OUR COLOURED TEXT

Our text is coloured to highlight Deity, promises, blessings, prophecies, praise, salvation, judgment and emphasis.  This is to encourage an analytical eye while studying the psalms.

 

COLOUR  SCHEME:

ORANGE for Names, titles & attributes of God.      

GREEN for blessings, promises & answered prayer.    

RED for salvation & deliverance.    

MAJENTA for worship, praise & thanksgiving. 

PURPLE for Messianic passages.    

DARK BLUE for prophetic passages. 

BROWN for warnings, discipline, & judgments,

BLUE for general text or emphasis.    

 

Suggested memory verses - the verse number is indicated in red.

 

PSALM 90

Teach Us to Number Our Days

In this oldest of all psalms, Moses acknowledges that Yahweh is the Eternal One;

that man’s lifespan is short, frail and sinful; and prays for

God’s favour so that His people may be glad and sing for joy.

A Prayer of Moses the Man of God.

 

1     YHWH, You have been our dwelling-place

       and our refuge in all generations.

2     Before the mountains were born,

       or You had formed the earth and the world,

       even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

 

3     You turn man back into dust,

       and say, 'Return, O children of men.'

4     For a thousand years in Your sight

       are like yesterday that has past,

       or as a watch in the night.

5     You have swept them away like a flood,

       they are in a sleep of death.

       Like grass which springs up in the morning;

6     in the morning it flourishes, and springs up;

       in the evening it is cut down and withers.

 

7     For we have been consumed by Your anger,

       and by Your wrath we have been terrified.

8     You have placed our iniquities before You,

       our secret sins in the light of Your Presence.

9     For all our days have passed away in Your fury;

       we have finished our years like a sigh.

10  The days of our life are seventy years,

       or if due to strength, eighty years,

       yet their span is but toil and sorrow;

       for soon it is cut off, and we fly away.

11  Who understands the power of Your anger,

       and Your fury, according to the awe of You?

12  So teach us to number our days,

       that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

 

13  Return, O YHWH! How long will it be?

       And have compassion on Your servants.

14  Satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,

       that we may sing and rejoice all our days.

15  Cause us to be glad according to the days You have afflicted us,

       and the years we have seen evil.

16  Reveal Your work to Your servants,

       and Your majesty to their children.

17  And let the beauty of Adonai our God be upon us;

       and establish the work of our hands for us;

       yes, establish the work of our hands.   r

 

 

PSALM 91

In the Shadow of ELYON EL SHADDAI

This psalm outlines the security of the one who trusts in Yahweh,

the Almighty, the Most High. It gives assurance of protection and deliverance.

 

1     He who dwells in the Secret Place of Elyon, the Most High,

       abides under the shadow of the Almighty - El Shaddai.

2     He says of YHWH, 'My Refuge and my Fortress,

       my Elohim! I trust in Him!'

3     For He delivers you from the snare of a trapper,

       and from the destructive pestilence.

4     He covers you with His feathers,

       and under His wings you take refuge.

       His truth is a shield and armour,

5     so that you are not afraid of the terror by night,

       nor of the arrow that flies by day;

6     nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

       nor of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

7     A thousand may fall at your side,

       and ten thousand at your right hand,

       but it does not come near you.

8     But with your eyes you look

       and see the recompense of the wicked.

 

9     Because you have made YHWH -

       my Refuge, ELYON, the Most High -   your dwelling place,

10  no evil will befall you,

       nor will any plague come near your dwelling.

11  ^For He will give His angels charge concerning you

       to guard you in all your ways.

12  They will bear you up in their hands,

       lest you dash your foot against a stone.^  [Matt 4:6]

13  You will tread upon the lion and cobra,

       the young lion and dragon - the serpent -

       you will trample down.

 

14  ^Because he has delighted in Me, I also deliver him;

       I set him on high, because he has known My Name.

