The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV, page 264
11Make their nobles like iOreb and like Zeeb,
Yes, all their princes like jZebah and Zalmunna,
12Who said, “Let us take for ourselves
The pastures of God for a possession.”
13kO my God, make them like the whirling dust,
lLike the chaff before the wind!
14As the fire burns the woods,
And as the flame msets the mountains on fire,
15So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
16Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
17Let them be 5confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18nThat they may know that You, whose oname alone is the LORD,
Are pthe Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 84
The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God
To the Chief Musician. aOn1 an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1How blovely 2is Your tabernacle,
O LORD of hosts!
2cMy soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
4Blessed are those who dwell in Your dhouse;
They will still be praising You. Selah
5Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6As they pass through the Valley eof 3Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with 4pools.
7They go ffrom strength to strength;
5Each one gappears before God in Zion.
8O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9hO God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your 6anointed.
10For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather 7be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11For the LORD God is ia sun and jshield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
kNo good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12O LORD of hosts,
lBlessed is the man who trusts in You!
Psalm 85
Prayer that the LORD Will Restore Favor to the Land
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm aof the sons of Korah.
1LORD, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have bbrought back the captivity of Jacob.
2You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah
3You have taken away all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.
4cRestore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
5dWill You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6Will You not erevive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7Show us Your mercy, LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.
8I will hear what God the LORD will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to 1folly.
9Surely fHis salvation is near to those who fear Him,
gThat glory may dwell in our land.
10Mercy and truth have met together;
hRighteousness and peace have kissed.
11Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12iYes, the LORD will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
Psalm 86
Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the LORD
A Prayer of David.
1Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
2Preserve my 1life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
3Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.
42Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
aFor to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5For bYou, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
7In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8cAmong the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
9All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
10For You are great, and ddo wondrous things;
eYou alone are God.
11fTeach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
3Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
13For great is Your mercy toward me,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of 4Sheol.
14O God, the proud have risen against me,
And a mob of violent men have sought my life,
And have not set You before them.
15But gYou, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
16Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!
Give Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your maidservant.
17Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Psalm 87
The Glories of the City of God
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
1His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2aThe LORD loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3bGlorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God! Selah
4“I will make mention of 1Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’ ”
5And of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”
6The LORD will record,
When He cregisters the peoples:
“This one was born there.” Selah
7Both the singers and the players on instruments say,
“All my springs are in you.”
Psalm 88
A Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A 1Contemplation of aHeman the Ezrahite.
1O LORD, bGod of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
2Let my prayer come before You;
2Incline Your ear to my cry.
3For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life cdraws near to the grave.
4I am counted with those who dgo3 down to the pit;
eI am like a man who has no strength,
54Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
6You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
7Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all fYour waves. Selah
8gYou have 5put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
hI am shut up, and I cannot get out;
9My eye wastes away because of affliction.
iLORD, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
10Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall 6the dead arise and praise You? Selah
11Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13But to You I have cried out, O LORD,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14LORD, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
16Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have 7cut me off.
17They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
18jLoved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.
Psalm 89
Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings
A 1Contemplation of aEthan the Ezrahite.
1I WILL sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
bYour faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
3“Ic have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have dsworn to My servant David:
4‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne eto all generations.’ ” Selah
5And fthe heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6gFor who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?
7hGod is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8O LORD God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O LORD?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9iYou rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10jYou have broken 2Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11kThe heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12The north and the south, You have created them;
lTabor and mHermon rejoice in Your name.
13You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15Blessed are the people who know the njoyful sound!
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
16In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our 3horn is oexalted.
18For our shield belongs to the LORD,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19Then You spoke in a vision to Your 4holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one pchosen from the people.
20qI have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21rWith whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22The enemy shall not 5outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.
24“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25Also I will sset his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26He shall cry to Me, ‘You are tmy Father,
My God, and uthe rock of my salvation.’
27Also I will make him vMy firstborn,
wThe highest of the kings of the earth.
28xMy mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29His seed also I will make to endure forever,
yAnd his throne zas the days of heaven.
30“Ifa his sons bforsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31If they 6break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33cNevertheless My lovingkindness I will not 7utterly take from him,
Nor 8allow My faithfulness to fail.
34My covenant I will not break,
Nor dalter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35Once I have sworn eby My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36fHis seed shall endure forever,
And his throne gas the sun before Me;
37It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
38But You have hcast off and iabhorred,9
You have been furious with Your 10anointed.
39You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
jYou have 11profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his 12strongholds to ruin.
41All who pass by the way kplunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.
44You have made his 13glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.
45The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah
46How long, LORD?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47Remember how short my time lis;
For what mfutility have You created all the children of men?
48What man can live and not 14see ndeath?
Can he deliver his life from the power of 15the grave? Selah
49Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You oswore to David pin Your truth?
50Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants—
qHow I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51rWith which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your 16anointed.
52sBlessed be the LORD forevermore!
Amen and Amen.
BOOK FOUR
Psalms 90—106
Psalm 90
The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer aof Moses the man of God.
1Lord, bYou have been our 1dwelling place in all generations.
2cBefore the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You 2had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3You turn man to destruction,
And say, d“Return, O children of men.”
4eFor a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5You carry them away like a flood;
fThey are like a sleep.
In the morning gthey are like grass which grows up:
6In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8hYou have set our iniquities before You,
Our isecret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12jSo teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13Return, O LORD!
How long?
And khave compassion on Your servants.
14Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
lThat we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16Let mYour work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17nAnd let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And oestablish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 91
Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
1He awho dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide bunder the shadow of the Almighty.
2cI will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
3Surely dHe shall deliver you from the snare of the 1fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4eHe shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and 2buckler.
5fYou shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
