Wisdom

God Is Eternal, and We Are Not

Psalm 90

A PRAYER OF MOSES, THE MAN OF GOD.

¹Lord, you have been our home

since the beginning.

²Before the mountains were born

and before you created the earth and the world,

you are God.

You have always been, and you will always be.

³You turn people back into dust.

You say, “Go back into dust, human beings.”

⁴To you, a thousand years

is like the passing of a day,

or like a few hours in the night.

⁵While people sleep, you take their lives.

They are like grass that grows up in the morning.

⁶In the morning they are fresh and new,

but by evening they dry up and die.

⁷We are destroyed by your anger;

we are terrified by your hot anger.

⁸You have put the evil we have done right in front of you;

you clearly see our secret sins.

⁹All our days pass while you are angry.

Our years end with a moan.

¹⁰Our lifetime is seventy years

or, if we are strong, eighty years.

But the years are full of hard work and pain.

They pass quickly, and then we are gone.

¹¹Who knows the full power of your anger?

Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.

¹²Teach us how short our lives really are

so that we may be wise.

¹³LORD, how long before you return

and show kindness to your servants?

¹⁴Fill us with your love every morning.

Then we will sing and rejoice all our lives.

¹⁵We have seen years of trouble.

Now give us as much joy as you gave us sorrow.

¹⁶Show your servants the wonderful things you do;

show your greatness to their children.

¹⁷Lord our God, treat us well.

Give us success in what we do;

yes, give us success in what we do.

Title: The Holy Bible, New Century Version

God Saves from Many Dangers

Psalm 107

¹Thank the LORD because he is good.

His love continues forever.

²That is what those whom the LORD has saved should say.

He has saved them from the enemy

³and has gathered them from other lands,

from east and west, north and south.

⁴Some people had wandered in the desert lands.

They found no city in which to live.

⁵They were hungry and thirsty,

and they were discouraged.

⁶In their misery they cried out to the LORD,

and he saved them from their troubles.

⁷He led them on a straight road

to a city where they could live.

⁸Let them give thanks to the LORD for his love

and for the miracles he does for people.

⁹He satisfies the thirsty

and fills up the hungry.

¹⁰Some sat in gloom and darkness;

they were prisoners suffering in chains.

¹¹They had turned against the words of God

and had refused the advice of God Most High.

¹²So he broke their pride by hard work.

They stumbled, and no one helped.

¹³In their misery they cried out to the LORD,

and he saved them from their troubles.

¹⁴He brought them out of their gloom and darkness

and broke their chains.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the LORD for his love

and for the miracles he does for people.

¹⁶He breaks down bronze gates

and cuts apart iron bars.

¹⁷Some fools turned against God

and suffered for the evil they did.

¹⁸They refused to eat anything,

so they almost died.

¹⁹In their misery they cried out to the LORD,

and he saved them from their troubles.

²⁰God gave the command and healed them,

so they were saved from dying.

²¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for his love

and for the miracles he does for people.

²²Let them offer sacrifices to thank him.

With joy they should tell what he has done.

²³Others went out to sea in ships

and did business on the great oceans.

²⁴They saw what the LORD could do,

the miracles he did in the deep oceans.

²⁵He spoke, and a storm came up,

which blew up high waves.

²⁶The ships were tossed as high as the sky and fell low to the depths.

The storm was so bad that they lost their courage.

²⁷They stumbled and fell like people who were drunk.

They did not know what to do.

²⁸In their misery they cried out to the LORD,

and he saved them from their troubles.

²⁹He stilled the storm

and calmed the waves.

³⁰They were happy that it was quiet,

and God guided them to the port they wanted.

³¹Let them give thanks to the LORD for his love

and for the miracles he does for people.

³²Let them praise his greatness in the meeting of the people;

let them praise him in the meeting of the older leaders.

³³He changed rivers into a desert

and springs of water into dry ground.

³⁴He made fertile land salty,

because the people there did evil.

³⁵He changed the desert into pools of water

and dry ground into springs of water.

³⁶He had the hungry settle there

so they could build a city in which to live.

³⁷They planted seeds in the fields and vineyards,

and they had a good harvest.

³⁸God blessed them, and they grew in number.

Their cattle did not become fewer.

³⁹Because of disaster, troubles, and sadness,

their families grew smaller and weaker.

⁴⁰He showed he was displeased with their leaders

and made them wander in a pathless desert.

⁴¹But he lifted the poor out of their suffering

and made their families grow like flocks of sheep.

⁴²Good people see this and are happy,

but the wicked say nothing.

⁴³Whoever is wise will remember these things

and will think about the love of the LORD.

Title: The Holy Bible, New Century Version

Praise the Lord’s Goodness

Psalm 111

¹Praise the LORD!

I will thank the LORD with all my heart

in the meeting of his good people.

²The LORD does great things;

those who enjoy them seek them.

³What he does is glorious and splendid,

and his goodness continues forever.

⁴His miracles are unforgettable.

The LORD is kind and merciful.

⁵He gives food to those who fear him.

He remembers his agreement forever.

⁶He has shown his people his power

when he gave them the lands of other nations.

⁷Everything he does is good and fair;

all his orders can be trusted.

⁸They will continue forever.

They were made true and right.

⁹He sets his people free.

He made his agreement everlasting.

He is holy and wonderful.

¹⁰Wisdom begins with respect for the LORD;

those who obey his orders have good understanding.

He should be praised forever.