Chapter 91

Sweet it is to praise the Lord, to sing, most high God, in honour of thy name;

to proclaim thy mercy and faithfulness at daybreak and at the fall of night.

Here is a theme for ten-stringed harp and viol, for music of voice and zither;

so delightsome, Lord, is all thou doest, so thrills my heart at the sight of all thou hast made.

How magnificent is thy creation, Lord, how unfathomable are thy purposes!

And still, too dull to learn, too slow to grasp his lesson, the wrong-doer goes on in his busy wickedness.

Still he thrives, makes a brave show like the grass in spring, yet is he doomed to perish eternally,

whilst thou, Lord, art for ever exalted on high.

Vanished away thy enemies, Lord, vanished away, and all their busy wickedness scattered to the winds!

Strength thy power gives me, that gives strength to the wild oxen; refreshes me as with the touch of pure oil.

Blessed are these eyes with the sight of my enemies’ downfall, these ears with the tidings of insolent malice defeated.

The innocent man will flourish as the palm-tree flourishes; he will grow to greatness as the cedars grow on Lebanon.

Planted in the temple of the Lord, growing up in the very courts of our God’s house,

the innocent will flourish in a green old age, all freshness and vigour still;

theirs to proclaim how just is the Lord my refuge, his dealings how clear of wrong.