BIRCHWOOD CHURCH
A reformed church rooted in the good news of Jesus Christ
and living to the glory of God in Charlottetown, PEI
Psalm 88
1 LORD, you are the God who saves me;
I entreat you night and day.
2 May my pleading come before you;
turn your ear to me, I pray.
3 For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near to death.
4 Counted with the ones who perish,
I have neither strength nor breath.
5 To the grave I am abandoned,
like the bodies lying there.
You remember them no longer;
they are cut off from your care.
6 In the lowest pit you cast me;
in the darkest depths am I.
7 For your wrath is heavy on me,
and beneath your waves I lie.
8 Closest friends you've taken from me;
loathsome to them is my plight.
9 I am trapped - escape I cannot;
misery has dimmed my sight.
Daily, LORD, I call upon you;
in your sight my hands I spread.
10 In the grave do you show wonders?
Are you worshipped by the dead?
11 Is your love shown in Destruction—
in the grave your faithfulness?
12 Are your wonders known in darkness,
or in death your righteousness?
18 You have taken my companions
and my loved ones far from me.
Now my closest friend is darkness;
not a ray of light I see.
13 But I cry to you for help, LORD;
at the dawn to you I pray.
14 Why, O LORD, do you reject me,
and why turn your face away?
15 From my youth I’ve been afflicted;
death to me is always near.
I have undergone your terrors,
and I am in deep despair.
16 Your fierce anger has engulfed me;
by your terrors I am crushed.
17 All day long they overwhelm me;
over me the flood has rushed.
lyrics from 'Sing Psalms'. Copyright Free Church of Scotland.
Melody and Harmony Copyright Free Church of Scotland
Psalm 89
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20 "I have sought out my faithful servant, David;
I have anointed him with sacred oil.
21 My hand will surely strengthen and sustain him;
my arm will give him power for his toil
22 "No enemy will force him to pay tribute;
no wicked one will ever bring him low.
23 For I will crush his enemies before him;
I will annihilate his every foe.
24 "My faithful love will be with him for ever;
his power will be exalted through my name.
25 His right hand I will set above the rivers;
his rule upon the sea I will proclaim.
26 "He will declare to me, 'You are my Father;
you are my Rock, my saviour and my God.'
27 As my firstborn I also will appoint him,
supreme among all kings on earth abroad.
28 "I will maintain my love to him for ever;
my covènant with him will never fail.
29 His line for evermore I will establish;
while heaven lasts, his kingdom will prevail.
30 "But if his sons forsake my laws and statutes
31 and violate my covènant command,
32 I'll punish with the rod all their transgression,
their sin with blows inflicted by my hand.
33 "But I will never take my love from David;
my faithfulness I never will betray.
34 Nor will I ever violate my covenant
or alter what I said in any way.
35 "Once have I sworn in holiness to David -
I will not lie to him - I will declare
36 that David's line for ever will continue,
and on his throne he'll always have an heir.
"His throne will ever flourish in my presence;
it will continue like the sun on high.
37 I'll make it certain, like the moon in heaven,
which is a faithful witness in the sky."
lyrics from 'Sing Psalms'. Copyright Free Church of Scotland.
Melody and Harmony Copyright Free Church of Scotland