Psalms 86; Psalms 87; Psalms 88; Psalms 89

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Psalms 86

1 Listen to me, Lord, and answer me, for I am helpless and weak.

2 Save me from death, because I am loyal to you; save me, for I am your servant and I trust in you.

3 You are my God, so be merciful to me; I pray to you all day long.

4 Make your servant glad, O Lord, because my prayers go up to you.

5 You are good to us and forgiving, full of constant love for all who pray to you.

6 Listen, Lord, to my prayer; hear my cries for help.

7 I call to you in times of trouble, because you answer my prayers.

8 There is no god like you, O Lord, not one has done what you have done.

9 All the nations that you have created will come and bow down to you; they will praise your greatness.

10 You are mighty and do wonderful things; you alone are God.

11 Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do, and I will obey you faithfully; teach me to serve you with complete devotion.

12 I will praise you with all my heart, O Lord my God; I will proclaim your greatness forever.

13 How great is your constant love for me! You have saved me from the grave itself.

14 Proud people are coming against me, O God; a cruel gang is trying to kill me - people who pay no attention to you.

15 But you, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God, always patient, always kind and faithful.

16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; strengthen me and save me, because I serve you just as my mother did.

17 Show me proof of your goodness, Lord; those who hate me will be ashamed when they see that you have given me comfort and help.

Psalms 87

1 The Lord built his city on the sacred hill;

2 more than any other place in Israel he loves the city of Jerusalem.

3 Listen, city of God, to the wonderful things he says about you:

4 "I will include Egypt and Babylonia when I list the nations that obey me; the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem."

5 Of Zion it will be said that all nations belong there and that the Almighty will make her strong.

6 The Lord will write a list of the peoples and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem.

7 They dance and sing, "In Zion is the source of all our blessings."

Psalms 88

1 Lord God, my savior, I cry out all day, and at night I come before you.

2 Hear my prayer; listen to my cry for help!

3 So many troubles have fallen on me that I am close to death.

4 I am like all others who are about to die; all my strength is gone.

5 I am abandoned among the dead; I am like the slain lying in their graves, those you have forgotten completely, who are beyond your help.

6 You have thrown me into the depths of the tomb, into the darkest and deepest pit.

7 Your anger lies heavy on me, and I am crushed beneath its waves.

8 You have caused my friends to abandon me; you have made me repulsive to them. I am closed in and cannot escape;

9 my eyes are weak from suffering. Lord, every day I call to you and lift my hands to you in prayer.

10 Do you perform miracles for the dead? Do they rise up and praise you?

11 Is your constant love spoken of in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

12 Are your miracles seen in that place of darkness or your goodness in the land of the forgotten?

13 Lord, I call to you for help; every morning I pray to you.

14 Why do you reject me, Lord? Why do you turn away from me?

15 Ever since I was young, I have suffered and been near death; I am worn out from the burden of your punishments.

16 Your furious anger crushes me; your terrible attacks destroy me.

17 All day long they surround me like a flood; they close in on me from every side.

18 You have made even my closest friends abandon me, and darkness is my only companion.

Psalms 89

1 O Lord, I will always sing of your constant love; I will proclaim your faithfulness forever.

2 I know that your love will last for all time, that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky.

3 You said, "I have made a covenant with the man I chose; I have promised my servant David,

4 "A descendant of yours will always be king; I will preserve your dynasty forever.' "

5 The heavens sing of the wonderful things you do; the holy ones sing of your faithfulness, Lord.

6 No one in heaven is like you, Lord; none of the heavenly beings is your equal.

7 You are feared in the council of the holy ones; they all stand in awe of you.

8 Lord God Almighty, none is as mighty as you; in all things you are faithful, O Lord.

9 You rule over the powerful sea; you calm its angry waves.

10 You crushed the monster Rahab and killed it; with your mighty strength you defeated your enemies.

11 Heaven is yours, the earth also; you made the world and everything in it.

12 You created the north and the south; Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you for joy.

13 How powerful you are! How great is your strength!

14 Your kingdom is founded on righteousness and justice; love and faithfulness are shown in all you do.

15 How happy are the people who worship you with songs, who live in the light of your kindness!

16 Because of you they rejoice all day long, and they praise you for your goodness.

17 You give us great victories; in your love you make us triumphant.

18 You, O Lord, chose our protector; you, the Holy God of Israel, gave us our king.

19 In a vision long ago you said to your faithful servants, "I have given help to a famous soldier; I have given the throne to one I chose from the people.

20 I have made my servant David king by anointing him with holy oil.

21 My strength will always be with him, my power will make him strong.

22 His enemies will never succeed against him; the wicked will not defeat him.

23 I will crush his foes and kill everyone who hates him.

24 I will love him and be loyal to him; I will make him always victorious.

25 I will extend his kingdom from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River.

26 He will say to me, "You are my father and my God; you are my protector and savior.'

27 I will make him my first-born son, the greatest of all kings.

28 I will always keep my promise to him, and my covenant with him will last forever.

29 His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky; a descendant of his will always be king.

30 "But if his descendants disobey my law and do not live according to my commands,

31 if they disregard my instructions and do not keep my commandments,

32 then I will punish them for their sins; I will make them suffer for their wrongs.

33 But I will not stop loving David or fail to keep my promise to him.

34 I will not break my covenant with him or take back even one promise I made him.

35 "Once and for all I have promised by my holy name: I will never lie to David.

36 He will always have descendants, and I will watch over his kingdom as long as the sun shines.

37 It will be as permanent as the moon, that faithful witness in the sky."

38 But you are angry with your chosen king; you have deserted and rejected him.

39 You have broken your covenant with your servant and thrown his crown in the dirt.

40 You have torn down the walls of his city and left his forts in ruins.

41 All who pass by steal his belongings; all his neighbors laugh at him.

42 You have given the victory to his enemies; you have made them all happy.

43 You have made his weapons useless and let him be defeated in battle.

44 You have taken away his royal scepter and knocked his throne to the ground.

45 You have made him old before his time and covered him with disgrace.

46 Lord, will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like fire?

47 Remember how short my life is; remember that you created all of us mortal!

48 Who can live and never die? How can we humans keep ourselves from the grave?

49 Lord, where are the former proofs of your love? Where are the promises you made to David?

50 Don't forget how I, your servant, am insulted, how I endure all the curses of the heathen.

51 Your enemies insult your chosen king, O Lord! They insult him wherever he goes.

52 Praise the Lord forever! Amen! Amen!