Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 115

Bible text(s)

Psalms 86

A Prayer for Help

1Listen to me, LORD, and answer me,

for I am helpless and weak.

2Save me from death, because I am loyal to you;

save me, for I am your servant and I trust in you.

3You are my God, so be merciful to me;

I pray to you all day long.

4Make your servant glad, O Lord,

because my prayers go up to you.

5You are good to us and forgiving,

full of constant love for all who pray to you.

6Listen, LORD, to my prayer;

hear my cries for help.

7I call to you in times of trouble,

because you answer my prayers.

8There is no god like you, O Lord,

not one has done what you have done.

9All the nations that you have created

will come and bow down to you;

they will praise your greatness.

10You are mighty and do wonderful things;

you alone are God.

11Teach me, LORD, what you want me to do,

and I will obey you faithfully;

teach me to serve you with complete devotion.

12I will praise you with all my heart, O Lord my God;

I will proclaim your greatness for ever.

13How great is your constant love for me!

You have saved me from the grave itself.

14The proud are coming against me, O God;

a cruel gang is trying to kill me —

people who pay no attention to you.

15But you, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God,

always patient, always kind and faithful.

16Turn to me and have mercy on me;

strengthen me and save me,

because I serve you, just as my mother did.

17Show me proof of your goodness, LORD;

those who hate me will be ashamed

when they see that you have given me comfort and help.

Psalms 87

In Praise of Jerusalem

1The LORD built his city on the sacred hill;

2more than any other place in Israel

he loves the city of Jerusalem.

3Listen, city of God,

to the wonderful things he says about you:

4“I will include Egypt and Babylonia

when I list the nations that obey me;

I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem

the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia.”

5Of Zion it will be said

that all nations belong there

and that the Almighty will make her strong.

6The LORD will write a list of the peoples

and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem.

7They dance and sing,

“In Zion is the source of all our blessings.”

Psalms 88

A Cry for Help

1LORD God, my saviour, I cry out all day,

and at night I come before you.

2Hear my prayer;

listen to my cry for help!

3So many troubles have fallen on me

that I am close to death.

4I am like all others who are about to die;

all my strength is gone.

5I am abandoned among the dead;

I am like the slain lying in their graves,

those you have forgotten completely,

who are beyond your help.

6You have thrown me into the depths of the tomb,

into the darkest and deepest pit.

7Your anger lies heavy on me,

and I am crushed beneath its waves.

8You have caused my friends to abandon me;

you have made me repulsive to them.

I am closed in and cannot escape;

9my eyes are weak from suffering.

LORD, every day I call to you

and lift my hands to you in prayer.

10Do you perform miracles for the dead?

Do they rise up and praise you?

11Is your constant love spoken of in the grave

or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

12Are your miracles seen in that place of darkness

or your goodness in the land of the forgotten?

13LORD, I call to you for help;

every morning I pray to you.

14Why do you reject me, LORD?

Why do you turn away from me?

15Ever since I was young, I have suffered and been near death;

I am worn out from the burden of your punishments.

16Your furious anger crushes me;

your terrible attacks destroy me.

17All day long they surround me like a flood;

they close in on me from every side.

18You have made even my closest friends abandon me,

and darkness is my only companion.

Psalms 89

A Hymn in Time of National Trouble

1O LORD, I will always sing of your constant love;

I will proclaim your faithfulness for ever.

2I know that your love will last for all time,

that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky.

3You said, “I have made a covenant with the man I chose;

I have promised my servant David,

4‘A descendant of yours will always be king;

I will preserve your dynasty for ever.’ ”

5The heavens sing of the wonderful things you do;

the holy ones sing of your faithfulness, LORD.

6No one in heaven is like you, LORD;

none of the heavenly beings is your equal.

7You are feared in the council of the holy ones;

and all of them stand in awe of you.

8LORD God Almighty, none is as mighty as you;

in all things you are faithful, O LORD.

9You rule over the powerful sea;

you calm its angry waves.

10You crushed the monster Rahab and killed it;

with your mighty strength you defeated your enemies.

11Heaven is yours, the earth also;

you made the world and everything in it.

12You created the north and the south;

Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you for joy.

13How powerful you are!

How great is your strength!

14Your kingdom is founded on righteousness and justice;

love and faithfulness are shown in all you do.

15How happy are the people who worship you with songs,

who live in the light of your kindness!

16Because of you they rejoice all day long,

and they praise you for your goodness.

17You give us great victories;

in your love you make us triumphant.

18You, O LORD, chose our protector;

you, the Holy God of Israel, gave us our king.

God's Promise to David

19In a vision long ago you said to your faithful servants,

“I have given help to a famous soldier;

I have given the throne to one I chose from the people.

20I have made my servant David king

by anointing him with holy oil.

21My strength will always be with him,

my power will make him strong.

22His enemies will never succeed against him;

the wicked will not defeat him.

23I will crush his foes

and kill everyone who hates him.

24I will love him and be loyal to him;

I will make him always victorious.

25I will extend his kingdom

from the Mediterranean to the River Euphrates.

26He will say to me,

‘You are my father and my God;

you are my protector and saviour.’

27I will make him my firstborn son,

the greatest of all kings.

28I will always keep my promise to him,

and my covenant with him will last for ever.

29His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky;

a descendant of his will always be king.

30“But if his descendants disobey my law

and do not live according to my commands,

31if they disregard my instructions

and do not keep my commandments,

32then I will punish them for their sins;

I will make them suffer for their wrongs.

33But I will not stop loving David

or fail to keep my promise to him.

34I will not break my covenant with him

or take back even one promise I made him.

35“Once and for all I have promised by my holy name:

I will never lie to David.

36He will always have descendants,

and I will watch over his kingdom as long as the sun shines.

37It will be as permanent as the moon,

that faithful witness in the sky.”

Lament over the Defeat of the King

38But you are angry with your chosen king;

you have deserted and rejected him.

39You have broken your covenant with your servant

and thrown his crown in the mud.

40You have torn down the walls of his city

and left his forts in ruins.

41All who pass by steal his belongings;

all his neighbours laugh at him.

42You have given the victory to his enemies;

you have made them all happy.

43You have made his weapons useless

and let him be defeated in battle.

44You have taken away his royal sceptre

and hurled his throne to the ground.

45You have made him old before his time

and covered him with disgrace.

A Prayer for Deliverance

46LORD, will you hide yourself for ever?

How long will your anger burn like fire?

47Remember how short my life is;

remember that you created all of us mortal!

48Who can live and never die?

How can human beings keep themselves from the grave?

49Lord, where are the former proofs of your love?

Where are the promises you made to David?

50Don't forget how I, your servant, am insulted,

how I endure all the curses of the heathen.

51Your enemies insult your chosen king, O LORD!

They insult him wherever he goes.

52Praise the LORD for ever!

Amen! Amen!

Psalms 86:1-89:52GNBOpen in Bible reader
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