The word of Yahweh came to
Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram! I am your shield and shall give you
a very great reward.
Yahweh,
the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!'
David addressed the words of this song
to Yahweh, when Yahweh had delivered him from the clutches of all his enemies and
from the clutches of Saul.2 He said:
Yahweh is my rock and my fortress, 3
my deliverer is my God. I take refuge in him, my rock, my shield, my saving
strength, my stronghold, my place of refuge. My Savior, you have saved me from
violence
How blessed are all who
take refuge in him!
But you, Yahweh, the
shield at my side, my glory, you hold my head high.
But joy for all who take
refuge in you, endless songs of gladness! You shelter them, they rejoice in
you, those who love your name.
It is you who bless the
upright, Yahweh, you surround them with favour as with a shield.
Yahweh my
God, I take refuge in you, save me from all my pursuers and rescue me
May Yahweh be a stronghold for the
oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble!
In Yahweh I have found refuge.
Yahweh's promises are promises
unalloyed, natural silver which comes from the earth seven times refined. 7
You, Yahweh, will watch over them, you will protect them from that brood for
ever.
You may
mock the plans of the poor, but Yahweh is their refuge.
Protect me, O God, in you
is my refuge.
My birthright, my cup is
Yahweh; you, you alone, hold my lot secure.
I keep Yahweh before me always, for with
him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.
Guard me as the pupil of
an eye, shelter me in the shadow of your wings 9 from the presence of the wicked who would maltreat me; deadly
enemies are closing in on me.
I love you, Yahweh, my
strength (my Savior, you have saved me from
violence). 2 Yahweh is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer is my God. I
take refuge in him, my rock, my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold, my
place of refuge.
Some call on chariots,
some on horses, but we on the name of Yahweh our God.
Even were I to walk in a
ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your
staff and your crook are there to soothe me.5 You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies
Preserve my soul and rescue me; do not
let me be disgraced, for in you I seek refuge.
Yahweh is my light and my salvation,
whom should I fear? Yahweh is the fortress of my
life, whom should I dread?
For he hides me away under
his roof on the day of evil, he folds me in the recesses of his tent, sets me
high on a rock.
Yahweh is my strength and my shield, in
him my heart trusts. I have been helped; my body has recovered its vigor, with
all my heart I thank him. 8 Yahweh is
the strength of his people, a safe refuge for his anointed.
In you, Yahweh, I have taken refuge, let
me never be put to shame, in your saving justice deliver me, rescue me, 2
turn your ear to me, make haste. Be for me a rock-fastness, a fortified citadel
to save me. 3 You are my rock, my
rampart; true to your name, lead me and guide me!
Yahweh,
what quantities of good things you have in store for those who fear you, and
bestow on those who make you their refuge, for all humanity to see. 20 Safe in your presence you hide them, far from human
plotting, shielding them in your tent, far from contentious tongues.
You are a refuge for me,
you guard me in trouble, with songs of deliverance you surround me.
Countless
troubles are in store for the wicked, but one who trusts in Yahweh is enfolded
in his faithful love.
A large army will not keep a king safe,
nor his strength save a warrior's life;17
it is delusion to rely on a horse for safety, for all its power it cannot save.
18 But see how Yahweh watches over those
who fear him, those who rely on his faithful love, 19
to rescue them from death and keep them alive in famine.
20 We are waiting for
Yahweh; he is our help and our shield,21
for in him our heart rejoices, in his holy name we trust.22
Yahweh, let your faithful love rest on us, as our hope has rested in you.
Fix
your gaze on Yahweh and your face will grow bright, you will never hang your
head in shame.
6 A pauper calls out and Yahweh hears, saves
him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who
fear him, and rescues them.
8 Taste and see that Yahweh is good. How
blessed are those who take refuge in him.
9 Fear Yahweh, you his holy ones; those who
fear him lack for nothing.
