The Skeptics Annotated Bible (461 page)

9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

1
Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

2
Preserve my soul; for I am holy
: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

(86.2)
“Preserve my soul; for I am holy.”
113 Is only God holy?

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

(86.5)
“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”
120 Is God merciful?

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

8
Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord
; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

(86.8) “Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord.”
9 How many gods are there?

9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

1
His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

4
I will make mention of Rahab
and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.

(87.4) “I will make mention of Rahab.” Rahab is a sea-demon or dragon from ancient Jewish folklore.

5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.

6 The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.

7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

1
O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:

2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;

3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

4 I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:

5 Free among
the dead
, like the slain that lie in the grave,
whom thou rememberest no more
: and they are cut off from thy hand.

(88.5)
“The dead … whom thou rememberest no more.”
167 Is death final?

6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.

7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.

8 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

(88.10-12) People don’t survive their own deaths. Dead people are not only merely dead, they are really most sincerely dead.

10
Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee?
Selah.

(88.10)
“Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise thee?”

11
Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
or thy faithfulness in destruction?

(88.11)
“Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave?”

12
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

(88.12)
“Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?”

13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

14 LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.

16 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.

17 They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.

18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

1
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

(89.3-4) God swore to David that his seed and kingdom would last forever. But the Davidic line of kings ended with Zedekiah; there were none during the Babylonian captivity, and there are none today.

3
I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

(89.3)
“I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant.”