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86 1 David sore afflicted and forsaken of all, prayeth fervently for deliverance: sometimes rehearsing his miseries, 5 Sometimes the mercies received. 11 Desiring also to be instructed of the Lord, that he may fear him, and glorify his Name. 14 He complaineth also of his adversaries, and requireth to be delivered from them.
A prayer of David.
1 Incline [a]thine ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve thou my soul, for I am [b]merciful: my God, save thou thy servant, that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I [c]cry upon thee continually.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good and [d]merciful, and of great kindness unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, Lord, unto my prayer, and [e]hearken to the voice of my supplication.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou hearest me.
8 Among the gods there is none like thee, O Lord, and there is none [f]that can do like thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made, shall come and [g]worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy Name.
10 For thou art great and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 [h]Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth: knit mine heart unto thee, that I may fear thy Name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all mine heart: yea, I will glorify thy Name forever.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me, and thou hast delivered my soul from [i]the lowest grave.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have [j]sought my soul, and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a pitiful God and merciful, slow to anger, and great in kindness and truth.
16 Turn unto me, and have mercy upon me: give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the [k]son of thine handmaid.
17 Show a token of thy goodness toward me, that they which hate me, may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, O Lord, hast helped me and comforted me.
87 1 The holy Ghost promiseth, that the condition of the Church which was in misery after the captivity of Babylon, should be restored to great excellency. 4 So that there should be nothing more comfortable, than to be numbered among the members thereof.
A Psalm or song committed to the sons of Korah.
1 God laid his [l]foundations among the holy mountains.
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion above all the habitations of Jacob.
3 [m]Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
4 I will make mention of [n]Rahab and Babel among them that know me: behold Palestine and Tyre with Ethiopia, [o]There is he born.
5 And of Zion it shall be said, [p]Many are born in her: and he, even the most High shall stablish her.
6 The Lord shall count, when he [q]writeth the people, He was born there. Selah.
7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall praise thee: all my [r]springs are in thee.
88 1 A grievous complaint of the faithful, sore afflicted by sickness, persecutions and adversity, 7 Being as it were left of God without any consolation. 13 Yet he calleth on God by faith, and striveth against desperation. 18 Complaining himself to be forsaken of all earthly help.
A song or Psalm of (A)Heman the Ezrahite to give instruction, committed to the sons of Korah for him that excelleth upon Mahalath [s]Leannoth.
1 O Lord God of my salvation, I cry day and night [t]before thee.
2 Let my prayer enter into thy presence: incline thine ear unto my cry.
3 For my soul is filled with evils, and my life draweth near to the grave.
4 I am counted among them that go down unto the pit, and am as a man without strength,
5 [u]Free among the dead, like the slain laying in the grave, when thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from thy [v]hand.
6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, and in the deep.
7 Thine indignation lieth upon me, and thou hast vexed me with all thy [w]waves. Selah.
8 Thou hast put away mine [x]acquaintance far from me, and made me to be abhorred of them: [y]I am shut up, and cannot get forth.
9 [z]Mine eye is sorrowful through mine affliction: Lord, I call daily upon thee: I stretch out mine hands unto thee.
10 Wilt thou show [aa]a miracle to the dead? or shall the dead rise and praise thee? Selah.
11 Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
12 Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land [ab]of oblivion?
13 But unto thee, have I cried, O Lord, and early shall my prayer come before thee.
14 Lord, why dost thou reject my soul, and hidest thy face from me?
15 I am afflicted and at the point of death: [ac]from my youth I suffer thy terrors, doubting of my life.
16 Thine indignations go over me, and thy fear hath cut me off.
17 They came round about me daily like water, and compassed me together.
18 My lovers and friends hast thou put away from me, and mine acquaintance [ad]hid themselves.
89 1 With many words doth the Prophet praise the goodness of God, 23 For his testament and covenant, that he had made between him and his elect by Jesus Christ the son of David. 38 Then doth he complain of the great ruin, and desolation of the kingdom of David, so that to the outward appearance the promise was broken. 46 Finally, he prayeth to be delivered from his afflictions, making mention of the shortness of man’s life, and confirming himself by God’s promise.
A Psalm to give instruction, of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will [ae]sing the mercies of the Lord forever: with my mouth will I declare thy truth from generation to generation.
2 For I [af]said, Mercy shall be set up forever: thy truth shalt thou [ag]stablish in the very heavens.
3 [ah]I have made a covenant with my chosen: I have sworn to David my servant,
4 Thy seed will I stablish forever, and set up thy throne from generation to generation. Selah.
5 O Lord, even the [ai]heavens shall praise thy wondrous work: yea, thy truth in the [aj]Congregation of the Saints.
6 For who is equal to the Lord in the heaven? and who is like the Lord among the [ak]sons of the gods?
7 God is very terrible in the assembly of the [al]Saints, and to be reverenced above all that are about him.
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is like unto thee, which art a mighty Lord, and thy truth is about thee?
9 [am]Thou rulest the raging of the Sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
10 Thou hast beaten down Rahab as a man slain: thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy mighty arm.
11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: thou hast laid the foundation of the world, and all that therein is.
12 Thou hast created the North and the South: [an]Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy Name.
13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
14 [ao]Righteousness and equity are the stablishment of thy throne: mercy and truth go before thy face.
15 Blessed is the people that can [ap]rejoice in thee: they shall walk in the light of thy [aq]countenance, O Lord.
16 They shall rejoice continually in thy Name, and in thy righteousness shall they exalt themselves.
17 For thou art the [ar]glory of their strength, and by thy favor our horns shall be exalted.
18 For our [as]shield appertaineth to the Lord, and our King to the Holy one of Israel.
19 Thou spakest then in a vision unto [at]thine Holy one, and saidest, I have laid help upon one that is [au]mighty: I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant: with mine holy oil have I anointed him.
21 Therefore mine hand shall be established with him, and mine arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not oppress him, neither shall the wicked hurt him.
23 But I will [av]destroy his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
24 My truth also and my [aw]mercy shall be with him, and in my Name shall his [ax]horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the [ay]floods.
26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my [az]Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my Covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed also will I make to endure [ba]forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
30 But if his children forsake my Law, and walk not in my judgments:
31 (B)If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments:
32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with strokes.
33 [bb]Yet my loving kindness will I not take from him, neither will I falsify my truth.
34 My Covenant will I not break, nor [bc]alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
35 I have sworn once by mine holiness, [bd]that I will not fail David, saying,
36 His seed shall endure forever, and his throne shall be as the sun before me.
37 He shall be established for evermore as the moon, and as a faithful [be]witness in the heaven. Selah.
38 But thou hast rejected and abhorred, thou hast been angry with thine anointed.
39 Thou hast [bf]broken the Covenant of thy servant, and profaned his [bg]crown, casting it on the ground.
40 Thou hast broken down all his walls: thou hast laid his fortresses in ruin.
41 All that go by the way, spoil him: he is a rebuke unto his neighbors.
42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his enemies, and made all his adversaries to rejoice.
43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.
44 Thou hast caused his dignity to decay, and cast his throne to the ground.
45 The days of his [bh]youth hast thou shortened, and covered him with shame. Selah.
46 [bi]Lord, how long wilt thou hide thyself, forever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember [bj]of what time I am: wherefore shouldest thou create in vain all the children of men?
48 What man liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
49 Lord, where are thy former mercies, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
50 Remember, O Lord, the rebuke of thy servants, which I bear in my [bk]bosom of all the mighty people.
51 For [bl]thine enemies have reproached thee, O Lord, because they have reproached the [bm]footsteps of thine Anointed.
52 Praised be the Lord for evermore. So be it, even so be it.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.