Psalm 88

By the Descendants of Korah
A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite

O Jehovah, the god of my salvation,
By day and by night do I call out to you.
Listen to my prayer, heed my cry for help.

My soul is beset with tribulations,
And my life is drawing me near the grave.
I am among those who are marked for death.
Like one who is bereft of vitality,
I have been abandoned among the dead,
Lying in the grave like one who has been slain,
Remembered no more, and beyond your help.
You have lain me into the deepest pit,
And have consigned me to the darkest depths.
Your wrath has lain heavily upon me,
And by all your waves I am overwhelmed.
You have driven my companions far from me
Making me an abomination to them.
I am in a trap with no means of escape.

My eyes grow faint with tears of grief.
I call to you, O Jehovah,
And daily stretch out my hands to you.
Do you show wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up to praise you?
Can one proclaim your gracious love
From the grave or your faithfulness
In a place of devastation?
Does one speak of your miracles
In the darkness or your righteousness
In the realm of oblivion?

But I cry out to you, Jehovah,
And present to you my morning prayer.
Why, Jehovah, do you cast off
My soul and hide your face from me?
From my childhood  have I been ill
And afflicted and close to death.
Bearing your terrors, I am numb.
Your anger has swept over me,
And your terrors have destroyed me.
Daily they engulf me like a flood
And from every side surround me.
From my loved ones, friends, and neighbors
You have taken me far away.
My companion is the darkness.

Psalm 87

By the Descendants of Korah

On the holy mount of Zion is his foundation.
Jehovah loves the city gates of Jerusalem
More than any other habitation of Jacob.
Glorious things are said you, city of God!

“I will make mention: among those who know
My people are Egypt and Babylon,
As well as Philistia, Tyre, and Cush.
They say,  ‘This man was born in Jerusalem!’”

Indeed it will be said of Jerusalem
This person and that person were born there
And that the Most High himself founded it.
Jehovah will make a list of his peoples
And write “This man was born in Jerusalem.”
And those who are singers and musicians
Will proclaim, “You are my inspiration!”

Psalm 85

By the Descendants of Korah

Jehovah, you have shown favor to your land
And restored Jacob from captivity.
You have taken away your people’s guilt
And have pardoned all their transgressions.

You have withheld from us all your fury
And turned away from the fierceness of your wrath.
Bring us back, O God, to our salvation,
And bring to an end your displeasure of us.
Will you be angry at us forever?
Will your wrath extend through the generations?
Will you not revitalize us again
So that your people may rejoice in you.
Show us your loving kindness, O Jehovah,
And bestow upon us your salvation.

I hear what the God Jehovah says,
For he speaks of peace to his people,
Those who are his faithful servants,
That they do not lapse into folly.
To those who hold him in reverence,
Their salvation is surely near,
And his glory will dwell in our land.
Love and loyalty will be joined,
And justice and peace will embrace.
The truth will spring up from the earth,
And righteousness look down from heaven.
Jehovah will give us what is good,
And the land will yield its bounty.
Righteousness will go before him
And prepare a path for his steps.

Psalm 84

By the Descendants of Korah

How lovely are your tabernacles,
O Jehovah, Master of armies.
My soul craves, even faints with pining
For the courts of Master Jehovah.
My body and my soul cries out
With yearning to the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home
And the swallow a nest for herself
In which she may nurture her young
Near your altars; O Jehovah,
Master of armies, my king, my god,
Blessed are they who dwell in your house,
For they may praise you constantly.

Happy are those whose strength is from you,
Whose hearts are set on a pilgrimage.
They pass through the valley of weeping,
And it becomes a place of fountains,
Covered by pools from the autumn rain.
They grow in strength till each of them
Appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, God of armies.
And lend me your ear, O God of Jacob.

Behold, O God, our defender,
Show favor to your anointed king.
Better to be one day in your courts
Than to spent a thousand days elsewhere.
I’d rather linger at the threshold,
Abject in the house of my god
Than dwell in mansions of the wicked.

For the God Jehovah is our sun and shield.
It is Jehovah who grants grace and glory,
Favor and honor; indeed no good thing
Does he withhold from those who live righteously.

O Jehovah, commander of armies,
Blessed is he who puts his faith in you.