15  He calls upon Me, and I answer Him;

       I am with Him in trouble;

       I rescue Him, and honour him.^   [Matt 27:43]

16  With long life I satisfy him,

       and show him My salvation.   r

 

 

PSALM 92

Give Thanks and Sing Praises to YHWH

The psalm begins with praise to the Most High for His great works,

and ends with the contrast between the wicked who will perish,

and the righteous who will flourish even in old age.

A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath Day

 

1     It is good to give thanks to YHWH,

       and to sing praises to Your Name, O Elyon, Most High;

2     To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,

       and Your faithfulness each night,

3     with the ten-stringed instrument, with the harp,

       and the melody of the lyre.

4     For You, O YHWH, have made me glad by Your work.

       I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

 

5     How great are Your works, O YHWH!

       You thoughts are very deep.

6     A senseless man does not know;

       and a fool does not understand this:

7     when the wicked spring up like grass,

       and all evildoers flourish,

       it is only that they might be destroyed forever.

8     But You, O YHWH, are on high forever.

9     For look! Your enemies, O YHWH,

       look, Your enemies perish!

       All evildoers are scattered.

 

10  But You lift up my horn like that of a wild ox;

       I have been anointed with fresh oil.

11  My eye looks upon my enemies,

       my ears hear the evildoers who rise up against me.

12  The righteous man flourishes like the palm tree,

       he grows like a cedar in Lebanon.

13  Those who are planted in the House of YHWH,

       flourish in the courts of our God.

14  They still yield fruit in old age;

       they are green and flourishing,

15  to declare that YHWH is upright;

       He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.   r

 

 

PSALM 93

The MAJESTY of YHWH

The psalmist here anticipates the millennial kingdom of God,

and exults in the majesty and sovereignty of Yahweh the everlasting King.

 

1     YHWH reigns! He is robed in majesty;

       YHWH has clothed and armed Himself with strength;

       Indeed, the world is firmly established,

       it will not be moved.

2     Your throne is established from antiquity;

       You are from all eternity.

 

3     The floods have lifted up, O YHWH,

       the floods have lifted up their voice;

       the floods lift up their pounding waves.

4     More than the sounds of many waters,

       more than the mighty breakers of the sea,

       YHWH on high is mighty.

5     Your testimonies are very firm and trustworthy;

       holiness adorns Your House, O YHWH, forever.   r

 

 

PSALM 94

Elohim of Vengeance

This is a psalm of lament outlines the ruthlessness of the wicked,

and reminds them that they are a mere breath.  The writer expresses

his confidence in both the lovingkindness, and the justice of God.

 

1     O YHWH, God of vengeance;

       God of vengeance, shine forth!

2     Rise up, O Judge of the earth;

       render punishment to the proud.

3     How long will the wicked, O YHWH,

       how long will the wicked be jubilant?

4     They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly;

       all the evil-doers boast in themselves.

5     They crush Your people, O YHWH,

       and they oppress Your inheritance.

6     They slay the widow and the stranger,

       and murder the fatherless.

7     And they say, 'Yah does not see,

       and the God of Jacob does not pay heed.'

 

8     Take heed, you senseless among the people;

       when will you become wise, you foolish ones?

9     He who planted the ear, does He not hear?

       He who formed the eye, does He not see?

10  He who chastens the nations, will He not reprove -

       He who teaches man knowledge?

11  YHWH knows the thoughts of man,

       that they are a mere breath.

 

12  Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Yah,

       and teach out of Your Torah;

13  that You may grant him relief from the days of adversity,

       until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14  For YHWH does not abandon His people,

       nor does He forsake His inheritance.

15  For judgment will again be founded on righteousness;

       and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16  Who will stand up for me against evildoers?

       Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?

 

17  If YHWH had not been my Help,

       my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

18  If I should say, 'My foot has slipped.'

       Your lovingkindness, O YHWH, will hold me up.

19  When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,

       Your consolation brings joy to my soul.

20  Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,

       one which devises mischief by decree?

