Psalm 85-87

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

85 Lord, You showed ^(A)favor to Your land;
You ^(B)restored the fortunes of Jacob.
²You ^(C)forgave the guilt of Your people;
You ^(D)covered all their sin. Selah
³You ^(E)withdrew all Your fury;
You ^(F)turned away from Your burning anger.

⁴^(G)Restore us, God of our salvation,
And ^(H)cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
⁵Will ^(I)You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to ^[a]all generations?
⁶Will You not ^[b]^(J)revive us again,
So that Your people may ^(K)rejoice in You?
⁷Show us Your mercy, Lord,
And ^(L)grant us Your salvation.

⁸^[c]I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will ^(M)speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
And may they not ^(N)turn back to ^[d]foolishness.
⁹Certainly ^(O)His salvation is near to those who ^[e]fear Him,
That ^(P)glory may dwell in our land.
¹⁰^(Q)Graciousness and ^[f]truth have met together;
^(R)Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
¹¹^[g]Truth ^(S)sprouts from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
¹²Indeed, ^(T)the Lord will give what is good,
And our ^(U)land will yield its produce.
¹³^(V)Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.

Pleading and Trust.

A Prayer of David.

86 ^(W)Incline Your ear, Lord, and answer me;
For I am ^(X)afflicted and needy.
²^(Y)Protect my ^[h]soul, for I am ^(Z)godly;
You my God, save Your servant who ^(AA)trusts in You.
³Be ^(AB)gracious to me, Lord,
For ^(AC)I call upon You all day long.
⁴Make the soul of Your servant joyful,
For to You, Lord, ^(AD)I lift up my soul.
⁵For You, Lord, are ^(AE)good, and ^(AF)ready to forgive,
And ^(AG)abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.
⁶^(AH)Listen, Lord, to my prayer;
And give Your attention to the sound of my pleading!
⁷On ^(AI)the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For ^(AJ)You will answer me.
⁸There is ^(AK)no one like You among the gods, Lord,
Nor are there any works ^(AL)like Yours.
⁹^(AM)All nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, Lord,
And they will glorify Your name.
¹⁰For You are ^(AN)great, and you ^(AO)do ^[i]wondrous deeds;
You alone ^(AP)are God.

¹¹^(AQ)Teach me Your way, Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
^(AR)Unite my heart to fear Your name.
¹²I will ^(AS)give thanks to You, Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forever.
¹³For Your graciousness toward me is great,
And You have ^(AT)saved my soul from the ^[j]depths of ^[k]Sheol.

¹⁴God, arrogant men have ^(AU)risen up against me,
And a gang of violent men have sought my ^[l]life,
And they have not set You before them.
¹⁵But You, Lord, are a ^(AV)compassionate and gracious God,
Slow to anger and abundant in mercy and ^[m]truth.
¹⁶^(AW)Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
^(AX)Grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the ^(AY)son of Your maidservant.
¹⁷^(AZ)Show me a sign of good,
That those who hate me may ^(BA)see it and be ashamed,
Because You, Lord, ^(BB)have helped me and comforted me.

The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion.

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.

87 His ^(BC)foundation is in the holy mountains.
²The Lord ^(BD)loves the gates of Zion
More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
³^(BE)Glorious things are spoken of you,
^(BF)City of God. Selah
⁴“I shall mention ^[n]^(BG)Rahab and Babylon ^[o]among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and ^(BH)Tyre with ^[p]^(BI)Cush:
‘This one was born there.’”
⁵But of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;
And the Most High Himself will ^(BJ)establish her.
⁶The Lord will count when He ^(BK)registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah
⁷Then those who ^(BL)sing as well as those who ^[q]^(BM)play the flutes will say,
“All my ^(BN)springs of joy are in you.”

Footnotes

Psalm 85:5 Lit generation and generation
Psalm 85:6 Or bring to life
Psalm 85:8 Or Let me hear
Psalm 85:8 I.e., foolish self-confidence
Psalm 85:9 Or revere
Psalm 85:10 Or faithfulness
Psalm 85:11 Or Faithfulness
Psalm 86:2 Or life
Psalm 86:10 Or miracles
Psalm 86:13 Lit lowest Sheol
Psalm 86:13 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 86:14 Lit soul
Psalm 86:15 Or faithfulness
Psalm 87:4 I.e., Egypt, as a sea monster; not to be confused with Rahab in Joshua 2
Psalm 87:4 Or as
Psalm 87:4 Or Ethiopia
Psalm 87:7 Or dance