10 Young lions may go needy and hungry, but
those who seek Yahweh lack nothing good.
The
eyes of Yahweh are on the upright, his ear turned to their cry.
***
17 They cry in anguish and Yahweh hears, and
rescues them from all their troubles.
18 Yahweh is near to the broken-hearted, he
helps those whose spirit is crushed.
19 Though hardships without number beset the
upright, Yahweh brings rescue from them all.
20 Yahweh takes care of all their bones, not
one of them will be broken.
22 Yahweh ransoms the lives of those who serve
him, and there will be no penalty for those who take refuge in him.
I shall
delight in Yahweh, rejoice that he has saved me.10 My
very bones will all exclaim, Yahweh, who can compare with you in rescuing the
poor from the oppressor; the needy from the exploiter?
How
precious, God, is your faithful love. So the children of Adam take refuge in
the shadow of your wings.
In you
is the source of life, by your light we see the light. 10 Maintain your faithful love to those who acknowledge
you, and your saving justice to the honest of heart.
Put
your trust in Yahweh and do right, make your home in the land and live secure.4 Make Yahweh your joy and he will give you your heart's desires.5 Commit your destiny to Yahweh, be confident in him, and
he will act,6 making your uprightness clear as daylight,
and the justice of your cause as the noon.
The
lives of the just are in Yahweh's care, their birthright will endure for ever;19 they will not be put to shame when bad times come, in
time of famine they will have plenty.
Put
your hope in Yahweh, keep to his path, he will raise you up to make the land
your own; you will look on while the wicked are annihilated.
The
upright have Yahweh for their Savior, their refuge in times of trouble; 40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them, he will rescue them
from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in him.
God is
both refuge and strength for us, a help always ready in trouble;2 so we shall not be afraid though the earth
be in turmoil, though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, 3 and its waters roar and seethe, and the mountains totter
as it heaves. (Yahweh Sabaoth is with us, our citadel, the God of Jacob.)
Take
pity on me, God, take pity on me, for in you I take refuge, in the shadow of
your wings I take refuge, until the destruction is past. 2 I call to God the Most High, to God who has done
everything for me; 3 may he send from heaven and save me, and
check those who harry me; may God send his faithful love and his constancy.
My
strength, I keep my eyes fixed on you. For my stronghold is God,10 the God who loves me faithfully is coming to
meet me
And so
I will sing of your strength, in the morning acclaim your faithful love; you
have been a stronghold for me, a refuge when I was in trouble. 17 My strength, I will make music for you, for my
stronghold is God, the God who loves me faithfully.
For you are my refuge, a
strong tower against the enemy. 4 Let me stay in your tent for ever, taking refuge in the shelter
of your wings!
In God
alone there is rest for my soul, from him comes my safety;2 he alone is my rock, my safety, my
stronghold so that I stand unshaken.
Rest in
God alone, my soul! He is the source of my hope. 6 He
alone is my rock, my safety, my stronghold, so that I stand unwavering. 7 In God is my safety and my glory, the rock of my
strength. In God is my refuge; 8 trust in him, you people, at all times. Pour
out your hearts to him, God is a refuge for us.
God, you are my God, I
pine for you; my heart thirsts for you, my body longs for you, as a land
parched, dreary and waterless.
***
7 for you have always been my help; in the shadow of your wings I
rejoice
The
upright will rejoice in Yahweh, will take refuge in him, and all the honest
will praise him
In you,
Yahweh, I take refuge, I shall never be put to shame. 2 In your saving justice rescue me, deliver me, listen to
me and save me. 3 Be a sheltering rock for me, always
accessible; you have determined to save me, for you are my rock, my fortress.
***
5 For you are my hope, Lord, my trust, Yahweh,
since boyhood. 6 On you I have relied since my birth, since
my mother's womb you have been my portion, the constant theme of my praise. 7 Many were bewildered at me, but you are my sure refuge.
