Psalms, Book IV (90-106)
Back to Psalms 73-89 or Psalms or Markings
Forward to Psalms 107-150
Alice Marsh, “Letter to the Class of 1941,” Esparto High School Yearbook
“Letter to the Class of 1941”
Our wish for you in these troubled times, is that you may find a rhythm to fit your life and that you may keep a steady beat—may keep serene and self-controlled and purposeful. Keep serene, for worry saps the strength of mind and body. Keep self-control, for anger cripples the spirit. Keep a purpose ever in mind. Never give up. Lives of all men who have won a place in the world are witness to success-crowned persistence. Do now what is to be done.
There is no yesterday, with its vain regrets, nor yet a tomorrow, with its uncertainties; there is only today, and “It’s later than you think.” Fill each today, each minute and each hour full of courage, honor, kindness, determination. Remember that each minute and each hour of each today is yours to use only once. Do not attempt to repair a broken day. It can never be used again.
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 35
Ivan Steiger, Ivan Steiger Sees the Bible, p. 81-82
Imaging the Word, Vol. 3, p. 54
4 2 Peter 3:8
3-6 Psalm 103:14-15
5-7 Isaiah 40:6-7
12 Ephesians 5:15-16
14 Isaiah 55:2
16 John 9:3
1-2 Wendell Berry, “1989 – VIII,” This Day, p. 95
“1989 - VIII”
3-6 Timothy Beal, When Time is Short, p. 94
When Time is Short
Within this tradition of ecotheological poetics, the land is not to be treated as a matter of entitlement or property. It is imagined as a member of creation, a subject of verbs—drinking, giving, resting, mourning, sometimes staggering, sometimes vomiting. God looked after it before the Israelites came to dwell in it (Deuteronomy 11:12). The land was there before humans lived on it and will be there after they are gone.
10 Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace, p. 36
Amazing Grace
This sort of detachment is neither passive nor remote but paradoxically is fully engaged with the world. … It does not mean “being above it all,” but recognizes that one shares in a common human lot—“Our span is seventy years, or eighty for those who are strong, and most of these are emptiness and pain” (Ps. 90:10, Grail). It is the sort of prayer that can absorb all manner of pain, and transform it into hope.
10 Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 229
14 John Donne, Classics of Western Spirituality, p. 199-217
17 William of St. Thierry, quoted in Sharing the Darkness, p. 122
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.
3 Thou turnest man back to the dust,
and sayest, “Turn back, O children of men!”
4 For a thousand years in thy sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
5 Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream,
like grass which is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are consumed by thy anger;
by thy wrath we are overwhelmed.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,
our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
9 For all our days pass away under thy wrath,
our years come to an end like a sigh.
10 The 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.
11 Who considers the power of thy anger,
and thy wrath according to the fear of thee?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on thy servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad as many days as thou hast afflicted us,
and as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let thy work be manifest to thy servants,
and thy glorious power to their children.
17 Let 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.
11-12 Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10-11
13 Luke 10:19
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,
who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand;
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge,
the Most High your habitation, 10 no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will give his angels charge of you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
and show him my salvation.
12-14 Matthew 7:20; Psalm 1:3
9 Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 96
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to thy name, O Most High;
2 to declare thy steadfast love in the morning,
and thy faithfulness by night,
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4 For thou, O LORD, hast made me glad by thy work;
at the works of thy hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are thy works, O LORD!
Thy thoughts are very deep!
6 The dull man cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
7 that, though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever,
8 but thou, O LORD, art on high for ever.
9 For, lo, thy enemies, O LORD,
for, lo, thy enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
10 But thou hast exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
thou hast poured over me fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies,
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD,
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They still bring forth fruit in old age,
they are ever full of sap and green,
15 to show that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
1-2 Matthew 28:18
3 Annie Dillard, For the Time Being, p. 141 f.
For the Time Being
A Hasid was traveling to Miedzyboz to spend the Day of Atonement with the Baal Shem Tov in the prayer house. Nightfall caught him in an open field, and forced him, to his distress, to pray alone. After the holiday “the Baal Shem received him with particular happiness and cordiality. ‘Your praying,’ he said, ‘lifted up all the prayers which were lying stored in that field.’”
1 The 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;
2 thy throne is established from of old;
thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice,
the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty!
5 Thy decrees are very sure;
holiness befits thy house,
O LORD, for evermore.
16 John Wesley, “The Reformation of Manners,” Fifty-Three Sermons, p. 749-768
1 O LORD, thou God of vengeance,
thou God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
render to the proud their deserts!
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words,
they boast, all the evildoers.
5 They crush thy people, O LORD,
and afflict thy heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
7 and they say, “The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who chastens the nations,
does he not chastise?
He who teaches men knowledge,
11 the LORD, knows the thoughts of man,
that they are but a breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O LORD,
and whom thou dost teach out of thy law
13 to give him respite from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the LORD had not been my help,
my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”
thy steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
thy consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with thee,
who frame mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous,
and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the LORD our God will wipe them out.
Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmueller, Biblical Foundations for Mission, p. 118-122
1-11 Psalm 81
7-11 Hebrews 3:7-11; 4:3-11
8-9 Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:2-13
11 Deuteronomy 12:9-10
1 O come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it;
for his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7 For 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!
8 Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who err in heart,
and they do not regard my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my anger
that they should not enter my rest.
4 Psalm 48:2; 145:3
7-9 Psalm 29:1-2
11-13 Flora Slosson Wuellner, Prayer and Our Bodies, p. 115 f.
1 O sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols;
but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the LORD in holy array;
tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy
13 before 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.
10 Romans 12:9
11 Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace, p. 384
1 The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are round about him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and burns up his adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lighten the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
because of thy judgments, O God.
9 For thou, O LORD, art most high over all the earth;
thou art exalted far above all gods.
10 The LORD loves those who hate evil;
he preserves the lives of his saints;
he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!
Ellen F. Davis, “Expository Article,” Interpretation (April 1992), p. 171-175
“Expository Article”
Imaging the Word, Vol. 3, p. 212
7-9 Wendell Berry, “Meditation in the Spring Rain,” Collected Poems, p. 135
7-9 Martin Buber, quoted in Imaging the Word, Vol. 3, p. 214
Imaging the Word
After the [leader’s] death, his disciples came together and talked about the things he had done. When it was Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s turn, he asked them: “Do you know why our master went to the pond every day at dawn and stayed there for a little while before coming home again?” They did not know why. Rabbi Zalman continued: “He was learning the song with which the frogs praise God. It takes a very long time to learn that song.”
A Psalm.
1 O sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
2 The LORD has made known his victory,
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing for joy together
9 before the LORD, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
1 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name!
Holy is he!
4 Mighty King, lover of justice,
thou hast established equity;
thou hast executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Extol the LORD our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his testimonies,
and the statutes that he gave them.
8 O LORD our God, thou didst answer them;
thou wast a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Extol the LORD our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the LORD our God is holy!
A Psalm for the thank offering.
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD is God!
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him, bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
David Rosenberg, A Poet’s Bible, p. 39
1-8 Matthew 5:8
A Psalm of David.
1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice;
to thee, O LORD, I will sing.
2 I will give heed to the way that is blameless.
Oh when wilt thou come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is base.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cleave to me.
4 Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5 Him who slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
The man of haughty looks and arrogant heart
I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.
7 No man who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no man who utters lies
shall continue in my presence.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the LORD.
3-4 Jeremiah 20:9
25-27 Hebrews 1:10-12
Preface Your Word is Fire, p. 70
Your Word is Fire
The Psalmist says:
A prayer of a poor man”—
But the text may also read:
A prayer to a poor man!
Though the treasure houses of the king are full,
they are managed by the king’s officials.
Having nothing to do with all his treasures,
the king himself is like a poor man.
One who comes in search of treasure
will never see the King.
Only one who seeks no riches
who prays as to a poor man
can come before the King himself.
A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to thee!
2 Do not hide thy face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline thy ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!
3 For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is smitten like grass, and withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
my bones cleave to my flesh.
6 I am like a vulture of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places;
7 I lie awake,
I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me,
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread,
and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of thy indignation and anger;
for thou hast taken me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
12 But thou, O LORD, art enthroned for ever;
thy name endures to all generations.
13 Thou wilt arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For thy servants hold her stones dear,
and have pity on her dust.
15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 For the LORD will build up Zion,
he will appear in his glory;
17 he will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and will not despise their supplication.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:
19 that he looked down from his holy height,
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die;
21 that men may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
23 He has broken my strength in mid-course;
he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not hence
in the midst of my days,
thou whose years endure
throughout all generations!”
25 Of old thou didst lay the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They will perish, but thou dost endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Thou changest them like raiment, and they pass away;
27 but thou art the same, and thy years have no end.
28 The children of thy servants shall dwell secure;
their posterity shall be established before thee.
Dom Helder Camara, The Desert is Fertile, p. 9
The Desert is Fertile
Carla De Sola, The Spirit Moves, p. 20
Elizabeth Macklin, “Psalm 103 & Vanity,” The New Yorker (1/23/95), p. 69
“Psalm 103 & Vanity”
“The LORD is full of compassion
and mercy, long suffering
and of great goodness.”
Why aren’t you?
The littlest thing overthrows you
into bad feeling in the
worst way. In the worst way,
or one of them,
as in a dream
a black-brown cancer became
a 3-inch block, without your
having noticed, until too late.
Why won’t you take steps to guard
the lightness of heart
that comes from trying to see straight;
or to make amends, even late.
The railroad bridges’ stone
is allowed to be overgrown.
Is clearing away the ivy
(maintenance!) vanity?
