Psalm 86-89

A Prayer for God's Continued Mercy

86¹ Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. ² Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. ³ Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. ⁴ Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. ⁵ O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. ⁶ Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord ; hear my urgent cry. ⁷ I will call to you whenever I'm in trouble, and you will answer me.

⁸ No pagan god is like you, O Lord. None can do what you do! ⁹ All the nations you made will come and bow before you, Lord; they will praise your holy name. ¹⁰ For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God. ¹¹ Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. ¹² With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, ¹³ for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death. ¹⁴ O God, insolent people rise up against me; a violent gang is trying to kill me. You mean nothing to them. ¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. ¹⁶ Look down and have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant; save me, the son of your servant. ¹⁷ Send me a sign of your favor. Then those who hate me will be put to shame, for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.

The Privileges of Dwelling in Zion

87¹ On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the Lord . ² He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. ³ O city of God, what glorious things are said of you! Interlude

⁴ I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me- also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia. They have all become citizens of Jerusalem! ⁵ Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, "Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there." And the Most High will personally bless this city. ⁶ When the Lord registers the nations, he will say, "They have all become citizens of Jerusalem." Interlude ⁷ The people will play flutes and sing, "The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!"

A Prayer for Deliverance from Death

88¹ O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night. ² Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. ³ For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. ⁴ I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left. ⁵ They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care. ⁶ You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. ⁷ Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude ⁸ You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape. ⁹ My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord ; I lift my hands to you for mercy.

¹⁰ Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude ¹¹ Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction? ¹² Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness? ¹³ O Lord, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day. ¹⁴ O Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me? ¹⁵ I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors. ¹⁶ Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have paralyzed me. ¹⁷ They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have engulfed me completely. ¹⁸ You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.

God's Covenant with David

89¹ I will sing of the Lord 's unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. ² Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. ³ The Lord said, "I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him: ⁴ 'I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.'" Interlude

⁵ All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord ; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness. ⁶ For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord ? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord ? ⁷ The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. ⁸ O Lord God of Heaven's Armies! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord ? You are entirely faithful. ⁹ You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves. ¹⁰ You crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. ¹¹ The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours-you created it all. ¹² You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name. ¹³ Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength. ¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.

¹⁵ Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord . ¹⁶ They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness. ¹⁷ You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong. ¹⁸ Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.

¹⁹ Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people. You said, "I have raised up a warrior. I have selected him from the common people to be king. ²⁰ I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil. ²¹ I will steady him with my hand; with my powerful arm I will make him strong. ²² His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him. ²³ I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him. ²⁴ My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and by my authority he will grow in power. ²⁵ I will extend his rule over the sea, his dominion over the rivers. ²⁶ And he will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.' ²⁷ I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth. ²⁸ I will love him and be kind to him forever; my covenant with him will never end. ²⁹ I will preserve an heir for him; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven. ³⁰ But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations, ³¹ if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands, ³² then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating. ³³ But I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him. ³⁴ No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said. ³⁵ I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie: ³⁶ His dynasty will go on forever; his kingdom will endure as the sun. ³⁷ It will be as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!" Interlude

³⁸ But now you have rejected him and cast him off. You are angry with your anointed king. ³⁹ You have renounced your covenant with him; you have thrown his crown in the dust. ⁴⁰ You have broken down the walls protecting him and ruined every fort defending him. ⁴¹ Everyone who comes along has robbed him, and he has become a joke to his neighbors. ⁴² You have strengthened his enemies and made them all rejoice. ⁴³ You have made his sword useless and refused to help him in battle. ⁴⁴ You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne. ⁴⁵ You have made him old before his time and publicly disgraced him. Interlude ⁴⁶ O Lord, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like fire? ⁴⁷ Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence! ⁴⁸ No one can live forever; all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave. Interlude ⁴⁹ Lord, where is your unfailing love? You promised it to David with a faithful pledge. ⁵⁰ Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced! I carry in my heart the insults of so many people. ⁵¹ Your enemies have mocked me, O Lord ; they mock your anointed king wherever he goes. ⁵² Praise the Lord forever! Amen and amen!