***
9 Do not reject me in my old age, nor desert
me when my strength is failing
I was
stupid and uncomprehending, a clumsy animal in your presence.23 Even so, I stayed in your presence, you
grasped me by the right hand; 24 you will guide me with advice, and will draw
me in the wake of your glory. 25 Who else is there for me in heaven? And,
with you, I lack nothing on earth. 26 My
heart and my flesh are pining away: my heart's rock, my portion, God for ever! 27 Truly, those who abandon you will perish; you destroy
those who adulterously desert you, 28
whereas my happiness is to be near God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge,
to tell of all your works.
For
Yahweh God is a rampart and shield, he gives grace and glory; Yahweh refuses
nothing good to those whose life is blameless.
You who
live in the secret place of Elyon, spend your nights in the shelter of Shaddai,
2 saying to Yahweh, 'My refuge, my fortress,
my God in whom I trust!'
3 He rescues you from the snare of the fowler
set on destruction; 4 he covers you with his pinions, you find
shelter under his wings. His constancy is shield and protection.
5 You need not fear the terrors of night, the
arrow that flies in the daytime,6 the
plague that stalks in the darkness, the scourge that wreaks havoc at high noon.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side, ten
thousand at your right hand, you yourself will remain unscathed.
8 You have only to keep your eyes open to see
how the wicked are repaid, 9 you who say, 'Yahweh my refuge!' and make
Elyon your fortress.
10 No disaster can overtake you, no plague come
near your tent;11 he has given his angels orders about you to
guard you wherever you go.
12 They will carry you in their arms in case
you trip over a stone.
13 You will walk upon wild beast and adder, you
will trample young lions and snakes.
14 'Since he clings to me I rescue him, I raise
him high, since he acknowledges my name.
15 He calls to me and I answer him: in distress
I am at his side, I rescue him and bring him honor.
16 I shall satisfy him with long life, and
grant him to see my salvation.'
Yahweh
is a stronghold to me, my God is my rock of refuge.
They
cried out to Yahweh in their distress, he rescued them from their plight, 7 he set them on the road, straight to an inhabited city.
***
13They cried out to Yahweh in their distress,
he rescued them from their plight, 14 he
brought them out from gloom and shadow dark as death, and shattered their
chains.
***
19 they cried out to Yahweh in their distress;
he rescued them from their plight, 20 he
sent out his word and cured them, and rescued their life from the abyss.
***
28They cried out to Yahweh in their distress,
he rescued them from their plight,29 he
reduced the storm to a calm, and all the waters subsided,
House of Israel, rely on Yahweh;
he is their help and their shield
It is
better to take refuge in Yahweh than to rely on human beings;9 better to take refuge in Yahweh than to rely on princes.
You are
my refuge and shield, I put my hope in your word.
My help
comes from Yahweh who made heaven and earth.
Yahweh
is your guardian, your shade, Yahweh, at your right hand.
6 By day the sun will not strike you, nor the
moon by night.
7 Yahweh guards you from all harm Yahweh
guards your life,
8 Yahweh guards your comings and goings,
henceforth and for ever.
Our help is in the name of
Yahweh, who made
heaven and earth.
Yahweh my Lord, my saving
strength, you shield my head when battle comes.
To
Yahweh I cry out with my plea. To Yahweh I cry out with entreaty.2 I pour out my worry in his presence, in his
presence I unfold my troubles. 3 However faint my spirit; you are watching over my path.
***
5 I cry out to you, Yahweh, I affirm, 'You are
my refuge, my share in the land of the living!' 6 Listen
to my calling, for I am miserably weak. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they
are too strong for me.7 Lead me out of prison that I may praise your
name. The upright gather round me because of your generosity to me.
Blessed be Yahweh, my
rock, who trains my hands
for war and my fingers for battle,2 my faithful love, my
bastion, my citadel, my Savior; I shelter behind him, my shield
Upright
in all that he does, Yahweh acts only in faithful love.18 He is close to all who call upon him, all who call on him from the heart.
