PSALM 88

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 O Lord, my God, I call for helpt by day;

I cry out in the night before thee.

2 Let my prayer come before thee,

incline thy ear to my cry!

3 For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

4 I am reckoned among those who go down to the Pit;

I am a man who has no strength,

5 like one forsaken among the dead,

like the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom thou dost remember no more,

for they are cut off from thy hand.

6 Thou hast put me in the depths of the Pit,

in the regions dark and deep.

7 Thy wrath lies heavy upon me,

and thou dost overwhelm me with all thy waves. [Selah]

8 Thou hast caused my companions to shun me;

thou hast made me a thing of horror to them.

I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.

Every day I call upon thee, O Lord;

I spread out my hands to thee.

10 Dost thou work wonders for the dead?

Do the shades rise up to praise thee? [Selah]

11 Is thy steadfast love declared in the grave,

or thy faithfulness in Abaddon?

12 Are thy wonders known in the darkness,

or thy saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But I, O Lord, cry to thee;

in the morning my prayer comes before thee.

14 O Lord, why dost thou cast me off?

Why dost thou hide thy face from me?

15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,

I suffer thy terrors; I am helpless.u

16 Thy wrath has swept over me;

thy dread assaults destroy me.

17 They surround me like a flood all day long;

they close in upon me together.

18 Thou hast caused lover and friend to shun me;

my companions are in darkness.

PSALM 20

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

The name of the God of Jacob protect you!

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary,

and give you support from Zion!

3 May he remember all your offerings,

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! [Selah]

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire,

and fulfil all your plans!

5 May we shout for joy over your victory,

and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfil all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with mighty victories by his right hand.

7 Some boast of chariots, and some of horses;

but we boast of the name of the Lord our God.

8 They will collapse and fall;

but we shall rise and stand upright.

9 Give victory to the king, O Lord;

answer us when we call.l

PSALM 21

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 In thy strength the king rejoices, O Lord;

and in thy help how greatly he exults!

2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,

and hast not withheld the request of his lips. [Selah]

3 For thou dost meet him with goodly blessings;

thou dost set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

4 He asked life of thee; thou gavest it to him,

length of days for ever and ever.

5 His glory is great through thy help;

splendor and majesty thou dost bestow upon him.

6 Yea, thou dost make him most blessed for ever;

thou dost make him glad with the joy of thy presence.

7 For the king trusts in the Lord;

and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;

your right hand will find out those who hate you.

9 You will make them as a blazing oven

when you appear.

The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath;

and fire will consume them.

10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth,

and their children from among the sons of men.

11 If they plan evil against you,

if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

12 For you will put them to flight;

you will aim at their faces with your bows.

13 Be exalted, O Lord, in thy strength!

We will sing and praise thy power.

PSALM 22

To the choirmaster: according to The Hind of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Why art thou so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but thou dost not answer;

and by night, but find no rest.

3 Yet thou art holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

4 In thee our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 To thee they cried, and were saved;

in thee they trusted, and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm, and no man;

scorned by men, and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock at me,

they make mouths at me, they wag their heads;

8 “He committed his cause to the Lord; let him deliver him,

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet thou art he who took me from the womb;

thou didst keep me safe upon my mother’s breasts.

10 Upon thee was I cast from my birth,

and since my mother bore me thou hast been my God.

11 Be not far from me,

for trouble is near

and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me,

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13 they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax,

it is melted within my breast;

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;

thou dost lay me in the dust of death.

16 Yea, dogs are round about me;

a company of evildoers encircle me;

they have piercedm my hands and feet—

17 I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my garments among them,

and for my raiment they cast lots.

19 But thou, O Lord, be not far off!

O thou my help, hasten to my aid!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,

my lifen from the power of the dog!

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion,

my afflicted soul* from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of thy name to my brethren;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee:

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!

all you sons of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted;

and he has not hid his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From thee comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will pay before those who fear him.

26 The afflictedp shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live for ever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord;

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before him.q

28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29 Yea, to himr shall all the proud of the earth bow down;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

and he who cannot keep himself alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him;

men shall tell of the Lord to the coming generation,

31 and proclaim his …