Psalm 87

The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion.

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.

1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion
More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God. Selah.

4 "I shall mention tRahab and Babylon among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia:
'This one was born there.'"

5 But of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her";
And the Most High Himself will establish her.

6 The LORD will count when He registers the peoples,
"This one was born there." Selah.

7 Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say,
"All my springs of joy are in you."

Psalm 88

A Petition to Be Saved from Death.

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 O LORD, the God of my salvation,
I have cried out by day and in the night before You.

2 Let my prayer come before You;
Incline Your ear to my cry!

3 For my soul has had enough troubles,
And my life has drawn near to Sheol.

4 I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit;
I have become like a man without strength,

5 Forsaken among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And they are cut off from Your hand.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
In dark places, in the depths.

7 Your wrath has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah.

8 You have removed my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an tobject of loathing to them;
I am shut up and cannot go out.

9 My eye has wasted away because of affliction;
I have called upon You every day, O LORD;
I have spread out my hands to You.

10 Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Will the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.

11 Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12 Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

14 O LORD, why do You reject my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?

15 I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on;
I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome.

16 Your burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.

17 They have surrounded me like water all day long;
They have encompassed me altogether.

18 You have removed lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in darkness.

Psalm 89

The LORD'S Covenant with David, and Israel's Afflictions.

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1 I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever;
To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.

2 For I have said, "Lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness."

3 "I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant,

4 I will establish your seed forever
And build up your throne to all generations." Selah.

5 The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.

6 For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD,

7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?

8 O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

9 You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.

10 You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and tall it contains, You have founded them.

12 The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

13 You have a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

15 How blessed are the people who know the tjoyful sound!
O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance.

16 In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.

17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.

18 For our shield belongs to the LORD,
tAnd our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
And said, "I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

20 "I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,

21 With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.

22 "The enemy will not tdeceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

23 "But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.

24 "My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.

25 "I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.

26 "He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.'

27 "I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.

28 "My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.

29 "So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.

30 "If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,

31 If they tviolate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,

32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod
And their iniquity with stripes.

33 "But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.

34 "My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.

35 "tOnce I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.

36 "His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.

37 "It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful." Selah.

38 But You have cast off and rejected,
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.

39 You have spurned the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown in the dust.

40 You have broken down all his walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

41 All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a reproach to his neighbors.

42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.

43 You also turn back the edge of his sword
And have not made him stand in battle.

44 You have made his splendor to cease
And cast his throne to the ground.

45 You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame. Selah.

46 How long, O LORD?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?

47 Remember what my span of life is;
For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!

48 What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.

49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?

50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants;
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,

51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

52 Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.