Wisdom has built herself a
house, she has hewn her seven pillars,
2 she has slaughtered her beasts, drawn her wine, she has laid
her table.
3 She has dispatched her maidservants and proclaimed from the
heights above the city,
4 'Who is simple? Let him come this way.' To the fool she says,
5 'Come and eat my bread, drink the wine which I have drawn!
The
name of Yahweh is a strong tower; the upright runs to it and is secure.
Every
word of God is unalloyed, a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Like cinnamon and acanthus, I have
yielded a perfume, like choice myrrh, have breathed out a scent, like galbanum,
onycha, labdanum, like the smoke of incense in the tent.
16 I have spread my
branches like a terebinth, and my branches are glorious and graceful.
17 I am like a vine
putting out graceful shoots, my blossoms bear the fruit of glory and wealth.
19 Approach me, you
who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits,
20 for memories of me
are sweeter than honey, inheriting me is sweeter than the honeycomb.
21 They who eat me will
hunger for more, they who drink me will thirst for more.
22 No one who obeys me
will ever have to blush, no one who acts as I dictate will ever sin.'
Look,
he is the God of my salvation: I shall have faith and not be afraid, for Yahweh
is my strength and my song, he has been my salvation.'
Yahweh, you are my God, I
shall praise you to the heights, I shall praise your name; for you have
accomplished marvels, plans long-conceived, faithfully, firmly.
***
4 For you have been a refuge for the weak, a refuge for the needy
in distress, a shelter from the storm, shade from the heat; for the breath of
the pitiless is like a winter storm.
Trust
in Yahweh for ever, for Yahweh is a rock for ever.
And
now, thus says Yahweh, he who created you, Jacob, who formed you, Israel: Do
not be afraid, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are
mine. 2 Should you pass through the waters, I shall
be with you; or through rivers, they will not swallow you up. Should you walk
through fire, you will not suffer, and the flame will not burn you. 3 For I am Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your
Savior. I have given Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.4 Since I regard you as precious, since you are honored
and I love you, I therefore give people in exchange for you, and nations in
return for your life. 5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
Which
of you fears Yahweh and listens to his servant's voice?Which of you walks in
darkness and sees no light? Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and lean on his
God!
Oh, come to the water all you who are
thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk
without money, free! 2 Why spend money on
what cannot nourish and your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen carefully
to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy. 3
Pay attention, come to me; listen, and you will live. I shall make an
everlasting covenant with you in fulfilment of the favors promised to David.
Yahweh, my strength, my stronghold, my
refuge in time of distress! To you the nations will come from the remotest
parts of the earth and say, 'Our fathers inherited nothing
but Delusion, Futility of no use whatever.
My refuge in
time of disaster
'Yahweh is all I have,' I say to myself,
'and so I shall put my hope in him.' 25
Yahweh is good to those who trust him, to all who search for him.26
It is good to wait in silence for Yahweh to save.
Come, let us return to Yahweh. He has
rent us and he will heal us; he has struck us and he will bind up our wounds; 2
after two days he will revive us, on the third day he will raise us up and we
shall live in his presence.3 Let us know,
let us strive to know Yahweh; that he will come is as certain as the dawn. He will
come to us like a shower, like the rain of springtime to the earth.
The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his
voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a
refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
Yahweh is better than a fortress in time
of distress; he recognizes those who trust in him
Come back to the fortress,
you prisoners waiting in hope. This very day, I vow, I shall make it up to you
twice over.
'Come to me, all you who labor and are
overburdened, and I will give you rest. 29
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. 30
Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.'
Jesus answered them: I am the bread of
life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will
ever thirst.
Jesus stood and cried out: 'Let anyone
who is thirsty come to me!38 Let anyone who
believes in me come and drink! As scripture says, "From his heart shall
flow streams of living water." '39
He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive
