Psalm 1; Psalm 42; Psalm 73; Psalm 90

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Psalm 1

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Blessed is the man1

who awalks not in bthe counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in cthe way of sinners,

nor dsits in ethe seat of fscoffers;

but his gdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,

and on his hlaw he meditates day and night.

He is like ia tree

planted by jstreams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its kleaf does not wither.

lIn all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like mchaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked nwill not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in othe congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord pknows qthe way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.


Psalm 42

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of sthe Sons of Korah.

tAs a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

uMy soul thirsts for God,

for vthe living God.

When shall I come and wappear before God?2

xMy tears have been my food

day and night,

ywhile they say to me all the day long,

Where is your God?

These things I remember,

as I zpour out my soul:

ahow I would go bwith the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

ca multitude keeping festival.

dWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you ein turmoil within me?

fHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation3 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I gremember you

hfrom the land of Jordan and of iHermon,

from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

jall your breakers and your kwaves

have gone over me.

By day the Lord lcommands his steadfast love,

and at mnight his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, nmy rock:

Why have you forgotten me?

oWhy do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

10  As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

pwhile they say to me all the day long,

Where is your God?

11  qWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.


Psalm 73

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of bAsaph.

Truly God is good to cIsrael,

to those who are dpure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

eFor I was fenvious of the arrogant

when I saw the gprosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not hstricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is itheir necklace;

violence covers them as ja garment.

Their keyes swell out through fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and lspeak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

10  Therefore his people turn back to them,

and find mno fault in them.1

11  And they say, nHow can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?

12  Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they oincrease in riches.

13  All in vain have I pkept my heart clean

and qwashed my hands in innocence.

14  For all the day long I have been hstricken

and rrebuked severy morning.

15  If I had said, I will speak thus,

I would have betrayed tthe generation of your children.

16  But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me ua wearisome task,

17  until I went into vthe sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their wend.

18  Truly you set them in xslippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19  How they are destroyed yin a moment,

swept away utterly by zterrors!

20  Like aa dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when byou rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

21  When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22  I was cbrutish and ignorant;

I was like da beast toward you.

23  Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you ehold my right hand.

24  You fguide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will greceive me to glory.

25  hWhom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26  iMy flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is jthe strength2 of my heart and my kportion lforever.

27  For behold, those who are mfar from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is nunfaithful to you.

28  But for me it is good to obe near God;

I have made the Lord God my prefuge,

that I may qtell of all your works.


Psalm 90

Book Four

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A sPrayer of Moses, the tman of God.

Lord, you have been our udwelling place1

in all generations.

vBefore the wmountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

xfrom everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You return man to dust

and say, yReturn, zO children of man!2

For aa thousand years in your sight

are but as byesterday when it is past,

or as ca watch in the night.

You dsweep them away as with a flood; they are like ea dream,

like fgrass that is renewed in the morning:

in ithe morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it jfades and kwithers.

For we are brought to an end by your anger;

by your wrath we are dismayed.

You have lset our iniquities before you,

our msecret sins in the light of your presence.

For all our days pass away under your wrath;

we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10  The years of our life are seventy,

or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their span3 is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11  Who considers the power of your anger,

and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12  nSo teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13  oReturn, O Lord! pHow long?

Have qpity on your servants!

14  Satisfy us in the smorning with your steadfast love,

that we may trejoice and be glad all our days.

15  Make us glad for as many days as you have uafflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16  Let your vwork be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

17  Let the xfavor4 of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish ythe work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!