B rejoice

because of your judgments, Lord.^y

⁹For you, Lord,

are the Most High over the whole earth;

you are exalted above all the gods.^z

¹⁰You who love the Lord, hate evil!^aa

He protects the lives of his faithful ones;^ab

he rescues them from the power of the wicked.^ac

¹¹Light dawns^D for…