1 A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the LORD'S great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. |
2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. |
3 You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, |
4 'I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'" Selah |
5 The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. |
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? |
7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. |
8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. |
9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. |
10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. |
11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. |
12 You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. |
13 Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. |
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. |
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. |
16 They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. |
17 For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. |
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel. |
19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: "I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people. |
20 I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. |
21 My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him. |
22 No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. |
23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. |
24 My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. |
25 I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. |
26 He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.' |
27 I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. |
28 I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. |
29 I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. |
30 "If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, |
31 if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, |
32 I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; |
33 but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. |
34 I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. |
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness--and I will not lie to David-- |
36 that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; |
37 it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." Selah |
38 But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. |
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. |
40 You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. |
41 All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. |
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. |
43 You have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle. |
44 You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. |
45 You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame. Selah |
46 How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? |
47 Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all men! |
48 What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave? Selah |
49 O Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David? |
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations, |
51 the taunts with which your enemies have mocked, O LORD, with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one. |
52 Praise be to the LORD forever! Amen and Amen. |