Psalm 8

The Lord’s Majestic Name Fills the Earth

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.*8: title Hebrew according to the gittith.

1O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2You have taught children and infants

to tell of your strength,*8:2 Greek version reads to give you praise. Compare Matt 21:16.

silencing your enemies

and all who oppose you.

3When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

the moon and the stars you set in place—

4what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

human beings that you should care for them?*8:4 Hebrew what is man that you should think of him, / the son of man that you should care for him?

5Yet you made them only a little lower than God*8:5a Or Yet you made them only a little lower than the angels; Hebrew reads Yet you made him [i.e., man] a little lower than Elohim.

and crowned them*8:5b Hebrew him [i.e., man]; similarly in 8:6. with glory and honor.

6You gave them charge of everything you made,

putting all things under their authority—

7the flocks and the herds

and all the wild animals,

8the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,

and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Book Four (Psalms 90–106)

Psalm 90

The Brevity of Life

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1Lord, through all the generations

you have been our home!

2Before the mountains were born,

before you gave birth to the earth and the world,

from beginning to end, you are God.

3You turn people back to dust, saying,

“Return to dust, you mortals!”

4For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,

as brief as a few night hours.

5You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.

They are like grass that springs up in the morning.

6In the morning it blooms and flourishes,

but by evening it is dry and withered.

7We wither beneath your anger;

we are overwhelmed by your fury.

8You spread out our sins before you—

our secret sins—and you see them all.

9We live our lives beneath your wrath,

ending our years with a groan.

10Seventy years are given to us!

Some even live to eighty.

But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;

soon they disappear, and we fly away.

11Who can comprehend the power of your anger?

Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.

12Teach us to realize the brevity of life,

so that we may grow in wisdom.

13O Lord, come back to us!

How long will you delay?

Take pity on your servants!

14Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,

so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

15Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!

Replace the evil years with good.

16Let us, your servants, see you work again;

let our children see your glory.

17And may the Lord our God show us his approval

and make our efforts successful.

Yes, make our efforts successful!

Psalm 92

The Godly Will Flourish

A psalm. A song to be sung on the Sabbath Day.

1It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to the Most High.

2It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,

your faithfulness in the evening,

3accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp,

and the melody of a lyre.

4You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me!

I sing for joy because of what you have done.

5O Lord, what great works you do!

And how deep are your thoughts.

6Only a simpleton would not know,

and only a fool would not understand this:

7Though the wicked sprout like weeds

and evildoers flourish,

they will be destroyed forever.

8But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.

9Your enemies, Lord, will surely perish;

all evildoers will be scattered.

10But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.

You have anointed me with the finest oil.

11My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;

my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.

12But the godly will flourish like palm trees

and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

13For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.

They flourish in the courts of our God.

14Even in old age they will still produce fruit;

they will remain vital and green.

15They will declare, “The Lord is just!

He is my rock!

There is no evil in him!”

Psalm 149

The Lord Delights in His People

1Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song.

Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.

2O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.

O people of Jerusalem,*149:2 Hebrew Zion. exult in your King.

3Praise his name with dancing,

accompanied by tambourine and harp.

4For the Lord delights in his people;

he crowns the humble with victory.

5Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.

Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.

6Let the praises of God be in their mouths,

and a sharp sword in their hands—

7to execute vengeance on the nations

and punishment on the peoples,

8to bind their kings with shackles

and their leaders with iron chains,

9to execute the judgment written against them.

This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.

Praise the Lord!