Psalm 84-89

New Living Translation

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
² I long, yes, I faint with longing
    to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
    I will shout joyfully to the living God.
³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
⁴ What joy for those who can live in your house,
    always singing your praises. Interlude

⁵ What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
    who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
⁶ When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,^[b]
    it will become a place of refreshing springs.
    The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
⁷ They will continue to grow stronger,
    and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.^[c]

⁸ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
    Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude

⁹ O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
    Show favor to the one you have anointed.

¹⁰ A single day in your courts
    is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
    than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
    He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
    from those who do what is right.
¹² O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    what joy for those who trust in you.

¹ Lord, you poured out blessings on your land!
    You restored the fortunes of Israel.^[d]
2 You forgave the guilt of your people—
    yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude
³ You held back your fury.
    You kept back your blazing anger.

⁴ Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.
    Put aside your anger against us once more.
⁵ Will you be angry with us always?
    Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?
⁶ Won’t you revive us again,
    so your people can rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

⁸ I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
    for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
    But let them not return to their foolish ways.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    so our land will be filled with his glory.

¹⁰ Unfailing love and truth have met together.
    Righteousness and peace have kissed!
¹¹ Truth springs up from the earth,
    and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
¹² Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.
    Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
¹³ Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
    preparing the way for his steps.

¹ 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.^[e]

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.

¹ 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.^[f]
3 O city of God,
    what glorious things are said of you! Interlude

⁴ I will count Egypt^[g] and Babylon among those who know me—
    also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.^[h]
    They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!
⁵ Regarding Jerusalem^[i] 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^[j] and sing,
    “The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!”

¹ 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^[l] 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?^[m]
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.

¹ 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.^[o]
    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.^[p] 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!