Psalm 88-89

New King James Version

³ For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life ^(C)draws near to the grave.
⁴ I am counted with those who ^(D)go^[c] down to the pit;
^(E)I am like a man who has no strength,
^5 [d]Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.

⁶ You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all ^(F)Your waves. Selah
^8 (G)You have ^[e]put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
^(H)I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
⁹ My eye wastes away because of affliction.

^(I)Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
¹⁰ Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall ^[f]the dead arise and praise You? Selah
¹¹ Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
¹² Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³ But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
¹⁴ Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
¹⁵ I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
¹⁶ Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have ^[g]cut me off.
¹⁷ They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
^18 (J)Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.

³ “I^(M) have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have ^(N)sworn to My servant David:
⁴ ‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne ^(O)to all generations.’ ” Selah

⁵ And ^(P)the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
^6 (Q)For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
^7 (R)God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
⁸ O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
^9 (S)You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
^10 (T)You have broken ^[i]Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

^11 (U)The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
¹² The north and the south, You have created them;
^(V)Tabor and ^(W)Hermon rejoice in Your name.
¹³ You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the ^(X)joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
¹⁶ In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
¹⁷ For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our ^[j]horn is ^(Y)exalted.
¹⁸ For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Then You spoke in a vision to Your ^[k]holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one ^(Z)chosen from the people.
^20 (AA)I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
^21 (AB)With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
²² The enemy shall not ^[l]outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
²³ I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.

²⁴ “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
²⁵ Also I will ^(AC)set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
²⁶ He shall cry to Me, ‘You are ^(AD)my Father,
My God, and ^(AE)the rock of my salvation.’
²⁷ Also I will make him ^(AF)My firstborn,
^(AG)The highest of the kings of the earth.
^28 (AH)My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
²⁹ His seed also I will make to endure forever,
^(AI)And his throne ^(AJ)as the days of heaven.

³⁰ “If^(AK) his sons ^(AL)forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
³¹ If they ^[m]break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
³² Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
^33 (AM)Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not ^[n]utterly take from him,
Nor ^[o]allow My faithfulness to fail.
³⁴ My covenant I will not break,
Nor ^(AN)alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
³⁵ Once I have sworn ^(AO)by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
^36 (AP)His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne ^(AQ)as the sun before Me;
³⁷ It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

³⁸ But You have ^(AR)cast off and ^(AS)abhorred,^[p]
You have been furious with Your ^[q]anointed.
³⁹ You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
^(AT)You have ^[r]profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
⁴⁰ You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his ^[s]strongholds to ruin.
⁴¹ All who pass by the way ^(AU)plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.
⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³ You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.
⁴⁴ You have made his ^[t]glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.
⁴⁵ The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah

⁴⁶ How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how short my time ^(AV)is;
For what ^(AW)futility have You created all the children of men?
⁴⁸ What man can live and not ^[u]see ^(AX)death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of ^[v]the grave? Selah

⁴⁹ Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You ^(AY)swore to David ^(AZ)in Your truth?
⁵⁰ Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants—
^(BA)How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
^51 (BB)With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your ^[w]anointed.

^52 (BC)Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.