Study Desk

A prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, You have been our refuge^[a] in every generation.^(a)

Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God.^(b)

You return mankind to the dust, saying, "Return, descendants of Adam."^(c)

For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.^(d)

You end their lives;^[b] they sleep.^(e) They are like grass that grows in the morning—

in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.^(f)

For we are consumed by Your anger; we are terrified by Your wrath.^(g)

You have set our unjust ways before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.^(h)

For all our days ebb away under Your wrath; we end our years like a sigh.⁽ⁱ⁾

Our 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)

Who understands the power of Your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due You.^(k)

Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.^[e](l)

Lord —how long? Turn and have compassion on Your servants.^(m)

Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.⁽ⁿ⁾

Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.^(o)

Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children.^(p)

Let 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)

The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.^(a)

I will say^[a] to the Lord , "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."^(b)

He Himself will deliver you from the hunter's net,^(c) from the destructive plague.

He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings.^(d) His faithfulness will be a protective shield.^(e)

You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day,^(f)

the plague that stalks in darkness, or the pestilence that ravages at noon.^(g)

Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, the pestilence will not reach you.^(h)

You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.⁽ⁱ⁾

Because you have made the Lord —my refuge,^(j) the Most High—your dwelling place,^(k)

no harm will come to you; no plague will come near your tent.^(l)

For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.^(m)

They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.⁽ⁿ⁾

You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.^(o)

Because he is lovingly devoted to Me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows My name.^(p)

When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor.^(q)

I will satisfy him with a long life^(r) and show him My salvation.^(s)

A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise Yahweh, to sing praise to Your name, Most High,^(a)

to declare Your faithful love in the morning and Your faithfulness at night,^(b)

with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre.^(c)

For You have made me rejoice, Lord , by what You have done; I will shout for joy because of the works of Your hands.^(d)

How magnificent are Your works, Lord , how profound Your thoughts!^(e)

A stupid person does not know, a fool does not understand this:^(f)

though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be eternally destroyed.^(g)

But You, Lord , are exalted forever.^(h)

For indeed, Lord , Your enemies— indeed, Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.⁽ⁱ⁾

You have lifted up my horn^(j) like that of a wild ox; I have been anointed^[a] with oil.^(k)

My eyes look down on my enemies; my ears hear evildoers when they attack me.^(l)

The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.^(m)

Planted in the house of the Lord , they thrive in the courts of our God.⁽ⁿ⁾

They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green,^(o)

to declare: "The Lord is just; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."^(p)

The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.^(a)

Your throne has been established from the beginning;^[a] You are from eternity.^(b)

The floods have lifted up, Lord , the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves.^(c)

Greater than the roar of many waters— the mighty breakers of the sea— the Lord on high is majestic.^(d)

Lord , Your testimonies are completely reliable;^(e) holiness is the beauty of^[b] Your house for all the days to come.^(f)

Lord , God of vengeance— God of vengeance, appear.^(a)

Rise up, Judge of the earth; repay the proud what they deserve.^(b)

Lord , how long will the wicked— how long will the wicked gloat?^(c)

They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.^(d)

Lord , they crush Your people; they afflict Your heritage.^(e)

They kill the widow and the foreigner and murder the fatherless.^(f)

They say, "The Lord doesn't see it. The God of Jacob doesn't pay attention."^(g)

Pay attention, you stupid people! Fools, when will you be wise?^(h)

Can the One who shaped the ear not hear, the One who formed the eye not see?⁽ⁱ⁾

The One who instructs nations, the One who teaches man knowledge— does He not discipline?^(j)

The Lord knows man's thoughts; they are meaningless.^(k)

Lord , happy is the man You discipline and teach from Your law^(l)

to give him relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked.^(m)

The Lord will not forsake His people or abandon His heritage,⁽ⁿ⁾

for justice will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow^[a] it.^(o)

Who stands up for me against the wicked? Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?^(p)

If the Lord had not been my helper, I would soon rest in the silence of death.^(q)

If I say, "My foot is slipping," Your faithful love will support me, Lord .^(r)

When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.^(s)

Can a corrupt throne— one that creates trouble by law— become Your ally?^(t)

They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.^(u)

But the Lord is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection.^(v)

He will pay them back for their sins and destroy them for their evil. The Lord our God will destroy them.^(w)

Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord , shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!^(a)

Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.^(b)

For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.^(c)

The depths of the earth are in His hand, and the mountain peaks are His.^(d)

The sea is His; He made it. His hands formed the dry land.^(e)

Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.^(f)

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care.^[a](g) Today, if you hear His voice:^(h)

Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness⁽ⁱ⁾

where your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they had seen what I did.^(j)

For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray; they do not know My ways."^(k)

So I swore in My anger, "They will not enter My rest."^(l)