Psalm 90–92

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^f like a sigh.

¹⁰The years of our life are threescore and ten,

or even by reason of strength fourscore;

yet their span^g 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 meⁱ 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.