Psalm 90–106

THE PSALMS: BOOK 4

PSALM 90

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

¹Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place

in all generations.

²Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.

³Thou turnest man back to the dust,

and sayest, “Turn back, O children of men!”

⁴For a thousand years in thy sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night.

⁵Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream,

like grass which is renewed in the morning:

⁶in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

⁷For we are consumed by thy anger;

by thy wrath we are overwhelmed.

⁸Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,

our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

⁹For all our days pass away under thy wrath,

our years come to an end like a sigh.

¹⁰The years of our life are threescore and ten,

or even by reason of strength fourscore;

yet their span is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

¹¹Who considers the power of thy anger,

and thy wrath according to the fear of thee?

¹²So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

¹³Return, O Lord! How long?

Have pity on thy servants!

¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

¹⁵Make us glad as many days as thou hast afflicted us,

and as many years as we have seen evil.

¹⁶Let thy work be manifest to thy servants,

and thy glorious power to their children.

¹⁷Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish thou the work of our hands upon us,

yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

PSALM 91

¹He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,

who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,

²will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;

my God, in whom I trust.”

³For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence;

⁴he will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

⁵You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand;

but it will not come near you.

⁸You will only look with your eyes

and see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹Because you have made the Lord your refuge,

the Most High your habitation,

¹⁰no evil shall befall you,

no scourge come near your tent.

¹¹For he will give his angels charge of you

to guard you in all your ways.

¹²On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you dash your foot against a stone.

¹³You will tread on the lion and the adder,

the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

¹⁴Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

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

I will be with him in trouble,

I will rescue him and honor him.

¹⁶With long life I will satisfy him,

and show him my salvation.

PSALM 92

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

¹It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to thy name, O Most High;

²to declare thy steadfast love in the morning,

and thy faithfulness by night,

³to the music of the lute and the harp,

to the melody of the lyre.

⁴For thou, O Lord, hast made me glad by thy work;

at the works of thy hands I sing for joy.

⁵How great are thy works, O Lord!

Thy thoughts are very deep!

⁶The dull man cannot know,

the stupid cannot understand this:

⁷that, though the wicked sprout like grass

and all evildoers flourish,

they are doomed to destruction for ever,

⁸but thou, O Lord, art on high for ever.

⁹For, lo, thy enemies, O Lord,

for, lo, thy enemies shall perish;

all evildoers shall be scattered.

¹⁰But thou hast exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;

thou hast poured over me fresh oil.

¹¹My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies,

my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

¹²The righteous flourish like the palm tree,

and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³They are planted in the house of the Lord,

they flourish in the courts of our God.

¹⁴They still bring forth fruit in old age,

they are ever full of sap and green,

¹⁵to show that the Lord is upright;

he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

PSALM 93

¹The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;

the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.

Yea, the world is established; it shall never be moved;

²thy throne is established from of old;

thou art from everlasting.

³The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

the floods have lifted up their voice,

the floods lift up their roaring.

⁴Mightier than the thunders of many waters,

mightier than the waves of the sea,

the Lord on high is mighty!

⁵Thy decrees are very sure;

holiness befits thy house,

O Lord, for evermore.

PSALM 94

¹O Lord, thou God of vengeance,

thou God of vengeance, shine forth!

²Rise up, O judge of the earth;

render to the proud their deserts!

³O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

⁴They pour out their arrogant words,

they boast, all the evildoers.

⁵They crush thy people, O Lord,

and afflict thy heritage.

⁶They slay the widow and the sojourner,

and murder the fatherless;

⁷and they say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

⁸Understand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

⁹He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

¹⁰He who chastens the nations, does he not chastise?

He who teaches men knowledge,

¹¹the Lord, knows the thoughts of man,

that they are but a breath.

¹²Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O Lord,

and whom thou dost teach out of thy law

¹³to give him respite from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴For the Lord will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

¹⁵for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

¹⁷If the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.

¹⁸When I thought, “My foot slips,”

thy steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

¹⁹When the cares of my heart are many,

thy consolations cheer my soul.

²⁰Can wicked rulers be allied with thee,

who frame mischief by statute?

²¹They band together against the life of the righteous,

and condemn the innocent to death.

²²But the Lord has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

²³He will bring back on them their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.

PSALM 95

¹O come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

²Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

³For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

⁵The sea is his, for he made it;

for his hands formed the dry land.

⁶O come, let us worship and bow down,

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

⁷For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would hearken to his voice!

⁸Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

⁹when your fathers tested me,

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

¹⁰For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people who err in heart,

and they do not regard my ways.”

¹¹Therefore I swore in my anger

that they should not enter my rest.

PSALM 96

¹O sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth!

²Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

³Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

⁴For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be feared above all gods.

⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols;

but the Lord made the heavens.

⁶Honor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

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

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

⁸Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts!

⁹Worship the Lord in holy array;

tremble before him, all the earth!

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.”

¹¹Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

¹²let the field exult, and everything in it!

Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy

¹³before the Lord, for he comes,

for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with his truth.

PSALM 97

¹The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice;

let the many coastlands be glad!

²Clouds and thick darkness are round about him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³Fire goes before him,

and burns up his adversaries round about.

⁴His lightnings lighten the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

⁵The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness;

and all the peoples behold his glory.

⁷All worshipers of images are put to shame,

who make their boast in worthless idols;

all gods bow down before him.

⁸Zion hears and is glad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of thy judgments, O God.

⁹For thou, O Lord, art most high over all the earth;

thou art exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰The Lord loves those who hate evil;

he preserves the lives of his saints;

he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹Light dawns for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

¹²Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and give thanks to his holy name!

PSALM 98

A Psalm.

¹O sing to the Lord a new…