Psalm 84

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.*

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

2 I long, yes, I faint with longing

to enter the courts of the Lord.

With my whole being, body and soul,

I will shout joyfully to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young

at a place near your altar,

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!

4 What joy for those who can live in your house,

always singing your praises.

Interlude

5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,

who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,*

it will become a place of refreshing springs.

The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.

7 They will continue to grow stronger,

and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.*

8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.

Listen, O God of Jacob.

Interlude

9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!

Show favor to the one you have anointed.

10 A single day in your courts

is better than a thousand anywhere else!

I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God

than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.

He gives us grace and glory.

The Lord will withhold no good thing

from those who do what is right.

12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

what joy for those who trust in you.

Psalm 85

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

1 Lord, you poured out blessings on your land!

You restored the fortunes of Israel.*

2 You forgave the guilt of your people—

yes, you covered all their sins.

Interlude

3 You held back your fury.

You kept back your blazing anger.

4 Now restore us again, O God of our salvation.

Put aside your anger against us once more.

5 Will you be angry with us always?

Will you prolong your wrath to all generations?

6 Won’t you revive us again,

so your people can rejoice in you?

7 Show us your unfailing love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

8 I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,

for he speaks peace to his faithful people.

But let them not return to their foolish ways.

9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,

so our land will be filled with his glory.

10 Unfailing love and truth have met together.

Righteousness and peace have kissed!

11 Truth springs up from the earth,

and righteousness smiles down from heaven.

12 Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.

Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.

13 Righteousness goes as a herald before him,

preparing the way for his steps.

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

1 Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;

answer me, for I need your help.

2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.

Save me, for I serve you and trust you.

You are my God.

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,

for I am calling on you constantly.

4 Give me happiness, O Lord,

for I give myself to you.

5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,

so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.

6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;

hear my urgent cry.

7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,

and you will answer me.

8 No pagan god is like you, O Lord.

None can do what you do!

9 All the nations you made

will come and bow before you, Lord;

they will praise your holy name.

10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.

You alone are God.

11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,

that I may live according to your truth!

Grant me purity of heart,

so that I may honor you.

12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.

I will give glory to your name forever,

13 for your love for me is very great.

You have rescued me from the depths of death.*

14 O God, insolent people rise up against me;

a violent gang is trying to kill me.

You mean nothing to them.

15 But you, O Lord,

are a God of compassion and mercy,

slow to get angry

and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

16 Look down and have mercy on me.

Give your strength to your servant;

save me, the son of your servant.

17 Send me a sign of your favor.

Then those who hate me will be put to shame,

for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.

Psalm 87

A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

1 On the holy mountain

stands the city founded by the Lord.

2 He loves the city of Jerusalem

more than any other city in Israel.*

3 O city of God,

what glorious things are said of you!

Interlude

4 I will count Egypt* and Babylon among those who know me—

also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia.*

They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!

5 Regarding Jerusalem* it will be said,

“Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.”

And the Most High will personally bless this city.

6 When the Lord registers the nations, he will say,

“They have all become citizens of Jerusalem.”

Interlude

7 The people will play flutes* and sing,

“The source of my life springs from Jerusalem!”

Psalm 88

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm* of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 O Lord, God of my salvation,

I cry out to you by day.

I come to you at night.

2 Now hear my prayer;

listen to my cry.

3 For my life is full of troubles,

and death* draws near.

4 I am as good as dead,

like a strong man with no strength left.

5 They have left me among the dead,

and I lie like a corpse in a grave.

I am forgotten,

cut off from your care.

6 You have thrown me into the lowest pit,

into the darkest depths.

7 Your anger weighs me down;

with wave after wave you have engulfed me.

Interlude

8 You have driven my friends away

by making me repulsive to them.

I am in a trap with no way of escape.

9 My eyes are blinded by my tears.

Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;

I lift my hands to you for mercy.

10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?

Do the dead rise up and praise you?

Interlude

11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?

Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?*

12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?

Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?

13 O Lord, I cry out to you.

I will keep on pleading day by day.

14 O Lord, why do you reject me?

Why do you turn your face from me?

15 I have been sick and close to death since my youth.

I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.

16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.

Your terrors have paralyzed me.

17 They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.

They have engulfed me completely.

18 You have taken away my companions and loved ones.

Darkness is my closest friend.