Historical
Psalm 86[a]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 A prayer of David.
I
Incline your ear, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and oppressed.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, Lord;
to you I call all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant;
to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.(A)
5 Lord, you are good and forgiving,
most merciful to all who call on you.(B)
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my cry for help.(C)
7 On the day of my distress I call to you,
for you will answer me.
II
8 None among the gods can equal you, O Lord;
nor can their deeds compare to yours.(D)
9 All the nations you have made shall come
to bow before you, Lord,
and give honor to your name.(E)
10 For you are great and do wondrous deeds;
and you alone are God.
III
11 Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,(F)
single-hearted and revering your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart,
glorify your name forever, Lord my God.
13 Your mercy to me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol.(G)
14 O God, the arrogant have risen against me;
a ruthless band has sought my life;
to you they pay no heed.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.(H)
16 Turn to me, be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your handmaid.(I)
17 Give me a sign of your favor:
make my enemies see, to their confusion,
that you, Lord, help and comfort me.
Psalm 87[b]
Zion the True Birthplace
1 (J)A psalm of the Korahites. A song.
I
His foundation is on holy mountains,
2 The Lord loves the gates[c] of Zion
more than any dwelling in Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
Selah
II
4 Rahab and Babylon I count
among those who know me.
See, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia,
“This one was born there.”
5 [d]And of Zion it will be said:
“Each one was born in it.”(K)
The Most High will establish it;(L)
6 the Lord notes in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born there.”(M)
Selah
7 So singers and dancers:
“All my springs are in you.”(N)
Psalm 88[e]
A Despairing Lament
1 A song; a psalm of the Korahites. For the leader; according to Mahalath. For singing; a maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
I
2 Lord, the God of my salvation, I call out by day;
at night I cry aloud in your presence.(O)
3 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.(P)
4 [f]For my soul is filled with troubles;(Q)
my life draws near to Sheol.
5 I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a warrior without strength.
6 My couch is among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave.
You remember them no more;
they are cut off from your influence.
7 You plunge me into the bottom of the pit,
into the darkness of the abyss.
8 Your wrath lies heavy upon me;
all your waves crash over me.(R)
Selah
II
9 Because of you my acquaintances shun me;
you make me loathsome to them;(S)
Caged in, I cannot escape;
10 my eyes grow dim from trouble.
All day I call on you, Lord;
I stretch out my hands to you.
11 [g]Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades arise and praise you?(T)
Selah
III
12 Is your mercy proclaimed in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?[h]
13 Are your marvels declared in the darkness,
your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
IV
14 But I cry out to you, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15 Why do you reject my soul, Lord,
and hide your face from me?
16 I have been mortally afflicted since youth;
I have borne your terrors and I am made numb.
17 Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.(U)
18 All day they surge round like a flood;
from every side they encircle me.
19 Because of you friend and neighbor shun me;(V)
my only friend is darkness.
Psalm 89[i]
A Lament over God’s Promise to David
1 A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
A
I
2 I will sing of your mercy forever, Lord(W)
proclaim your faithfulness through all ages.
3 [j]For I said, “My mercy is established forever;
my faithfulness will stand as long as the heavens.
4 I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
5 I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages.”(X)
Selah
II
6 The heavens praise your marvels, Lord,
your loyalty in the assembly of the holy ones.(Y)
7 Who in the skies ranks with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the sons of the gods?[k](Z)
8 A God dreaded in the council of the holy ones,
greater and more awesome than all those around him!
9 Lord, God of hosts, who is like you?
Mighty Lord, your faithfulness surrounds you.
10 You rule the raging sea;(AA)
you still its swelling waves.
11 You crush Rahab[l] with a mortal blow;
with your strong arm you scatter your foes.
12 Yours are the heavens, yours the earth;
you founded the world and everything in it.(AB)
13 [m]Zaphon and Amanus you created;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
14 You have a mighty arm.
Your hand is strong; your right hand is ever exalted.
15 Justice and judgment are the foundation of your throne;
mercy and faithfulness march before you.(AC)
16 Blessed the people who know the war cry,
who walk in the radiance of your face, Lord.
17 In your name they sing joyfully all the day;
they rejoice in your righteousness.(AD)
18 You are their majestic strength;
by your favor our horn[n] is exalted.(AE)
19 Truly the Lord is our shield,
the Holy One of Israel, our king!(AF)
III
20 Then you spoke in vision;(AG)
to your faithful ones you said:
“I have set a leader over the warriors;
I have raised up a chosen one from the people.
21 I have chosen David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him.
22 My hand will be with him;(AH)
my arm will make him strong.
23 No enemy shall outwit him,
nor shall the wicked defeat him.
24 I will crush his foes before him,
strike down those who hate him.
25 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him;
through my name his horn will be exalted.
26 [o]I will set his hand upon the sea,
his right hand upon the rivers.
27 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,(AI)
my God, the Rock of my salvation!’
28 I myself make him the firstborn,
Most High[p] over the kings of the earth.
29 Forever I will maintain my mercy for him;(AJ)
my covenant with him stands firm.
30 I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.
31 If his descendants forsake my teaching,(AK)
do not follow my decrees,
32 If they fail to observe my statutes,
do not keep my commandments,
33 I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with blows.
34 But I will not take my mercy from him,
nor will I betray my bond of faithfulness.(AL)
35 I will not violate my covenant;
the promise of my lips I will not alter.(AM)
36 By my holiness I swore once for all:(AN)
I will never be false to David.
37 [q]His dynasty will continue forever,(AO)
his throne, like the sun before me.
38 Like the moon it will stand eternal,
forever firm like the sky!”
Selah
B
IV
39 But now you have rejected and spurned,(AP)
been enraged at your anointed.
40 You renounced the covenant with your servant,
defiled his crown in the dust.
41 You broke down all city walls,(AQ)
left his strongholds in ruins.
42 All who pass through seize plunder;
his neighbors deride him.
43 You have exalted the right hand of his foes,
have gladdened all his enemies.(AR)
44 You turned back his sharp sword,
did not support him in battle.
45 You brought to an end his splendor,
hurled his throne to the ground.
46 You cut short the days of his youth,
covered him with shame.
Selah
V
47 How long, Lord? Will you hide forever?
Must your wrath smolder like fire?(AS)
48 Remember how brief life is,
how frail the sons of man you have created!(AT)
49 What is man, that he should live and not see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?(AU)
Selah
VI
50 Where are your former mercies, Lord,
that you swore to David in your faithfulness?
51 Remember, Lord, the insults to your servants,
how I have borne in my bosom the slander of the nations.(AV)
52 Your enemies, Lord, insult;
they insult each step of your anointed.
53 [r]Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and amen!(AW)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.