Category: Psalm

[88:1] Lord God, my savior, I cry out all day, and at night I come before you.

[88:2] Hear my prayer; listen to my cry for help!

[88:3] So many troubles have fallen on me that I am close to death.

[88:4] I am like all others who are about to die; all my strength is gone.

[88:5] I am abandoned among the dead; I am like the slain lying in their graves, those you have forgotten completely, who are beyond your help.

[88:6] You have thrown me into the depths of the tomb, into the darkest and deepest pit.

[88:7] Your anger lies heavy on me, and I am crushed beneath its waves.

[88:8] You have caused my friends to abandon me; you have made me repulsive to them. I am closed in and cannot escape;

[88:9] my eyes are weak from suffering. Lord, every day I call to you and lift my hands to you in prayer.

[88:10] Do you perform miracles for the dead? Do they rise up and praise you?

[88:11] Is your constant love spoken of in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

[88:12] Are your miracles seen in that place of darkness or your goodness in the land of the forgotten?

[88:13] Lord, I call to you for help; every morning I pray to you.

[88:14] Why do you reject me, Lord? Why do you turn away from me?

[88:15] Ever since I was young, I have suffered and been near death; I am worn out from the burden of your punishments.

[88:16] Your furious anger crushes me; your terrible attacks destroy me.

[88:17] All day long they surround me like a flood; they close in on me from every side.

[88:18] You have made even my closest friends abandon me, and darkness is my only companion.

[89:1] O Lord, I will always sing of your constant love; I will proclaim your faithfulness forever.

[89:2] I know that your love will last for all time, that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky.

[89:3] You said, “I have made a covenant with the man I chose; I have promised my servant David,

[89:4] ‘A descendant of yours will always be king; I will preserve your dynasty forever.’”

[89:5] The heavens sing of the wonderful things you do; the holy ones sing of your faithfulness, Lord.

[89:6] No one in heaven is like you, Lord; none of the heavenly beings is your equal.

[89:7] You are feared in the council of the holy ones; they all stand in awe of you.

[89:8] Lord God Almighty, none is as mighty as you; in all things you are faithful, O Lord.

[89:9] You rule over the powerful sea; you calm its angry waves.

[89:10] You crushed the monster Rahab and killed it; with your mighty strength you defeated your enemies.

[89:11] Heaven is yours, the earth also; you made the world and everything in it.

[89:12] You created the north and the south; Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you for joy.

[89:13] How powerful you are! How great is your strength!

[89:14] Your kingdom is founded on righteousness and justice; love and faithfulness are shown in all you do.

[89:15] How happy are the people who worship you with songs, who live in the light of your kindness!

[89:16] Because of you they rejoice all day long, and they praise you for your goodness.

[89:17] You give us great victories; in your love you make us triumphant.

[89:18] You, O Lord, chose our protector; you, the Holy God of Israel, gave us our king.

[89:19] In a vision long ago you said to your faithful servants, “I have given help to a famous soldier; I have given the throne to one I chose from the people.

[89:20] I have made my servant David king by anointing him with holy oil.

[89:21] My strength will always be with him, my power will make him strong.

[89:22] His enemies will never succeed against him; the wicked will not defeat him.

[89:23] I will crush his foes and kill everyone who hates him.

[89:24] I will love him and be loyal to him; I will make him always victorious.

[89:25] I will extend his kingdom from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River.

[89:26] He will say to me, ‘You are my father and my God; you are my protector and savior.’

[89:27] I will make him my first-born son, the greatest of all kings.

[89:28] I will always keep my promise to him, and my covenant with him will last forever.

[89:29] His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky; a descendant of his will always be king.

[89:30] “But if his descendants disobey my law and do not live according to my commands,

[89:31] if they disregard my instructions and do not keep my commandments,

[89:32] then I will punish them for their sins; I will make them suffer for their wrongs.

[89:33] But I will not stop loving David or fail to keep my promise to him.

[89:34] I will not break my covenant with him or take back even one promise I made him.

[89:35] “Once and for all I have promised by my holy name: I will never lie to David.

[89:36] He will always have descendants, and I will watch over his kingdom as long as the sun shines.

[89:37] It will be as permanent as the moon, that faithful witness in the sky.”

[89:38] But you are angry with your chosen king; you have deserted and rejected him.

[89:39] You have broken your covenant with your servant and thrown his crown in the dirt.

[89:40] You have torn down the walls of his city and left his forts in ruins.

[89:41] All who pass by steal his belongings; all his neighbors laugh at him.

[89:42] You have given the victory to his enemies; you have made them all happy.

[89:43] You have made his weapons useless and let him be defeated in battle.

[89:44] You have taken away his royal scepter and knocked his throne to the ground.

[89:45] You have made him old before his time and covered him with disgrace.

[89:46] Lord, will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like fire?

[89:47] Remember how short my life is; remember that you created all of us mortal!

[89:48] Who can live and never die? How can we humans keep ourselves from the grave?

[89:49] Lord, where are the former proofs of your love? Where are the promises you made to David?

[89:50] Don't forget how I, your servant, am insulted, how I endure all the curses of the heathen.

[89:51] Your enemies insult your chosen king, O Lord! They insult him wherever he goes.