21  They band themselves together against the life of the righteous,

       and condemn innocent blood.

 

22  But YHWH has been my Stronghold - my Defence,

       and my God - the Rock of my Refuge.

23  And He brings back their own wickedness upon them,

       and cuts them off in their wickedness.

       YHWH our God cuts them off!    r

 

 

PSALM 95

Kneel Before YHWH Our Maker

This psalm calls us to praise and worship Yahweh who is above all “gods.”

He is a great King, a great God, our Maker and our Shepherd.

It ends with a warning of the unbelief of the wilderness generation.

 

1     Come, let us sing to YHWH.

       Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

2     Let us come before His Presence with thanksgiving.

       Let us shout to Him with psalms.

3     For YHWH is a great God,

       and a great King above all gods.

       In His hand are the deep places of the earth;

       the mountain peaks are His also.

5     The sea is His, for He made it;

       and His hands formed the dry land.

 

6     Come, let us bow down in worship.

       Let us kneel before YHWH our Maker.

7     For He is our Elohim,

       and we are the people of His pasture,

       and the sheep of His hand.

 

       Today, if you will hear His voice,

8     do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,*    *strife

       as in the day of Massah* in the wilderness   *temptation

9     when your fathers tested Me, proved Me,

       and saw My work.

10  For forty years I was wearied and grieved because of that generation,

       and I said, ‘They are a people who go astray in their hearts,

       and they do not know My ways.’

11  Therefore I swore in My anger,

       They shall not enter into My rest.   r

 

 

PSALM 96

Sing to YHWH a New Song! Declare His Glory!

This psalm exhorts the whole earth to praise and worship the LORD, Yahweh;

to proclaim His salvation and to declare His glory. Yahweh reigns!

It looks forward to His coming, as Messiah,

to judge the earth and to rule the earth.

 

1     Sing to YHWH a new song;

       sing to YHWH, all the earth;

2     sing to YHWH, bless His Name;

       proclaim His salvation from day to day.

3     Tell of His glory among the nations,

       His wonders among all the peoples.

4     For great is YHWH, and greatly to be praised;

       He is to be feared above all gods.

5     For all the gods of the peoples are nonentities - idols,

       but YHWH made the heavens.

6     Splendour and majesty are before Him,

       strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

 

7     Ascribe to YHWH, O families of the peoples,

       ascribe to YHWH glory and strength.

8     Ascribe to YHWH the glory due to His Name.

       Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

9     Bow down and worship YHWH in the beauty of holiness.

       Tremble before Him, all the earth.

10  Say among the nations, 'YHWH reigns!

       The world also is firmly established, immovable.

       He judges the peoples with equity.'

 

11  Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

       Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12  Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.

       Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

13  before YHWH, for He is coming;

       for He is coming to judge the earth!

       He will judge the world in righteousness,

       and the peoples in His faithfulness.  r

 

 

PSALM 97     

Rejoice, YHWH Reigns!

The psalms gives a description of the awesome Presence and Glory of Yahweh,

the Most High over all the earth.

All mighty ones (“gods”) are commended to bow down before Him.

Those who love Yahweh are told to hate evil, and to be glad in Him.

 

1     YHWH reigns; the earth is joyful.

       Many islands are rejoicing.

2     Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;

       Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

3     Fire goes before Him,

       and burns up His adversaries round about.

4     His lightnings have lit up the world;

       the earth has seen and trembled.

5     The mountains have melted like wax at the Presence of YHWH,

       at the Presence of the Master of the whole earth.

6     The heavens have declared His righteousness,

       and all the peoples have seen His glory.

 

7     All are put to shame who serve graven images -

       those boasting themselves in nonentities - idols.

       Bow down before Him, all you “gods” – mighty ones.

8     Zion has heard this and rejoices,

       and the daughters of Judah are joyful

       because of Your judgments, O YHWH.

9     For You, YHWH, are the Most High over all the earth;

       You are exalted far above all gods.

