BOOK FOUR
Of God and Human Beings[a]
2 Before you created the hills
or brought the world into being,
you were eternally God,
and will be God forever.
you change us back to dust.
4 A thousand years to you are like one day;
they are like yesterday, already gone,
like a short hour in the night.
5 You carry us away like a flood;
we last no longer than a dream.
We are like weeds that sprout in the morning,
6 that grow and burst into bloom,
then dry up and die in the evening.
we are terrified by your fury.
8 You place our sins before you,
our secret sins where you can see them.
it fades away like a whisper.
10 Seventy years is all we have—
eighty years, if we are strong;
yet all they bring us is trouble and sorrow;
life is soon over, and we are gone.
Who knows what fear your fury can bring?
12 Teach us how short our life is,
so that we may become wise.
Have pity, O Lord, on your servants!
14 Fill us each morning with your constant love,
so that we may sing and be glad all our life.
15 Give us now as much happiness as the sadness you gave us
during all our years of misery.
16 Let us, your servants, see your mighty deeds;
let our descendants see your glorious might.
17 Lord our God, may your blessings be with us.
Give us success in all we do!
Footnotes
- Psalm 90:1 HEBREW TITLE: A prayer by Moses, the man of God.