Psalm 88-90

New International Reader's Version

³ I have so many troubles
    I’m about to die.
⁴ People think my life is over.
    I’m like someone who doesn’t have any strength.
⁵ People treat me as if I were dead.
    I’m like those who have been killed and are now in the grave.
You don’t even remember them anymore.
    They are cut off from your care.

⁶ It’s as if you have put me deep down in the grave.
    It’s as if you have put me in that deep, dark place.
⁷ Your great anger lies heavy on me.
    All the waves of your anger have crashed over me.
⁸ You have taken my closest friends away from me.
    You have made me sickening to them.
I feel trapped and can’t escape.
⁹     I’m crying so much I can’t see very well.

Lord, I call out to you every day.
    I lift up my hands to you in prayer.
¹⁰ Do you do wonderful things for those who are dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
¹¹ Do those who are dead speak about your love?
    Do those who are in the grave tell how faithful you are?
¹² Are your wonderful deeds known in that dark place?
    Are your holy acts known in that land where the dead are forgotten?

¹³ Lord, I cry out to you for help.
    In the morning I pray to you.
¹⁴ Lord, why do you say no to me?
    Why do you turn your face away from me?

¹⁵ I’ve been in pain ever since I was young.
    I’ve been close to death.
You have made me suffer terrible things.
    I have lost all hope.
¹⁶ Your great anger has swept over me.
    Your terrors have destroyed me.
¹⁷ All day long they surround me like a flood.
    They have closed in all around me.
¹⁸ You have taken my friends and neighbors away from me.
    Darkness is my closest friend.

³ You said, “Here is the covenant I have made with my chosen one.
    Here is the promise I have made to my servant David.
⁴ ‘I will make your family line continue forever.
    I will make your kingdom secure for all time to come.’ ”

⁵ Lord, the heavens praise you for your wonderful deeds.
    When your holy angels gather together,
    they praise you for how faithful you are.
⁶ Who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who among the angels is like the Lord?
⁷ God is highly respected among his holy angels.
    He’s more wonderful than all those who are around him.
⁸ Lord God who rules over all, who is like you?
    Lord, you are mighty. You are faithful in everything you do.

⁹ You rule over the stormy sea.
    When its waves rise up, you calm them down.
¹⁰ You crushed Egypt and killed her people.
    With your powerful arm you scattered your enemies.
¹¹ The heavens belong to you. The earth is yours also.
    You made the world and everything that is in it.
¹² You created everything from north to south.
    Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you with joy.
¹³ Your arm is powerful.
    Your hand is strong.
    Your right hand is mighty.

¹⁴ Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
    Your faithful love leads the way in front of you.
¹⁵ Blessed are those who have learned to shout praise to you.
    Lord, they live in the light of your kindness.
¹⁶ All day long they are full of joy because of who you are.
    They celebrate the fact that you do what is right.
¹⁷ You bring them glory and give them strength.
    You are pleased to honor our king.
¹⁸ Our king is like a shield that keeps us safe.
    He belongs to the Lord.
    He belongs to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ You once spoke to your faithful people in a vision.
    You said, “I have given strength to a soldier.
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
²⁰ I have found my servant David.
    I have poured my sacred oil on his head.
²¹ My powerful hand will keep him going.
    My mighty arm will give him strength.
²² No enemy will have the victory over him.
    No evil person will treat him badly.
²³ I will crush the king’s enemies.
    I will completely destroy them.
²⁴ I will love him and be faithful to him.
    Because of me his power will increase.
²⁵ I will give him a great kingdom.
    It will reach from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River.
²⁶ He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father.
    You are my God. You are my Rock and Savior.’
²⁷ I will also make him my oldest son.
    Among all the kings of the earth, he will be the most important one.
²⁸ I will continue to love him forever.
    I will never break my covenant with him.
²⁹ I will make his family line continue forever.
    His kingdom will last as long as the heavens.

³⁰ “What if his sons turn away from my laws
    and do not follow them?
³¹ What if they disobey my orders
    and fail to keep my commands?
³² Then I will punish them for their sins.
    I will strike them with a rod.
    I will whip them for their evil acts.
³³ But I will not stop loving David.
    I will always be faithful to him.
³⁴ I will not break my covenant.
    I will not go back on my word.
³⁵ Once and for all, I have made a promise.
    It is based on my holiness.
    And I will not lie to David.
³⁶ His family line will continue forever.
    His kingdom will last as long as the sun.
³⁷ It will last forever like the moon,
    that faithful witness in the sky.”

³⁸ But you have turned your back on your anointed king.
    You have been very angry with him.
³⁹ You have broken the covenant you made with him.
    You have thrown your servant’s crown into the dirt.
⁴⁰ You have broken through the walls around his city.
    You have completely destroyed his secure places.
⁴¹ All those who pass by have carried off what belonged to him.
    His neighbors make fun of him.
⁴² You have made his enemies strong.
    You have made all of them happy.
⁴³ You have made his sword useless.
    You have not helped him in battle.
⁴⁴ You have put an end to his glory.
    You have knocked his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵ You have cut short the days of his life.
    You have covered him with shame.

⁴⁶ Lord, how long will you hide yourself? Will it be forever?
    How long will your anger burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how short my life is.
    You have created all people for such a useless purpose!
⁴⁸ Who can live and not die?
    Who can escape the power of the grave?
⁴⁹ Lord, where is the great love you used to have?
    You faithfully promised it to David.
⁵⁰ Lord, remember how my enemies have made fun of me.
    I’ve had to put up with mean words from all the nations.
⁵¹ Lord, your enemies have said mean things.
    They have laughed at everything your anointed king has done.

⁵² Give praise to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

³ You turn human beings back to dust.
    You say to them, “Return to dust.”
⁴ To you a thousand years
    are like a day that has just gone by.
    They are like a few hours of the night.
⁵ Yet you sweep people away, and they die.
    They are like new grass that grows in the morning.
⁶ In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it’s all dried up.

⁷ Your anger destroys us.
    Your burning anger terrifies us.
⁸ You have put our sins right in front of you.
    You have placed our secret sins where you can see them clearly.
⁹ You have been angry with us all of our days.
    We groan as we come to the end of our lives.
¹⁰ We live to be about 70.
    Or we may live to be 80, if we stay healthy.
But even our best days are filled with trouble and sorrow.
    The years quickly pass, and we are gone.

¹¹ If only we knew the power of your anger!
    It’s as great as the respect we should have for you.
¹² Teach us to realize how short our lives are.
    Then our hearts will become wise.

¹³ Lord, please stop punishing us!
    How long will you keep it up?
    Be kind to us.
¹⁴ Satisfy us with your faithful love every morning.
    Then we can sing for joy and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have made us suffer.
    Give us joy for as many years as we’ve had trouble.
¹⁶ Show us your mighty acts.
    Let our children see your glorious power.

¹⁷ May the Lord our God always be pleased with us.
    Lord, make what we do succeed.
    Please make what we do succeed.