Psalm 85-88

The Voice

[pause]^[a]

³ There was a time when You restrained all of Your fierce wrath,
    when You cooled Your hot anger.

⁴ O God of our salvation, bring us back again—as You did before—
    and put away Your anger toward us.
⁵ Will You be mad at us forever?
    Will You continue to be angry with our children and theirs?
⁶ Will You not bring us back to life once more
    so that we, Your people, will find joy and pleasure in You?
⁷ O Eternal One, show us Your unfailing love;
    give us what we truly need: Your salvation.

⁸ I will hear what the True God—the Eternal—will say,
    for He will speak peace over His people,
    peace over those who faithfully follow Him, [but do not let them abuse His gift and return to foolish ways].^[b]
9 Without a doubt, His salvation is near for those who revere Him
    so that He will be with us again and all His glory will fill this land.

¹⁰ Unfailing love and truth have met on their way;
    righteousness and peace have kissed one another.
¹¹ Truth will spring from the earth like a plant,
    and justice will look down from the sky.
¹² Yes, the Eternal will plant goodness in the earth,
    and our land will yield great abundance.
¹³ Justice will come before Him,
    marking out a path, setting a way for His feet.

⁸ O Lord, You stand alone among the other gods;
    nothing they have done compares to Your wonderful works.
⁹ O Lord, all the peoples of earth—every nation You established—
    will come to You, bowing low to worship,
    and rightly honor Your great name.
¹⁰ For You are great, and Your works are wondrous;
    You are the one True God.
¹¹ O Eternal One, guide me along Your path
    so that I will live in Your truth.
Unite my divided heart so that I will fear Your great name.
¹² O Lord, my God! I praise You with all that I am.
    I will rightly honor Your great name forever.
¹³ For Your loyal love for me is so great it is beyond comparison.
    You have rescued my soul from the depths of the grave.

¹⁴ O True God, arrogant people are after me.
    A violent gang wants to kill me;
    they have no interest in You or Your ways.
¹⁵ But Lord, You are a God full of compassion, generous in grace,
    slow to anger, and boundless in loyal love and truth.
¹⁶ Look at me, and grant me Your favor.
    Invest Your strength in me, Your servant,
    and rescue me, Your handmaiden’s child.
¹⁷ Give me a sign so I may know Your goodness rests on me
    and so those who hate me will be red with shame at the sight of it.
    For You, O Eternal One, have come to my aid and offered me relief.

[pause]^[c]

⁴ God says, “I tell of some who know Me in Egypt^[d] and Babylon;
    behold, My people are in Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia^[e] too:
    ‘This person was born there.’”

⁵ It is said of Zion,
    “This person and that person were born in her.”
    The Most High God has established that city and makes her strong.
⁶ When keeping track of His people, the Eternal surely notices,
    “This one was born in Zion.”

[pause]

⁷ Those who sing and those who dance will say together,
    “All my fountains of joy are in You.”

¹ O Eternal One! O True God my Savior!
    I cry out to You all the time, under the sun and the moon.
² Let my voice reach You!
    Please listen to my prayers!

³ My soul is deeply troubled,
    and my heart can’t bear the weight of this sorrow. I feel so close to death.
⁴ I’m like the poor and helpless who die alone,
    left for dead, as good as the unknowable sea of souls lying under our feet,
^5-6 Forsaken by Him and cut off from His hand,
    abandoned among the dead who rest in their graves.
And You have sent me to be forgotten with them,
    in the lowest pits of the earth,
    in the darkest canyons of the ocean.
⁷ You crush me with Your anger.
    You crash against me like the relentless, angry sea.

[pause]^[h]

⁸ Those whom I have known, who have been with me,
    You have gathered like sheaves and cast to the four winds.
They can’t bear to look me in the eye, and they are horrified when they think of me.
    I am in a trap and cannot be free.
⁹ My eyes grow dim, weakened by this sickness;
    it is taking my strength from me.
Like a worn cloth, my hands are unfolded before You daily, O Eternal One.
¹⁰ Are You the miracle-worker for the dead?
    Will they rise from the dark shadows to worship You again?

[pause]

¹¹ Will Your great love be proclaimed in the grave
    or Your faithfulness be remembered in whispers like mists throughout the place of ruin?^[i]
12 Are Your wonders known in the dominion of darkness,
    or is Your righteousness recognized in a land where all is forgotten?

¹³ But I am calling out to You, Eternal One.
    My prayers rise before You with every new sun!
¹⁴ Why do You turn Your head
    and brush me aside, O Eternal One?
    Why are You avoiding me?
¹⁵ Since the days of my youth, I have been sick and close to death.
    My helpless soul has suffered Your silent horrors;
    now I am desperate.
¹⁶ Your rage spills over me like rivers of fire;
    Your assaults have all but destroyed me.
¹⁷ They surround me like a flood, rising throughout the day,
    closing in from every direction.
¹⁸ You have taken from me the one I love and my friend;
    even the light of my acquaintances are darkness.