Psalm 85

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

85:1 Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. ²You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah

³You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.

⁴Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us! ⁵Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? ⁶Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? ⁷Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.

⁸Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. ⁹Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. ¹¹Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. ¹²Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. ¹³Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.

Psalm 86

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

A Prayer of David.

86:1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. ²Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. ³Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. ⁴Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. ⁵For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. ⁶Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. ⁷In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.

⁸There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. ⁹All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. ¹⁰For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. ¹¹Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. ¹²I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. ¹³For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seek my life, and they do not set you before them. ¹⁵But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. ¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. ¹⁷Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 87

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.

87:1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded; ² the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. ³Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah

⁴Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush[1]— “This one was born there,” they say. ⁵And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. ⁶The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah

⁷Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”

[1] Probably Nubia

Psalm 88

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil[2] of Heman the Ezrahite.

88:1 O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you. ²Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!

³For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. ⁴I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, ⁵like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. ⁶You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. ⁷Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

⁸You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror[3] to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; ⁹ my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. ¹⁰Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah

¹¹Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? ¹²Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. ¹⁴O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? ¹⁵Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.^[4]¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. ¹⁷They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. ¹⁸You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.[5]

[2] Probably musical or liturgical terms [3] Or an abomination [4] The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [5] Or darkness has become my only companion