Psalms 89
89
PSALM 89
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1God's mercies I will ever sing;
and with my mouth I shall
Thy faithfulness make to be known
to generations all.
2For mercy shall be built, said I,
for ever to endure;
Thy faithfulness, ev'n in the heav'ns,
thou wilt establish sure.
3I with my chosen One have made
a cov'nant graciously;
And to my servant, whom I lov'd,
to David sworn have I;
4That I thy seed establish shall
for ever to remain,
And will to generations all
thy throne build and maintain.
5The praises of thy wonders, Lord,
the heavens shall express;
And in the congregation
of saints thy faithfulness.
6For who in heaven with the Lord
may once himself compare?
Who is like God among the sons
of those that mighty are?
7Great fear in meeting of the saints
is due unto the Lord;
And he of all about him should
with rev'rence be ador'd.
8O thou that art the Lord of hosts,
what Lord in mightiness
Is like to thee? who compass'd round
art with thy faithfulness.
9Ev'n in the raging of the sea
thou over it dost reign;
And when the waves thereof do swell,
thou stillest them again.
10Rahab in pieces thou didst break,
like one that slaughter'd is;
And with thy mighty arm thou hast
dispers'd thine enemies.
11The heav'ns are thine, thou for thine own
the earth dost also take;
The world, and fulness of the same,
thy pow'r did found and make.
12The north and south from thee alone
their first beginning had;
Both Tabor mount and Hermon hill
shall in thy name be glad.
13Thou hast an arm that's full of pow'r,
thy hand is great in might;
And thy right hand exceedingly
exalted is in height.
14Justice and judgment of thy throne
are made the dwelling-place;
Mercy, accompany'd with truth,
shall go before thy face.
15O greatly bless'd the people are
the joyful sound that know;
In brightness of thy face, O Lord,
they ever on shall go.
16They in thy name shall all the day
rejoice exceedingly;
And in thy righteousness shall they
exalted be on high.
17Because the glory of their strength
doth only stand in thee;
And in thy favour shall our horn
and pow'r exalted be.
18For God is our defence; and he
to us doth safety bring:
The Holy One of Israel
is our almighty King.
19In vision to thy Holy One
thou saidst, I help upon
A strong one laid; out of the folk
I rais'd a chosen one;
20Ev'n David, I have found him out
a servant unto me;
And with my holy oil my King
anointed him to be.
21With whom my hand shall stablish'd be;
mine arm shall make him strong.
22On him the foe shall not exact,
nor son of mischief wrong.
23I will beat down before his face
all his malicious foes;
I will them greatly plague who do
with hatred him oppose.
24My mercy and my faithfulness
with him yet still shall be;
And in my name his horn and pow'r
men shall exalted see.
25His hand and pow'r shall reach afar;
I'll set it in the sea;
And his right hand established
shall in the rivers be.
26Thou art my Father, he shall cry,
thou art my God alone;
And he shall say, Thou art the Rock
of my salvation.
27I'll make him my first-born, more high
than kings of any land.
28My love I'll ever keep for him,
my cov'nant fast shall stand.
29His seed I by my pow'r will make
for ever to endure;
And, as the days of heav'n, his throne
shall stable be, and sure.
30But if his children shall forsake
my laws, and go astray,
And in my judgments shall not walk,
but wander from my way:
31If they my laws break,
and do not keep my commandements;
32I'll visit then their faults with rods,
their sins with chastisements.
33Yet I'll not take my love from him,
nor false my promise make.
34My cov'nant I'll not break, nor change
what with my mouth I spake.
35Once by my holiness I sware,
to David I'll not lie;
36His seed and throne shall, as the sun,
before me last for aye.
37It, like the moon, shall ever be
establish'd stedfastly;
And like to that which in the heav'n
doth witness faithfully.
38But thou, displeased, hast cast off,
thou didst abhor and loathe;
With him that thine anointed is
thou hast been very wroth.
39Thou hast thy servant's covenant
made void, and quite cast by;
Thou hast profan'd his crown, while it
cast on the ground doth lie.
40Thou all his hedges hast broke down,
his strong holds down hast torn.
41He to all passers-by a spoil,
to neighbours is a scorn.
42Thou hast set up his foes' right hand;
mad'st all his en'mies glad:
43Turn'd his sword's edge, and him
to stand in battle hast not made.
44His glory thou hast made to cease,
his throne to ground down cast;
45Shorten'd his days of youth, and him
with shame thou cover'd hast.
46How long, Lord, wilt thou hide thyself?
for ever, in thine ire?
And shall thine indignation
burn like unto a fire?
47Remember, Lord, how short a time
I shall on earth remain:
O wherefore is it so that thou
has made all men in vain?
48What man is he that liveth here,
and death shall never see?
Or from the power of the grave
what man his soul shall free?