Imaging the Word, Vol. 1, p. 256-259
1-2 Psalm 72:19
8-14 Matthew 7:7-11
8-9 Jeremiah 3:12
8 Exodus 34:6; Psalm 2:11; James 1:19, 5:11
13 Luke 6:36; 2 Corinthians 1:3
14-15 Psalm 90:3-6
15 Job 7:10
17 Luke 1:50
18 Matthew 28:20
19-22 Matthew 6:9-10
1-5 John Donne, “Preserve My Soul,” The Book of Uncommon Prayer, p. 50
“Preserve My Soul”
1 Michel Boutier, Prayers for My Village, p. 77
Prayers for My Village
My God, my Father, I want to bless You from the bottom
of my heart. Let all that is in me bless Your Holy Name!
I am full, my God, above all that I can say. What have I
done for so many blessings? My whole village that thinks
of me, surrounds me with its prayers and its love—
these countless signs that You have multiplied for me.
O my God, yes! Have I not received hundreds and
hundreds of times more than I have left: houses, brothers
and sisters, fathers and mothers!
Let all that is in me bless Your Holy Name.
1 Frederick Buechner, “The Breaking of Silence,” The Magnificent Defeat, p. 127 f.
“The Breaking of Silence”
1 Madeleine L’Engle, The Irrational Season, p. 60 & 108
The Irrational Season
… the circle of blessing is completed only when man blesses God, that God’s blessing does not return to him empty. (p. 60)
Bless the Lord, O my soul, I cry with the psalmist, whose songs, after all these thousand of years, still sing so poignantly for us. O bless his Holy Name, and may he bless each one of us and teach us to bless one another. (p. 108)
1 John O’Donohue, “For Solitude,” To Bless the Space Between Us, p. 112
“For Solitude”
1 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Hymn of the Universe, p. 15, 29
Hymn of the Universe
If the Fire has come down into the heart of the world it is in the last resort to lay hold on me and to absorb me. … What I must do … is to consent to the communion which will enable it to find in me the food it has come, in the last resort, to seek. (p. 29)
The man who is filled with an impassioned love of Jesus hidden in the forces which bring increase to the earth, him the earth will lift up like a mother in the immensity of her arms and will enable him to contemplate the face of God. (p. 30)
14 “Instruction of Amen-Em-Opet,” Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 243
20 Rainer Maria Rilke, “The Angel,” New Poems, p. 82-83
A Psalm of David.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor requite us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
upon those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
hearkening to the voice of his word!
21 Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers that do his will!
22 Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Carlo Carretto, Love is for Living, p. 83-88
Robert F. Morneau, “The Mystery of Nature,” Gift Mystery Calling, p. 45-50
Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, p. 228-230
1-12 H. E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer, p. 114 f.
22-23 Sydney Lea, “Road Agent,” Odd Angles of Heaven, p. 177-180
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, thou art very great!
Thou art clothed with honor and majesty,
2 who coverest thyself with light as with a garment,
who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent,
3 who hast laid the beams of thy chambers on the waters,
who makest the clouds thy chariot,
who ridest on the wings of the wind,
4 who makest the winds thy messengers,
fire and flame thy ministers.
5 Thou didst set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be shaken.
6 Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled;
at the sound of thy thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place which thou didst appoint for them.
9 Thou didst set a bound which they should not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
10 Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13 From thy lofty abode thou waterest the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work.
14 Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon which he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the badgers.
19 Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they get them away
and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works!
In wisdom hast thou made them all;
the earth is full of thy creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with things innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it.
27 These all look to thee,
to give them their food in due season.
28 When thou givest to them,
they gather it up; when thou openest thy hand,
they are filled with good things.
29 When thou hidest thy face, they are dismayed;
when thou takest away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created;
and thou renewest the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the LORD endure for ever,
may the LORD rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Praise the LORD!
8-9 Luke 1:72-73
1 O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
tell of all his wonderful works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
4 Seek the LORD and his strength,
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wonderful works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant which he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he summoned a famine on the land,
and broke every staff of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters,
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass
the word of the LORD tested him.
20 The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house,
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to instruct his princes at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the LORD made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They wrought his signs among them,
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they rebelled against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood,
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning that flashed through their land.
33 He smote their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land,
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He smote all the first-born in their land,
the first issue of all their strength.
37 Then he led forth Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed forth;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations;
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
45 to the end that they should keep his statutes,
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD!
3 Matthew 5:6
4 Luke 23:42
8 Ezekiel 36:22
25 Isaiah 29:24
31 Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3
1 Praise the LORD!
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever!
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD,
or show forth all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O LORD, when thou showest favor to thy people;
help me when thou deliverest them;
5 that I may see the prosperity of thy chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation,
that I may glory with thy heritage.
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider thy wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of thy steadfast love,
but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe,
and delivered them from the power of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
and put God to the test in the desert;
15 he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the company of Abiram.
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a molten image.
20 They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and terrible things by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them —
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would disperse their descendants among the nations,
scattering them over the lands.
28 Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29 they provoked the LORD to anger with their doings,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interposed,
and the plague was stayed.
31 And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
from generation to generation for ever.
32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account;
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke words that were rash.
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
as the LORD commanded them,
35 but they mingled with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and played the harlot in their doings.
40 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes,
and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their distress,
when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered for their sake his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be pitied
by all those who held them captive.
47 Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to thy holy name
and glory in thy praise.
48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the LORD!