“The Lord is kind! He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial. You Yourself are from the everlasting past. The floods have risen up, O Lord. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves.
But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore – the Lord above is mightier than these! Your royal laws cannot be changed. Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever. (NLT)
Tho the author of this Psalm is unknown, it does follow the Prayer of Moses (Psalm 90).
“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor for protection. (vv. 1-4) NLT
“If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near our home. For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. ” (vv. 9-12) NLT
“The Lord says, “”I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation.”” (vv. 14-16) NLT
“Lord, through all the generations You have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, You are God.
You turn people back to dust, saying ‘Return to dust, you mortals!’ For You a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. You sweep away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered. We wither beneath Your anger; we are overwhelmed by Your fury. You spread our our sins before You – our secret sins – You see them all. We live our lives beneath your wrath, spending our years with a groan.
Seventy 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. Who can comprehend the power of Your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear You deserve. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so we may grow in wisdom.
O Lord, come back to us! How long will You delay? Take pity on Your servants! Satisfy us each morning with Your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end or our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good. Let us, Your servants see Your work again; let our children see Your glory. And may the Lord our God show us His approval and make our efforts successful. Yes make our efforts successful!’ (Psalm 90 – NLT)
I used to think that all the chapters in the book of Psalms were written by David. When in fact, quite a few of the chapters are written by others. Psalm 89 is written by Ethan, the Esrahite. Some Bible scholars think he might have been one of the musicians in the court.
“I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is an enduring as the heavens.” (vv 1-2) NLT
“All heaven will praise Your great wonders, Lord; myriads of angels will praise You for Your faithfulness. For who in all heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord? The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround His throne. O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as You, O Lord? You are entirely faithful.” (vv. 5-8) NLT
“Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of Your presence, Lord They rejoice all day long in Your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness. Your are their glorious strength. It pleases You to make us Strong.”(vv. 15-17) NLT
“Praise the Lord forever! Amen and amen!” (v. 52) NLT
“Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer, answer me, for I need Your help. Protect me, for I am devoted to You. Save me, for I serve You and trust You. You are my God. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on You constantly. Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to You. O Lord, You are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help. Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord; hear my urgent cry. I will call on You whenever I am in trouble, and You will answer me.” (vv. 1-7) NLT
“Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to Your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor You. With all my heart I will praise You, O Lord, my God. I will give glory to Your name forever, for Your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.” (vv. 11-13) NLT
“But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Look down and have mercy on me. Give Your strength to Your servant; save me, the son of Your servant. Send me a sign of Your favor. Then those who hate me will be put to shame, for You, O Lord, help and comfort me.” (vv 15-17) NLT
“Lord, you poured out blessings on you land! You restored the fortunes of Israel. You forgave the guilt of Your people- yes, You covered all their sins. You held back Your fury. You kept back Your blazing anger.
Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. Will You be angry with us always? Will You prolong Your wrath to all generations? Won’t You revive us again, so Your people can rejoice in You? Show us Your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation.
Listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for He speaks peace to His faithful people. But let them not return to other foolish ways. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, so our land will be filled with His glory.
Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace, have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord pours down His blessings. Our land will yield ts bountiful harvest. Righteousness goes as a herald before Him, preparing the way for His steps.”
“How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, today and soul, I will shout joyfully the living God.” (vv. 1-2) NLT
“A single day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live in the homes of the wicked. For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He give us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in You.” (vv. 10-12) NLT
“O my people, listen to my instructions. Open you ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past- stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about glorious deeds of the Lord, about His power and His mighty wonders.
For He issued His laws to Jacob; He gave His instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them – even the children not yet born – and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands.”
This is a psalm of Asaph (a musician on the Temple)
In the beginning of Psalm 73, Asaph envies prosperity of those who were wicked. He envies their lives that seemed to not be troubled or or have problems. He goes on to say they are like “fat cats” who have everything their heart could wish for. (v.7) NLT
Then Asap figures it out. “So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into Your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, You put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. When You arise, O Lord, You will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.
Then I realized why my heart was bitter and was only torn up inside . I was so foolish and ignorant – I must have seemed like a senseless animal to You. Yet still I belong to You: You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, leading to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but You? Desire You more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.
Those who desert Him will perish, for You destroy those who abandon You. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do.” (vv. 16-28) NLT
“May God be merciful and bless us. May His face smile with favor on us.
May Your ways be known throughout the earth, Your saving power among people everywhere. May the nations praise You, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise You. Let the whole world sing for joy, because You govern the nations with justice and guide the people of the whole world.
May the nations praise You, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise You. Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God will richly bless us. Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear Him” (NLT)
