Psalms 88

• 1. O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out to you day and night.
• 2. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry.
• 3. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near.
• 4. I have been dismissed as one who is dead, like a strong man with no strength left.
• 5. They have abandoned me to death, and I am as good as dead. I am forgotten, cut off from your care.
• 6. You have thrust me down to the lowest pit, into the darkest depths.
• 7. Your anger lies heavy on me; wave after wave engulfs me.
• 8. You have caused my friends to loathe me; you have sent them all away. 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 pleading hands to you for mercy.
• 10. Of what use to the dead are your miracles? Do the dead get up and praise you?
• 11. Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? In the place of destruction, can they proclaim your faithfulness?
• 12. Can the darkness speak of your miracles? 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 away from me?
• 15. I have been sickly 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 cut me off.
• 17. They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have encircled me completely.
• 18. You have taken away my companions and loved ones; only darkness remains.

Psalms 89

• 1. I will sing of the tender mercies of the LORD forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
• 2. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
• 3. The LORD said, "I have made a solemn agreement with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him:
• 4. `I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.'"
• 5. All heaven will praise your miracles, LORD; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.
• 6. For who in all of heaven can compare with the LORD? What mightiest angel is anything like the LORD?
• 7. The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than those who surround his throne.
• 8. O LORD God Almighty! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, LORD? Faithfulness is your very character.
• 9. You are the one who rules the oceans. When their waves rise in fearful storms, you subdue them.
• 10. You are the one who crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
• 11. The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours--you created it all.
• 12. You created north and south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
• 13. Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
• 14. Your throne is founded on two strong pillars--righteousness and justice. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
• 15. Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD.
• 16. They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness.
• 17. You are their glorious strength. Our power is based on your favor.
• 18. Yes, our protection comes from the LORD, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
• 19. You once spoke in a vision to your prophet and said, "I have given help to a warrior. I have selected him from the common people to be king.
• 20. I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with my holy oil.
• 21. I will steady him, and I will make him strong.
• 22. His enemies will not get the best of him, nor will the wicked overpower him.
• 23. I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him.
• 24. My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him, and he will rise to power because of me.
• 25. I will extend his rule from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the east.
• 26. And he will say to me, `You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.'
• 27. I will make him my firstborn son, the mightiest king on earth.
• 28. I will love him and be kind to him forever; my covenant with him will never end.
• 29. I will preserve an heir for him; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.
• 30. But if his sons forsake my law and fail to walk in my ways,
• 31. if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
• 32. then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating.
• 33. But I will never stop loving him, nor let my promise to him fail.
• 34. No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said.
• 35. I have sworn an oath to David, and in my holiness I cannot lie:
• 36. His dynasty will go on forever; his throne is as secure as the sun,
• 37. as eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!"
• 38. But now you have rejected him. Why are you so angry with the one you chose as king?
• 39. You have renounced your covenant with him, for you have thrown his crown in the dust.
• 40. You have broken down the walls protecting him and laid in ruins every fort defending him.
• 41. Everyone who comes along has robbed him while his neighbors mock.
• 42. You have strengthened his enemies against him and made them all rejoice.
• 43. You have made his sword useless and have refused to help him in battle.
• 44. You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne.
• 45. You have made him old before his time and publicly disgraced him.
• 46. O LORD, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like fire?
• 47. Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!
• 48. No one can live forever; all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave.
• 49. Lord, where is your unfailing love? You promised it to David with a faithful pledge.
• 50. Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced! I carry in my heart the insults of so many people.
• 51. Your enemies have mocked me, O LORD; they mock the one you anointed as king.
• 52. Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen!

Psalms 90

• 1. Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!
• 2. Before the mountains were created, before you made the earth and the world, you are God, without beginning or end.
• 3. You turn people back to dust, saying, "Return to dust!"
• 4. For you, a thousand years are as yesterday! They are like a few hours!
• 5. You sweep people away like dreams that disappear or like grass that springs up in the morning.
• 6. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.
• 7. We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury.
• 8. You spread out our sins before you--our secret sins--and you see them all.
• 9. We live our lives beneath your wrath. We end our lives with a groan.
• 10. Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we are gone.
• 11. Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
• 12. Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.
• 13. O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!
• 14. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
• 15. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.
• 16. Let us see your miracles again; let our children see your glory at work.
• 17. And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

New Living Translation: 196 of 324 days.