[89:52] Praise the Lord forever!

[90:1] O Lord, you have always been our home.

[90:2] Before you created the hills or brought the world into being, you were eternally God, and will be God forever.

[90:3] You tell us to return to what we were; you change us back to dust.

[90:4] A thousand years to you are like one day; they are like yesterday, already gone, like a short hour in the night.

[90:5] You carry us away like a flood; we last no longer than a dream. We are like weeds that sprout in the morning,

[90:6] that grow and burst into bloom, then dry up and die in the evening.

[90:7] We are destroyed by your anger; we are terrified by your fury.

[90:8] You place our sins before you, our secret sins where you can see them.

[90:9] Our life is cut short by your anger; it fades away like a whisper.

[90:10] Seventy years is all we have— eighty years, if we are strong; yet all they bring us is trouble and sorrow; life is soon over, and we are gone.

[90:11] Who has felt the full power of your anger? Who knows what fear your fury can bring?

[90:12] Teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise.

[90:13] How much longer will your anger last? Have pity, O Lord, on your servants!

[90:14] Fill us each morning with your constant love, so that we may sing and be glad all our life.

[90:15] Give us now as much happiness as the sadness you gave us during all our years of misery.

[90:16] Let us, your servants, see your mighty deeds; let our descendants see your glorious might.

[90:17] Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!

[91:1] Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,

[91:2] can say to him, “You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust.”

[91:3] He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases.

[91:4] He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you.

[91:5] You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day

[91:6] or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.

[91:7] A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all around you, but you will not be harmed.

[91:8] You will look and see how the wicked are punished.

[91:9] You have made the Lord your defender, the Most High your protector,

[91:10] and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home.

[91:11] God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.

[91:12] They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.

[91:13] You will trample down lions and snakes, fierce lions and poisonous snakes.

[91:14] God says, “I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord.

[91:15] When they call to me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them. I will rescue them and honor them.

[91:16] I will reward them with long life; I will save them.”

[92:1] How good it is to give thanks to you, O Lord, to sing in your honor, O Most High God,

[92:2] to proclaim your constant love every morning and your faithfulness every night,

[92:3] with the music of stringed instruments and with melody on the harp.

[92:4] Your mighty deeds, O Lord, make me glad; because of what you have done, I sing for joy.

[92:5] How great are your actions, Lord! How deep are your thoughts!

[92:6] This is something a fool cannot know; someone who is stupid cannot understand:

[92:7] the wicked may grow like weeds, those who do wrong may prosper; yet they will be totally destroyed,

[92:8] because you, Lord, are supreme forever.

[92:9] We know that your enemies will die, and all the wicked will be defeated.

[92:10] You have made me as strong as a wild ox; you have blessed me with happiness.

[92:11] I have seen the defeat of my enemies and heard the cries of the wicked.

[92:12] The righteous will flourish like palm trees; they will grow like the cedars of Lebanon.

[92:13] They are like trees planted in the house of the Lord, that flourish in the Temple of our God,

[92:14] that still bear fruit in old age and are always green and strong.

[92:15] This shows that the Lord is just, that there is no wrong in my protector.

[93:1] The Lord is king. He is clothed with majesty and strength. The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved.

[93:2] Your throne, O Lord, has been firm from the beginning, and you existed before time began.

[93:3] The ocean depths raise their voice, O Lord; they raise their voice and roar.

[93:4] The Lord rules supreme in heaven, greater than the roar of the ocean, more powerful than the waves of the sea.

[93:5] Your laws are eternal, Lord, and your Temple is holy indeed, forever and ever.

[94:1] Lord, you are a God who punishes; reveal your anger!

[94:2] You are the judge of us all; rise and give the proud what they deserve!

[94:3] How much longer will the wicked be glad? How much longer, Lord?

[94:4] How much longer will criminals be proud and boast about their crimes?

[94:5] They crush your people, Lord; they oppress those who belong to you.

[94:6] They kill widows and orphans, and murder the strangers who live in our land.

[94:7] They say, “The Lord does not see us; the God of Israel does not notice.”

[94:8] My people, how can you be such stupid fools? When will you ever learn?

[94:9] God made our ears—can't he hear? He made our eyes—can't he see?

[94:10] He scolds the nations—won't he punish them? He is the teacher of us all—hasn't he any knowledge?

[94:11] The Lord knows what we think; he knows how senseless our reasoning is.

[94:12] Lord, how happy are those you instruct, the ones to whom you teach your law!

[94:13] You give them rest from days of trouble until a pit is dug to trap the wicked.

[94:14] The Lord will not abandon his people; he will not desert those who belong to him.

[94:15] Justice will again be found in the courts, and all righteous people will support it.

[94:16] Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against the evildoers?

[94:17] If the Lord had not helped me, I would have gone quickly to the land of silence.

[94:18] I said, “I am falling”; but your constant love, O Lord, held me up.

[94:19] Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad.

[94:20] You have nothing to do with corrupt judges, who make injustice legal,

[94:21] who plot against good people and sentence the innocent to death.

[94:22] But the Lord defends me; my God protects me.

[94:23] He will punish them for their wickedness and destroy them for their sins; the Lord our God will destroy them.