49Thy former loving-kindnesses,
O Lord, where be they now?
Those which in truth and faithfulness
to David sworn hast thou?
50Mind, Lord, thy servant's sad reproach;
how I in bosom bear
The scornings of the people all,
who strong and mighty are.
51Wherewith thy raging enemies
reproach'd, O Lord, think on;
Wherewith they have reproach'd the steps
of thine anointed one.
52All blessing to the Lord our God
let be ascribed then:
For evermore so let it be.
Amen, yea, and amen.
Book 4
Psalms 90—106
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Psalms 89: MP1650
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Psalms 89
89
(A special psalm by Ethan the Ezrahite.)#1 K 4.31.
The LORD's agreement with David
1Our LORD, I will sing
of your love for ever.
Everyone yet to be born
will hear me praise
your faithfulness.
2I will tell them, “God's love
can always be trusted,
and his faithfulness lasts
as long as the heavens.”
3You said, “David, my servant,
is my chosen one,
and this is the agreement
I made with him:
4David, one of your descendants#2 S 7.12-16; 1 Ch 17.11-14; Ps 132.11; Ac 2.30.
will always be king.”
5Our LORD, let the heavens
now praise your miracles,
and let all your angels
praise your faithfulness.
6None who live in the heavens
can compare with you.
7You are the most fearsome
of all who live in heaven;
all the others fear
and greatly honour you.
8You are LORD God All-Powerful!
No one is as loving
and faithful as you are.
9You rule the roaring sea
and calm its waves.
10You crushed the monster Rahab,#89.10 Rahab: Many people in the ancient world thought that the world was controlled by this sea monster that the Lord destroyed at the time of creation (see Isaiah 51.9).
and with your powerful arm
you scattered your enemies.
11The heavens and the earth
belong to you.
And so does the world
with all its people
because you created them
12and everything else.#89.12 and everything else: The Hebrew text has “Zaphon and Yamin”, which may either be the names of mountains or refer to the directions “north and south”, with the meaning “everything from north to south”.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon
gladly praise you.
13You are strong and mighty!
14Your kingdom is ruled
by justice and fairness
with love and faithfulness
leading the way.
15Our LORD, you bless those
who join in the festival
and walk in the brightness
of your presence.
16We are happy all day
because of you,
and your saving power
brings honour to us.
17Your own glorious power
makes us strong,
and because of your kindness,
our strength increases.
18Our LORD and our King,
the Holy One of Israel,
you are truly our shield.
19In a vision, you once said
to your faithful followers:
“I have helped a mighty hero.
I chose him from my people
and made him famous.
20David, my servant, is the one#1 S 13.14; Ac 13.22; 1 S 16.12.
I chose to be king,
21and I will always be there
to help and strengthen him.
22“No enemy will outsmart David,
and he won't be defeated
by any hateful people.
23I will strike down and crush
his troublesome enemies.
24He will always be able
to depend on my love,
and I will make him strong
with my own power.
25I will let him rule the lands
across the rivers and seas.
26He will say to me,
‘You are my Father
and my God,
as well as the mighty rock#89.26 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
where I am safe.’
27“I have chosen David#Rev 1.5.
as my firstborn son,
and he will be the ruler
of all kings on earth.
28My love for him will last,
and my agreement with him
will never be broken.
29“One of David's descendants
will always be king,
and his family will rule
until the sky disappears.
30Suppose some of his children
should reject my Law
and refuse my instructions.
31Or suppose they should disobey
all of my teachings.
32Then I will correct
and punish them
because of their sins.
33But I will always love David
and faithfully keep all
of my promises to him.
34“I won't break my agreement
or go back on my word.
35I have sworn once and for all
by my own holy name,
and I won't lie to David.
36His family will always rule.
I will let his kingdom last
as long as the sun 37and moon
appear in the sky.”
38You are now angry, God,
and you have turned your back
on your chosen king.
39You broke off your agreement
with your servant, the king,
and you completely destroyed
his kingdom.
40The walls of his city
have been broken through,
and every fortress
now lies in ruin.
41All who pass by
take what they want,
and nations everywhere
joke about the king.
42You made his enemies powerful
and let them celebrate.
43But you forced him to retreat
because you did not fight
on his side.
44You took his crown#89.44 You took…crown: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and threw his throne
to the ground.
45You made an old man of him
and put him to shame.
46How much longer, LORD?
Will you hide for ever?
How long will your anger
keep burning like fire?
47Remember, life is short!#89.47 Remember…short: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Why did you empty our lives
of all meaning?
48No one can escape the power
of death and the grave.
49Our Lord, where is the love
you have always shown
and that you promised
so faithfully to David?
50Remember your servant, Lord!
People make jokes about me,
and I suffer many insults.
51I am your chosen one,
but your enemies chase
and make fun of me.
52Our LORD, we praise you
for ever. Amen and amen.
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