 

10  You who love YHWH, hate evil!

       He preserves the souls of His devout, set-apart ones;

       He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11  Light is sown for the righteous,

       and gladness for the upright in heart.

12  Rejoice in YHWH, you righteous;

       and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.   r                                                                 

 

 

PSALM 98

A New Song to YHWH

This psalm praises Yahweh as Deliverer, Saviour, King, Judge and Ruler.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth!

 

1     Sing to YHWH a new song,

       for He has done wonders.

       His Right Hand and His Holy Arm have brought salvation

       and given Him the victory.

2     YHWH has made known His salvation;

       He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.

3     He has remembered His lovingkindness

       and His faithfulness to the House of Israel.

       All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

 

4     Shout joyfully to YHWH, all the earth.

       Break forth and shout for joy, and sing praises.

5     Sing to YHWH with the harp;

       with the lyre and the voice of praise;

6     with trumpets and the sound of a horn.

       Shout joyfully before YHWH the King.

 

7     Let the sea roar and all that fills it;

       the world and those who dwell in it.

8     Let the rivers clap their hands.

       Let the mountains sing together for joy, before YHWH,

9     for He is coming to judge the earth.

       He judges the world in righteousness,

       and the peoples with equity.   r

 

 

PSALM 99

Exalt YHWH our God.  Holy is He!

This psalm praises Yahweh, the Holy King who is enthroned between the cherubim -

(an order of angels who guard the holiness of God.)  Verse one indicates that

the Sh’khinah glory, the manifest Presence of God, dwelt between the wings

of the two gold cherubim on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

The psalm looks back to God’s Presence with Israel in the times of the first temple,

but it also looks forward to the future Millennial reign of the Messiah.

 

 1   YHWH reigns, let the nations tremble;

       He sits enthroned between the cherubim.

       The earth shakes!

2     Great is YHWH in Zion,

       and He is high above all the peoples.

3     Let them praise Your great and awesome Name -

       It is holy and set-apart!

4     The strength of the King loves justice.

       You, yes You have established equity;

       It is You who executes justice and righteousness in Jacob.

5     Exalt YHWH our God,

       and bow yourselves in worship at His footstool.

       He is Holy and set-apart!

 

6     Moses and Aaron were among His priests,

       and Samuel was among those calling upon His Name.

       They called upon YHWH, and He answered them.

7     He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;

       they kept His testimonies,

       and the statute that He gave them.

8     O YHWH our Elohim, You answered them,

       You were a forgiving God to them,

       and yet avenged their evil deeds.

9     Exalt YHWH our God,

       and bow yourselves in worship at His holy hill;

       for holy is YHWH our Elohim.   r

 

 

PSALM 100

YHWH is Good, and His lovingkindness is everlasting!

This brief psalm calls on the people to joyfully worship Yahweh,

and exhorts them to bless His Name.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

 

1     Shout joyfully to YHWH, all the earth.

2     Serve YHWH with gladness.

       Come before Him with singing.

3     Know that YHWH Himself is God.

       It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.

       We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

 

4     Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

       and into His courts with praise.

       Give thanks to Him; bless His Name.

5     For YHWH is good.

       His lovingkindness is everlasting,

       and His faithfulness endures to all generations.   r        

 

 

PSALM 101

The Way of Integrity

King David here presents a manifesto of ethical standards for his kingdom.

A Psalm of David.

 

1     I will sing of lovingkindness and justice.

       To You, O YHWH, I will sing praises.

2     I behave wisely in a blameless way.

       When will You come to me?

       I walk in the midst of my house with integrity of heart.

3     I will set no vile, wicked or worthless thing before my eyes.

       I hate the work of those who turn away from the right path.

       That wicked thing shall not fasten its grip on me.

4     A perverse heart turns away from me; I do not know evil.

5     Whoever secretly slanders his neighbour, him I will destroy.

       I will not tolerate the one who has a haughty look and a proud heart.

