A Prayer for God's Continued Mercy

861 Incline Your ear , O Lord , and answer me; For I am afflicted and needy . 2 Preserve my soul , for I am a godly man ; O You my God , save Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord , For to You I cry all day long. 4 Make glad the soul of Your servant , For to You, O Lord , I lift up my soul . 5 For You, Lord , are good , and ready to forgive , And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. 6 Give ear , O Lord , to my prayer ; And give heed to the voice of my supplications ! 7 In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, For You will answer me.

8 There is no one like You among the gods , O Lord , Nor are there any works like Yours. 9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord , And they shall glorify Your name . 10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds ; You alone are God . 11 Teach me Your way , O Lord ; I will walk in Your truth ; Unite my heart to fear Your name . 12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God , with all my heart , And will glorify Your name forever . 13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great , And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol . 14 O God , arrogant men have risen up against me, And a band of violent men have sought my life , And they have not set You before them. 15 But You, O Lord , are a God merciful and gracious , Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth . 16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Your strength to Your servant , And save the son of Your handmaid . 17 Show me a sign for good , That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed , Because You, O Lord , have helped me and comforted me.

The Privileges of Dwelling in Zion

871 His foundation is in the holy mountains . 2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob . 3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God . Selah .

4 "I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me; Behold , Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia : 'This one was born there .' " 5 But of Zion it shall be said , "This one and that one were born in her"; And the Most High Himself will establish her. 6 The Lord will count when He registers the peoples , "This one was born there ." Selah . 7 Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, "All my springs of joy are in you."

A Prayer for Deliverance from Death

881 O Lord , the God of my salvation , I have cried out by day and in the night before You. 2 Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry ! 3 For my soul has had enough troubles , And my life has drawn near to Sheol . 4 I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit ; I have become like a man without strength , 5 Forsaken among the dead , Like the slain who lie in the grave , Whom You remember no more , And they are cut off from Your hand . 6 You have put me in the lowest pit , In dark places , in the depths . 7 Your wrath has rested upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves . Selah . 8 You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out. 9 My eye has wasted away because of affliction ; I have called upon You every day , O Lord ; I have spread out my hands to You.

10 Will You perform wonders for the dead ? Will the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah . 11 Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave , Your faithfulness in Abaddon ? 12 Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness ? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ? 13 But I, O Lord , have cried out to You for help , And in the morning my prayer comes before You. 14 O Lord , why do You reject my soul ? Why do You hide Your face from me? 15 I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors ; I am overcome . 16 Your burning anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me. 17 They have surrounded me like water all day long; They have encompassed me altogether . 18 You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are in darkness .

God's Covenant with David

891 I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever ; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth . 2 For I have said , " Lovingkindness will be built up forever ; In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness ." 3 "I have made a covenant with My chosen ; I have sworn to David My servant , 4 I will establish your seed forever e And build up your throne to all generations ." Selah .

5 The heavens will praise Your wonders , O Lord ; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones . 6 For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord ? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord , 7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones , And awesome above all those who are around Him? 8 O Lord God of hosts , who is like You, O mighty Lord ? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. 9 You rule the swelling of the sea ; When its waves rise , You still them. 10 You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain ; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm . 11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all it contains , You have founded them. 12 The north and the south , You have created them; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name . 13 You have a strong arm ; Your hand is mighty , Your right hand is exalted . 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne ; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound ! O Lord , they walk in the light of Your countenance . 16 In Your name they rejoice all the day , And by Your righteousness they are exalted . 17 For You are the glory of their strength , And by Your favor our horn is exalted . 18 For our shield belongs to the Lord , And our king to the Holy One of Israel .

19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones , And said , "I have given help to one who is mighty ; I have exalted one chosen from the people . 20 "I have found David My servant ; With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21 With whom My hand will be established ; My arm also will strengthen him. 22 "The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 "But I shall crush his adversaries before e him, And strike those who hate him. 24 "My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted . 25 "I shall also set his hand on the sea And his right hand on the rivers . 26 "He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father , My God , and the rock of my salvation .' 27 "I also shall make him My firstborn , The highest of the kings of the earth . 28 "My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever , And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. 29 "So I will establish his descendants forever And his throne as the days of heaven . 30 "If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments , 31 If they violate My statutes And do not keep My commandments , 32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with stripes . 33 "But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness . 34 "My covenant I will not violate , Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips . 35 "Once I have sworn by My holiness ; I will not lie to David . 36 "His descendants shall endure forever And his throne as the sun before Me. 37 "It shall be established forever like the moon , And the witness in the sky is faithful ." Selah .

38 But You have cast off and rejected , You have been full of wrath against Your anointed . 39 You have spurned the covenant of Your servant ; You have profaned his crown in the dust . 40 You have broken down all his walls ; You have brought his strongholds to ruin . 41 All who pass along the way plunder him; He has become a reproach to his neighbors . 42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries ; You have made all his enemies rejoice . 43 You also turn back the edge of his sword And have not made him stand in battle . 44 You have made his splendor to cease And cast his throne to the ground . 45 You have shortened the days of his youth ; You have covered him with shame . Selah . 46 How long , O Lord ? Will You hide Yourself forever ? Will Your wrath burn like fire ? 47 Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men ! 48 What man can live and not see death ? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol ? Selah . 49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses , O Lord , Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness ? 50 Remember , O Lord , the reproach of Your servants ; How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples , 51 With which Your enemies have reproached , O Lord , With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed . 52 Blessed be the Lord forever ! Amen and Amen .