Psalms 86; Psalms 87; Psalms 88; Psalms 89

Psalms 86

1 Turn your ear [toward me], O LORD. Answer me, because I am oppressed and needy.

2 Protect me, because I am faithful [to you]. Save your servant who trusts you. You are my God.

3 Have pity on me, O Lord, because I call out to you all day long.

4 Give me joy, O Lord, because I lift my soul to you.

5 You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, full of mercy toward everyone who calls out to you.

6 Open your ears to my prayer, O LORD. Pay attention when I plead for mercy.

7 When I am in trouble, I call out to you because you answer me.

8 No god is like you, O Lord. No one can do what you do.

9 All the nations that you have made will bow in your presence, O Lord. They will honor you.

10 Indeed, you are great, a worker of miracles. You alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, so that I may live in your truth. Focus my heart on fearing you.

12 I will give thanks to you with all my heart, O Lord my God. I will honor you forever

13 because your mercy toward me is great. You have rescued me from the depths of hell.

14 O God, arrogant people attack me, and a mob of ruthless people seeks my life. They think nothing of you.

15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient, always faithful and ready to forgive.

16 Turn toward me, and have pity on me. Give me your strength because I am your servant. Save me because I am the son of your female servant.

17 Grant me some proof of your goodness so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame. You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalms 87

1 [The city] the LORD has founded [stands] on holy mountains.

2 The LORD loves the city of Zion more than any other place in Jacob.

3 Glorious things are said about you, O city of God! Selah

4 [The LORD says,] "I will add Egypt and Babylon as well as Philistia, Tyre, and Sudan to the list of those who acknowledge me. Each nation [will claim that it] was born there."

5 But it will be said of Zion, "Every race is born in it. The Most High will make it secure."

6 The LORD will record this in the Book of Nations: "Every race [claims that it] was born there." Selah

7 Singers and dancers will sing, "Zion is the source of all our blessings."

Psalms 88

1 O LORD God, my savior, I cry out to you during the day and at night.

2 Let my prayer come into your presence. Turn your ear to hear my cries.

3 My soul is filled with troubles, and my life comes closer to the grave.

4 I am numbered with those who go into the pit. I am like a man without any strength--

5 abandoned with the dead, like those who have been killed and lie in graves, like those whom you no longer remember, who are cut off from your power.

6 You have put me in the bottom of the pit--in deep, dark places.

7 Your rage lies heavily on me. You make all your waves pound on me. Selah

8 You have taken my friends far away from me. You made me disgusting to them. I'm shut in, and I can't get out.

9 My eyes grow weak because of my suffering. All day long I call out to you, O LORD. I stretch out my hands to you [in prayer].

10 Will you perform miracles for those who are dead? Will the spirits of the dead rise and give thanks to you? Selah

11 Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol or about your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12 Will anyone know about your miracles in that dark place or about your righteousness in the place where forgotten people live?

13 I cry out to you for help, O LORD, and in the morning my prayer will come into your presence.

14 Why do you reject my soul, O LORD? Why do you hide your face from me?

15 Ever since I was young, I have been suffering and near death. I have endured your terrors, and now I am in despair.

16 Your burning anger has swept over me. Your terrors have destroyed me.

17 They swirl around me all day long like water. They surround me on all sides.

18 You have taken my loved ones and friends far away from me. Darkness is my only friend!

Psalms 89

1 I will sing forever about the evidence of your mercy, O LORD. I will tell about your faithfulness to every generation.

2 I said, "Your mercy will last forever. Your faithfulness stands firm in the heavens."

3 [You said,] "I have made a promise to my chosen one. I swore this oath to my servant David:

4 'I will make your dynasty continue forever. I built your throne to last throughout every generation.'" Selah

5 O LORD, the heavens praise your miracles and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.

6 Who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?

7 God is terrifying in the council of the holy ones. He is greater and more awe-inspiring than those who surround him.

8 O LORD God of Armies, who is like you? Mighty LORD, even your faithfulness surrounds you.

9 You rule the raging sea. When its waves rise, you quiet them.

10 You crushed Rahab; it was like a corpse. With your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

11 The heavens are yours. The earth is also yours. You made the world and everything in it.

12 You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing your name joyfully.

13 Your arm is mighty. Your hand is strong. Your right hand is lifted high.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne. Mercy and truth stand in front of you.

15 Blessed are the people who know how to praise you. They walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.

16 They find joy in your name all day long. They are joyful in your righteousness

17 because you are the glory of their strength. By your favor you give us victory.

18 Our shield belongs to the LORD. Our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once in a vision you said to your faithful ones: "I set a boy above warriors. I have raised up one chosen from the people.

20 I found my servant David. I anointed him with my holy oil.

21 My hand is ready to help him. My arm will also give him strength.

22 No enemy will take him by surprise. No wicked person will mistreat him.

23 I will crush his enemies in front of him and defeat those who hate him.

24 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him, and in my name he will be victorious.

25 I will put his [left] hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.

26 He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.'

27 Yes, I will make him the firstborn. He will be the Most High to the kings of the earth.

28 My mercy will stay with him forever. My promise to him is unbreakable.

29 I will make his dynasty endure forever and his throne like the days of heaven.

30 "If his descendants abandon my teachings and do not live by my rules,

31 if they violate my laws and do not obey my commandments,

32 then with a rod I will punish their rebellion and their crimes with beatings.

33 But I will not take my mercy away from him or allow my truth to become a lie.

34 I will not dishonor my promise or alter my own agreement.

35 On my holiness I have taken an oath once and for all: I will not lie to David.

36 His dynasty will last forever. His throne will be in my presence like the sun.

37 Like the moon his throne will stand firm forever. It will be like a faithful witness in heaven."

38 But you have despised, rejected, and become angry with your anointed one.

39 You have refused to recognize the promise to your servant and have thrown his crown into the dirt.

40 You have broken through all his walls and have laid his fortified cities in ruins.

41 (Everyone who passed by robbed him. He has become the object of his neighbors' scorn.)

42 You held the right hand of his enemies high and made all of his adversaries rejoice.

43 You even took his sword out of his hand and failed to support him in battle.

44 You put an end to his splendor and hurled his throne to the ground.

45 You cut short the days of his youth and covered him with shame. Selah

46 How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger continue to burn like fire?

47 Remember how short my life is! Have you created Adam's descendants for no reason?

48 Can a mortal go on living and never see death? Who can set himself free from the power of the grave? Selah

49 Where is the evidence of your mercy, Lord? You swore an oath to David on [the basis of] your faithfulness.

50 Remember, O LORD, how your servant has been insulted. Remember how I have carried in my heart [the insults] from so many people.

51 Your enemies insulted [me]. They insulted your Messiah every step he took.

52 Thank the LORD forever. Amen and amen!