      

6     My eyes are on the faithful of the land,

       that they may dwell with me;

       he who walks in a blameless way

       - a way of integrity - he will serve me.

7     He who practises deceit will not dwell in my house;

       he who speaks lies will not stand in my presence.

8     Each morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,

       that I may cut off all the evildoers

       from the city of YHWH.   r

 

 

PSALM 102

YHWH Will Have Compassion

Here the psalmist prays in his distress for help.  He also expresses his confidence

in the sovereign purposes of God for Zion, and for the nations

that will ultimately stand in awe of Yahweh, and serve Him.

A Prayer of the Afflicted, when he is faint, and pours

out his complaint before the LORD.

 

1     Hear my prayer, O YHWH!

       And let my cry for help come to You.

2     Do not hide Your Face from me in the day of my distress.

       Incline Your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me quickly.

3     For my days have been consumed like smoke,

       and my bones have burned like a firebrand.

4     My heart is smitten and withered like grass

       for I have forgotten to eat my bread.

5     Because of the sound of my groaning

       my bones cling to my flesh.

6     I have been like a pelican of the wilderness;

       I have become like an owl of the desert.

7     I watch, and I am like a bird alone on the housetop.

 

8     My enemies have reproached me all day long.

       Those who rail at me have sworn against me,

       using my name as a curse.

9     For I have eaten ashes like bread,

       and mixed my drink with weeping,

10  because of Your displeasure and Your wrath;

       for You have lifted me up, and thrown me down.

11  My days are like a shadow stretched out,

       and I wither away like grass.

 

12  But, O YHWH, You shall endure forever,

       and Your Memorial-Name to all generations. (Exodus 3:15)

13  You, yes You, will arise and have compassion on Zion,

       for the time to show favour to her, the appointed time, has come.

14  Your servants take pleasure in her stones,

       and they favour her dust.

15  The nations will fear the Name of YHWH,

       and all the kings of the earth will stand in awe of Your Glory.

16  For when YHWH has built up Zion,

       He will appear in His Glory.

17  He will respond to the prayer of the destitute,

       and He will not despise their plea.

 

18  This is written for a generation to come;

       so that a people yet to be created may praise YAH.

19  For He looked down from His Sanctuary on high;

       from Heaven YHWH gazed upon the earth,

20  to hear the groaning of the prisoner;

       to release the sons condemned to death;

21  to declare the Name of YHWH in Zion,

       and His praise in Jerusalem,

22  when the peoples are gathered together,

       and the kingdoms, to serve YHWH.

 

23  He has humbled and weakened my strength in the way;

       He has shortened my days.

24  I said, 'O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days.

       Your years are throughout all generations.

25  Of old You founded the earth,

       and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26  They will perish, but You remain;

       and all of them will become old like a garment;

       like clothing You will change them, and they will be changed.           

27  But You are the same,

       and Your years have no end.

28  The children of Your servants will continue,

       and their descendants will be established before You.'    r

 

 

PSALM 103

Bless YHWH, Bless His Holy Name!

Do not forget all His benefits!

This magnificent psalm begins with David blessing

Yahweh, and concludes with a universal call to bless the LORD.

It praises Yahweh for His personal and national blessings,

and for His forgiveness, compassion and eternal love.

 A Psalm of David.

 

1     Bless YHWH, O my soul;

       And all that is within me, bless His holy Name.

2     Bless YHWH, O my soul,

       And do not forget all of His benefits;

3     Who pardons all your iniquities;

       Who heals all your diseases;

4     Who redeems your life from destruction;

       Who crowns you with kindness and compassion;

5     Who satisfies your desires with good,

       so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

 

6     YHWH executes righteousness,

       and justice for all who are oppressed.

7     He made known His ways to Moses,

       His acts to the sons of Israel.

8     YHWH is compassionate and gracious,

       slow to anger and abounding in mercy.

