Psalm 84

LONGING FOR GOD’S HOUSE

For the choir director: on the Gittith.b A psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord of Armies.c

2 I long and yearn

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh cry out forA the living God.d

3 Even a sparrow finds a home,

and a swallow, a nest for herself

where she places her young—

near your altars, Lord of Armies,

my King and my God.e

4 How happy are those who reside in your house,

who praise you continually.f

Selah

5 Happy are the people whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.g

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,B

they make it a source of spring water;

even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.C,h

7 They go from strength to strength;

each appears before God in Zion.i

8 Lord God of Armies, hear my prayer;

listen, God of Jacob.j

Selah

9 Consider our shield,D God;k

look on the face of your anointed one.l

10 Better a day in your courts

than a thousand anywhere else.

I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God

than live in the tents of wicked people.m

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield.n

The Lord grants favor and honor;

he does not withhold the good

from those who live with integrity.o

12 Happy is the person who trusts in you,

Lord of Armies!p

Psalm 85

RESTORATION OF FAVOR

For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

1 Lord, you showed favor to your land;q

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.A,r

2 You forgave your people’s guilt;

you covered all their sin.s

Selah

3 You withdrew all your fury;

you turned from your burning anger.t

4 Return to us, God of our salvation,

and abandon your displeasure with us.u

5 Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger for all generations?v

6 Will you not revive us again

so that your people may rejoice in you?w

7 Show us your faithful love, Lord,

and give us your salvation.x

8 I will listen to what God will say;

surely the Lord will declare peace

to his people, his faithful ones,

and not let them go back to foolish ways.y

9 His salvation is very near those who fear him,

so that glory may dwell in our land.z

10 Faithful love and truth will join together;

righteousness and peace will embrace.aa

11 Truth will spring up from the earth,

and righteousness will look down from heaven.ab

12 Also, the Lord will provide what is good,

and our land will yield its crops.ac

13 Righteousness will go before him

to prepare the way for his steps.ad

Psalm 86

LAMENT AND PETITION

A prayer of David.

1 Listen, Lord, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.ae

2 Protect my life, for I am faithful.af

You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.ag

3 Be gracious to me, Lord,

for I call to you all day long.ah

4 Bring joy to your servant’s life,

because I appeal to you, Lord.a

5 For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive,b

abounding in faithful love to all who call on you.c

6 Lord, hear my prayer;

listen to my cries for mercy.d

7 I call on you in the day of my distress,

for you will answer me.e

8 Lord, there is no one like you among the gods,

and there are no works like yours.f

9 All the nations you have made

will come and bow down before you, Lord,

and will honor your name.g

10 For you are great and perform wonders;

you alone are God.h

11 Teach me your way, Lord,

and I will live by your truth.

Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.i

12 I will praise you with all my heart, Lord my God,

and will honor your name forever.j

13 For your faithful love for me is great,

and you rescue my life from the depths of Sheol.k

14 God, arrogant people have attacked me;

a gang of ruthless men intends to kill me.

They do not let you guide them.A,l

15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth.m

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me.

Give your strength to your servant;

save the son of your female servant.n

17 Show me a sign of your goodness;

my enemies will see and be put to shame

because you, Lord, have helped and comforted me.o

Psalm 87

ZION, THE CITY OF GOD

A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.

1 The city he foundedB is on the holy mountains.p

2 The Lord loves Zion’s city gates

more than all the dwellings of Jacob.q

3 Glorious things are said about you,

city of God.r

Selah

4 “I will make a record of those who know me:

Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush—

each one was born there.”s

5 And it will be said of Zion,

“This one and that one were born in her.”

The Most High himself will establish her.t

6 When he registers the peoples,

the Lord will record,

“This one was born there.”u

Selah

7 Singers and dancersC alike will say,D

“My whole source of joy isE in you.”v

Psalm 88

A CRY OF DESPERATION

A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.w

1 Lord, God of my salvation,

I cry out before you day and night.x

2 May my prayer reach your presence;

listen to my cry.y

3 For I have had enough troubles,

and my life is near Sheol.z

4 I am counted among those going down to the Pit.aa

I am like a man without strength,ab

5 abandonedA among the dead.

I am like the slain lying in the grave,ac

whom you no longer remember,

and who are cut off from your care.B,ad

6 You have put me in the lowest part of the Pit,

in the darkest places, in the depths.ae

7 Your wrath weighs heavily on me;af

you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.a

Selah

8 You have distanced my friends from me;

you have made me repulsive to them.b

I am shut in and cannot go out.

9 My eyes are worn out from crying.c

Lord, I cry out to you all day long;d

I spread out my hands to you.e

10 Do you work wonders for the dead?

Do departed spirits rise up to praise you?f

Selah

11 Will your faithful love be declared in the grave,

your faithfulness in Abaddon?g

12 Will your wonders be known in the darkness

or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?h

13 But I call to you for help, Lord;

in the morning my prayer meets you.i

14 Lord, why do you reject me?j

Why do you hide your face from me?k

15 From my youth,

I have been suffering and near death.

I suffer your horrors; I am desperate.l

16 Your wrath sweeps over me;

your terrors destroy me.m

17 They surround me like water all day long;

they close in on me from every side.n

18 You have distanced loved one and neighbor from me;

darkness is my only friend.C,o