Book Four
From Everlasting to Everlasting
A sPrayer of Moses, the tman of God.
1 Lord, you have been our udwelling place1
in all generations.
2 vBefore the wmountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
xfrom everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, y“Return, zO children of man!”2
4 For aa thousand years in your sight
are but as byesterday when it is past,
or as ca watch in the night.
5 You dsweep them away as with a flood; they are like ea dream,
like fgrass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in ithe morning it flourishes and is renewed;
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have lset our iniquities before you,
our msecret sins in the light of your presence.
9 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!
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have psearched me and known me!
2 You qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;
you rdiscern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, syou know it altogether.
5 You them me in, behind and before,
and ulay your hand upon me.
6 vSuch knowledge is wtoo wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where yshall I flee from your presence?
8 zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!
aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall blead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 deven the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you eformed my inward parts;
you fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.1
gWonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 hMy frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in ithe depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your jbook were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your kthoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 lIf I would count them, they are more than mthe sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would nslay the wicked, O God!
O omen of blood, pdepart from me!
20 They qspeak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies rtake your name in vain.2
21 sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not tloathe those who urise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
vTry me and know my thoughts!3
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
