Psalms 90:15

90:15 Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us,

in proportion to the years we have experienced ¹  trouble!

Psalms 74:9

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ² 

there are no longer any prophets ³ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ⁴ 

Psalms 48:8

48:8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds, now we have seen them, ⁵ 

in the city of the Lord, the invincible Warrior, ⁶ 

in the city of our God.

God makes it permanently secure. ⁷  (Selah)

[90:15]  ¹ tn Heb “have seen.”

[74:9]  ² tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ³ tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[48:8]  ³ tn Heb “As we have heard, so we have seen.” The community had heard about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history. Having personally witnessed his saving power with their own eyes, they could now affirm that the tradition was not exaggerated or inaccurate.

[48:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Pss 24:10; 46:7, 11).

[48:8]  ⁵ tn Or “God makes it secure forever.” The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.