Domine, refugium. A prayer for the mercy of God: recounting the shortness and miseries of the days of man.

 1 A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation.  2 Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.  3 Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said: Be converted, O ye sons of men.  4 For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night,  5 Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.

[3] "Turn not man away": Suffer him not quite to perish from thee, since thou art pleased to call upon him to be converted to thee.

 6 In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.  7 For in thy wrath we have fainted away: and are troubled in thy indignation.  8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes: our life in the light of thy countenance.  9 For all our days are spent; and in thy wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spider:  10 The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. But if in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.

[9] "As a spider": As frail and weak as a spider's web; and miserable withal, whilst like a spider we spend our bowels in weaving webs to catch flies.

[10] "Mildness is come upon us": God's mildness corrects us; inasmuch as he deals kindly with us, in shortening the days of this miserable life; and so weaning our affections from all its transitory enjoyments, and teaching us true wisdom.

 11 Who knoweth the power of thy anger, and for thy fear  12 Can number thy wrath? So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.  13 Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favour of thy servants.  14 We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.  15 We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.

 16 Look upon thy servants and upon their works: and direct their children.  17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.