9     He does not always strive with us;

       nor does He keep His anger forever.

10  He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

       nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

       so great is His lovingkindness for those who stand in awe of Him.

12  As far as the east is from the west,

       so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13  As a father has compassion for his children,

       so YHWH has compassion for those who stand in awe of Him.

14  For He Himself knows how we are formed;

       He is mindful that we are dust.

 

15  As for man, his days are like grass;

       as a flower of the field, so he flourishes,

16  for the wind blows over it, and it is gone;

       and its place acknowledges it no longer.

17  But the lovingkindness of YHWH is from everlasting to          

       everlasting upon those who stand in awe of Him,

       and His righteousness to children's children,

18  to those who keep His covenant,

       and to those who remember to obey His precepts.

 

19  YHWH has established His throne in the heavens,

       and His kingdom rules over all.

 

20  Bless YHWH, you His messengers - His angels,

       mighty in power, who perform His Word,

       listening to the voice of His Word!

21  Bless YHWH, all you His hosts,

       You who serve Him, doing His will.

22  Bless YHWH, all His works, in all places of His dominion.

       Bless YHWH, O my soul!   r

 

 

PSALM 104

All Creation Looks To YHWH

This is a hymn of praise to Yahweh, who created the heavens and the earth,

and who has adapted the earth for the needs of all living creatures.

It acclaims the Creator who is very great, and clothed with

splendour and majesty praise.

 

1     Bless YHWH, O my soul!

       O YHWH my God, You are very great;

       You are clothed with splendour and majesty.

2     You are the One who covers Himself with light as with a garment,

       who stretches out the heavens like a curtain;

3     who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;

       who makes the thick clouds His chariot;

       who walks on the wings of the wind;

4     who makes the winds His messengers;

       and flames of fire His ministers.

 

5     He has established the earth on its foundations,

       so that it will never ever be moved.

6     You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

       the waters stood above the mountains. *

7     At Your rebuke they fled;

       at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. *

8     They flowed up over the mountains;

       they went down into the valleys

       to the place which You prepared for them. *

9     You have set a boundary which they may not cross;

       so that they may not return to cover the earth. *

 

       (* verses 6-9  are speaking of the third day of creation)

 

10  You are the One who sends springs in the valleys;

       they flow between the hills;

11  they give water to every beast of the field;

       the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12  By the springs the birds of the heavens live;

       they sing among the branches.

 

13  You are the One who waters the hills from Your upper chambers;

       the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works;

14  who causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

       and vegetation for man to cultivate,

       to bring forth food from the earth;

15  and wine that gladdens the heart of man;

       oil to make the face to shine;

       and bread which sustains man’s heart.

16  The trees of YHWH are watered and satisfied,

       the cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

17  where the birds build their nests,

       and the stork has her home in the fir trees.

 

18  The mountains are for wild goats;

       the crags are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19  You are the One who made the moon for the seasons;

       the sun knows the place of its setting.

20  You bring darkness and it becomes night,

       in which all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21  The young lions roar after their prey,

       and seek their food from God.

22  When the sun rises they return

       and lie down in their dens.

23  Man goes out to his work

       and to his labour until evening.

 

24  O YHWH, how many are Your works!

       In wisdom You have made them all;

       the earth is filled with Your possessions.

25  There is the sea, great and wide,

       in which are moving things without number -

       living creatures both small and great.

26  There the ships sail to and fro,

       and Leviathan, which You have formed to frolic there.

 

27  These all look to You,

       to give them their food at the proper time.

28  You give to them, they gather it up;

       You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.

29  You hide Your Face, they are alarmed;

       You take away their breath, they die,

       and return to their dust.

30  You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;

       and You renew the face of the earth.

 

31  The glory of YHWH endures forever;

       YHWH rejoices in His works;

32  the One who looks at the earth, and it trembles;

       He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33  I will sing to YHWH as long as I live;

       I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

34  My meditation on Him is sweet

       I, yes I shall be glad in YHWH.

35  Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

       and let the wicked be no more.

       Bless YHWH, O my soul. Praise Yah!     r]

 

 

PSALM 105

An Everlasting Covenant

This psalm calls for praise and remembrance of God’s wonderful works.

It highlights the Abrahamic covenant, the life of Joseph,

Jacob’s settlement in Egypt, and Israel’s deliverance from slavery,

their wilderness experience and entrance into Canaan.

 

1     Oh give thanks to YHWH, call upon His Name;

       make known His deeds among the peoples.

2     Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

       Tell of all His wonderful acts.

3     Glory in His holy Name;

       let the hearts of those who seek YHWH rejoice.

4     Seek YHWH and His strength;

       Seek His Face continually.

5     Remember His wonders which He has done;

       His marvels, and the judgments of His mouth,

6     O seed of Abraham His servant,

       O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

7     He is YHWH our Elohim;

       His judgments are in all the earth.

 

8     He has remembered His covenant forever,

       the Word He commanded for a thousand generations,

9     the covenant which He made with Abraham,

       and His oath to Isaac,

10  and confirmed it to Jacob for a law,

       to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

11  saying, "To you I give the land of Canaan

       as the portion of your inheritance,"

12  when they were only a few men in number,

       very few, and strangers in it.

13  And they wandered about from nation to nation,

       from one kingdom to another people.

14  He allowed no one to oppress them,

       and He reproved kings for their sakes:

15  saying, "Do not touch My anointed ones,

       and do My prophets no harm or evil."

 

16  And He called for a famine in the land;

       He cut off all the supply of bread.

17  He sent a man before them:

       Joseph who was sold as a slave.

18  They afflicted his feet with shackles;

       his soul was laid up in irons,

19  until the time that His Word came to pass,

       the Word of YHWH tested him.

20  The king sent and released him,

       the ruler of peoples set him free.

21  He made him master of his house,

       and ruler over all his possessions,

22  to bind his princes at his pleasure,

       that he might teach his elders wisdom.

23  Then Israel also came into Egypt;

       and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

24  And He, YHWH, caused His people to be very fruitful,

       and made them stronger than their enemies.

 

25  He turned their heart to hate His people,

       to conspire against His servants.

26  He sent Moses His servant,

       and Aaron whom He had chosen.

27  They performed His signs among them,

       and miracles in the land of Ham.

28  He sent darkness and made it dark;

       and they did not rebel against His word.

29  He turned their waters into blood,

       and caused their fish to die.

30  Their land teemed with frogs,

       even in the inner rooms of their kings.

31  He spoke, and swarms of flies came,

       and gnats in all their territory.

32  He gave them hail for rain,

       and flaming fire in their land.

33  He struck their vines and their fig trees,

       and shattered the trees of their territory.

34  He spoke, and locusts came,

       and larvae - young locusts - without number,

35  and ate up all vegetation in their land,

       and devoured the fruit of their ground.

36  He also struck down all the first-born in their land,

       the first fruits of all their strength.

 

37  Then He brought them out with silver and gold;

       and there was not one feeble person among His tribes.

38  Egypt was glad when they left,

       for the dread of them had fallen upon them.

39  He spread a cloud for a covering,

       and fire to give light at night.

40  They asked, and He brought quail,

       and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

41  He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

       it ran in the dry places like a river.

42  For He remembered His holy Word

       to Abraham His servant;

43  and He brought forth His people with joy,

       His chosen ones with singing.

44  He gave them also the lands of the nations,

       and they inherited the labour of those peoples,

45  so that they might keep His precepts,

       and observe His laws. Praise Yah!    r

 

 

PSALM 106

Israel's Rebellion and the LORD'S Deliverance

After an opening prayer and praise, the psalmist laments and confesses

Israel’s sins which were like the sins of their fathers - unbelief and

murmuring against God and Moses, their worship of the golden calf,

 their unbelief and refusal to enter the Promised Land; their participation in

Moabite worship, and their disobedience after finally entering the Land.

It concludes with a prayer for salvation and regathering;

and blesses Yahweh the everlasting God of Israel.

 

1     Praise Yah!

       Oh give thanks to YHWH, for He is good;

       for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2     Who can speak of the mighty deeds of YHWH,

       or fully declare His praise?

3     How blessed are those who maintain justice,

       and practice righteousness at all times!

 

4     Remember me, O YHWH,

       when You show favour to Your people;

       visit me with Your salvation,

5     that I may see the good of Your chosen ones,

       that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,                                                 

       and that I may boast in Your inheritance.

 

6     We have sinned like our fathers,

       we have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.

7     Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;

       they did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,

       but rebelled by the sea - at the Red Sea.

8     Yet He saved them for His Name's sake,

       that He might make His mighty power known.

9     He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up;

       and He led them through the deeps, as through a wilderness.

10  Thus He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them,

       and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

11  The waters covered their adversaries;

       not one of them was left.

 

12  Then they believed His words;

       they sang His praise.

13  But they soon forgot His works;

       they did not wait for His counsel,

14  but lusted greatly in the wilderness,

       and tested God in the desert.

15  So He gave them their request,

       but sent leanness into their souls.

 

16  When they became envious of Moses in the camp,

       of Aaron, the set-apart one of YHWH,

17  the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,

       and engulfed the company of Abiram.

18  And a fire burned in their company;

       a flame consumed the wicked.

 

19  They made a calf in Horeb,

       and bowed down to a moulded image.

20  Thus they exchanged their Glory - the Glory of God -

       for the image of an ox that eats grass.

21  They forgot God their Saviour,

       who had done great things in Egypt,

22  wonders in the land of Ham,

       and awesome things by the Red Sea.

23  Then He said that He would destroy them, and He would have,

       had Moses His chosen one not stood in the breach before them,

       to turn away His wrath from destroying them.  

 

24  Then they despised the pleasant land;

       they did not believe in His Word,

25  but grumbled in their tents.

       They did not listen to the voice of YHWH.

26  Therefore He lifted up His hand in an oath against them,

       to make them fall in the wilderness,

27  to make their descendants fall among the nations,

       and to scatter them in the lands.

 

28  They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,

       and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

29  Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds;

       and the plague broke out among them.

30  Then Phinehas stood up and intervened;

       and the plague was stopped.

31  And it was reckoned to him for righteousness,

       to all generations forever.

32  They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah,

       and Moses suffered on account of them;

33  because they embittered his spirit,

       and he spoke rashly with his lips.

 

34  They did not destroy the peoples,

       as YHWH had commanded them,

35  but they mingled with the nations,

       and learned their practices,

36  and served their idols,

       which became a snare to them.

37  They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons,

38  and they shed innocent blood;

       the blood of their sons and their daughters

       whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

       And the land was defiled with blood.

39  Thus they became unclean because of their practices,

       and by their deeds they played the harlot.

 

40  Therefore the anger of YHWH was kindled against His people,

       and loathed His own inheritance.

41  Then He gave them into the hand of the nations;

       and those who hated them ruled over them.

42  Their enemies also oppressed them,

       and they were subdued under their power.

43  Many times He delivered them,

       but they rebelled by their plans,

       and so they were brought low in their iniquity.

 

44  Nevertheless He looked on their distress,

       when He heard their cry;

45  and He remembered His covenant for their sake,

       and relented because of His great kindness.

46  He also caused them to find compassion

       among all those holding them captive.

 

47  Save us, O YHWH our God,

       and gather us from among the nations,

       to give thanks to Your holy Name,

       and to triumph in Your praise.

48  Blessed is YHWH, God of Israel,

       from everlasting even to everlasting.

       And let all the people say, "Amen."       

       Praise Yah!    r

 

 

END OF PSALMS BOOK FOUR