THE BOOK OF THE PSALMS
BOOKIII
Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Psalm of Asaph.
73[72]Truly God is good to the upright,
to those who are pure in heart.t
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had well nigh slipped.
3For I was envious of the arrogant,
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4For they have no pangs;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5They are not in trouble as other men are;
they are not stricken like other men.
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7Their eyes swell out with fatness,
their hearts overflow with follies.
8They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10Therefore the people turn and praise them;u
and find no fault in them.v
11And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14For all the day long I have been stricken,
and chastened every morning.
15If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have been untrue to the generation of your children.
16But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
18Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20They arew like a dream when one awakes,
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22I was stupid and ignorant,
I was like a beast toward you.
23Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.x
25Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides you.
26My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strengthy of my heart and my portion for ever.
27For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
28But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
74[73]O God, why do you cast us off for ever?
Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?
2Remember your congregation, which you have gotten of old,
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.
3Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4Your foes have roared in the midst of your holy place;
they set up their own signs for signs.
5At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.z
6And then all its carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7They set your sanctuary on fire;
to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of your name.
8They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9We do not see our signs;
there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name for ever?
11Why do you hold back your hand,
why do you keep your right hand ina your bosom?
12Yet God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons on the waters.
14You crushed the heads of Leviathan,
you gave him as foodb for the creatures of the wilderness.
15You cut open springs and brooks;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established the luminaries and the sun.
17You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you have made summer and winter.
18Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,
and an impious people reviles your name.
19Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the souls of your poor for ever.
20Have regard for yourc covenant;
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21Let not the humble be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22Arise, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all the day!
23Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries which goes up continually!
Thanksgiving for God’s Wondrous Deeds
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy.
A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75[74]We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks;
we call on your name and recountd your wondrous deeds.
2At the set time which I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
4I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”
and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;
5do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with insolent neck.”
6For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;
7but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup,
with foaming wine, well mixed;
and he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9But I will rejoicee for ever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10All the horns of the wicked hef will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Israel’s God—Judge of All the Earth
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
76[75]In Judah God is known,
his name is great in Israel.
2His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
3There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4Glorious are you, more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.g
5The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
6At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
7But you, you are awesome!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8From the heavens you pronounced judgment;
the earth feared and was still,
9when God arose to establish judgment
to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10Surely the wrath of men shall praise you;
the residue of wrath you will bind around you.
11Make your vows to the LORD your God, and perform them;
let all around him bring gifts
to him who is to be feared,
12who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who is awesome to the kings of the earth.
God’s Mighty Deeds Recalled
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun.
A Psalm of Asaph.
77[76]I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
2In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah
4You keep my eyelids from closing;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5I consider the days of old,
I remember the years long ago.
6I communeh with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:i
7“Will the Lord spurn for ever,
and never again be favorable?
8Has his steadfast love for ever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
10And I say, “It is my grief
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
13Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14You are the God who works wonders,
who have manifested your might among the peoples.
15With your arm you redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid,
yes, the deep trembled.
17The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude
A Maskil of Asaph.
78[77]Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders which he has wrought.
5He established a testimony in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children;
6that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9The E'phraimites, armed withj the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11They forgot what he had done,
and the miracles that he had shown them.
12In the sight of their fathers he wrought marvels
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zo'an.
13He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15He cleft rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16He made streams come out of the rock,
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread,
or provide meat for his people?”
21Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
his anger mounted against Israel;
22because they had no faith in God,
and did not trust his saving power.
23Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
24and he rained down upon them manna to eat,
and gave them the bread of heaven.
25Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their habitations.
29And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30But before they had sated their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31the anger of God rose against them
and he slew the strongest of them,
and laid low the picked men of Israel.
32In spite of all this they still sinned;
despite his wonders they did not believe.
33So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
34When he slew them, they sought for him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not true to his covenant.
38Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
41They tested him again and again,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not keep in mind his power,
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;
43when he wrought his signs in Egypt,
and his miracles in the fields of Zo'an.
44He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46He gave their crops to the caterpillar,
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamores with frost.
48He gave over their cattle to the hail,
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49He let loose on them his fierce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
50He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51He struck all the first-born in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52Then he led forth his people like sheep,
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid;
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain which his right hand had won.
55He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God,
and did not observe his decrees,
57but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;
they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among men,
61and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
62He gave his people over to the sword,
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63Fire devoured their young men,
and their maidens had no marriage song.
64Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a strong man shouting because of wine.
66And he put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67He rejected the tent of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of E'phraim;
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
69He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded for ever.
70He chose David his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71from tending the ewes that had young he brought him
to be the shepherd of Jacob his people,
of Israel his inheritance.
72With upright heart he tended them,
and guided them with skilful hand.
Plea for Mercy for Jerusalem
A Psalm of Asaph.
79[78]O God, the heathen have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the air for food,
the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem,
and there was none to bury them.
4We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those round about us.
5How long, O LORD? Will you be angry for ever?
Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?
6Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name!
7For they have devoured Jacob,
and laid waste his habitation.
8Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers;
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are brought very low.
9Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and forgive our sins,
for your name’s sake!
10Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
11Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power preserve those doomed to die!
12Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors
the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13Then we your people, the flock of your pasture,
will give thanks to you for ever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies.
A Testimony of Asaph.
A Psalm.
80[79]Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh!
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!
3Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6You make us the scornk of our neighbors;
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
11it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.
12Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14Turn again, O God of hosts!
Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock which your right hand planted.l
16They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance!
17But let your hand be upon the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name!
19Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
God’s Appeal to Stubborn Israel
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.
A Psalm of Asaph.
81[80]Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2Raise a song, sound the timbrel,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
3Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5He made it a decree in Joseph,
when he went out overm the land of Egypt.
I hear a voice I had not known:
6“I relieved yourn shoulder of the burden;
yourn hands were freed from the basket.
7In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Mer'ibah. Selah
8Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would have none of me.
12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
13O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14I would soon subdue their enemies,
and turn my hand against their foes.
15Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last for ever.
16I would feed youo with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
A Plea for Justice
A Psalm of Asaph.
82[81]God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the angels he holds judgment:
2“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6I say, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7nevertheless, you shall die like men,
and fall like any prince.”p
8Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for to you belong all the nations!
Prayer for Judgment on Israel’s Foes
A Song.
A Psalm of Asaph.
83[82]O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2For behold, your enemies are in tumult;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your protected ones.
4They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5Yes, they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
6the tents of Edom and the Ish'maelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7Gebal and Ammon and Am'alek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8Assyria also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah
9Do to them as you did to Mid'ian,
as to Sis'era and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmun'na,
12who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”
13O my God, make them like whirling dust,q
like chaff before the wind.
14As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15so you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
16Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever;
let them perish in disgrace.
18Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the earth.
The Joy of Worship in the Temple
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
84[83]How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
2My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
4Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
5Blessed are the men whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.r
6As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
8O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9Behold our shield, O God;
look upon the face of your anointed!
10For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the LORD withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the man who trusts in you!
Prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favor
To the choirmaster.
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
85[84]LORD, you were favorable to your land;
you brought back the captives of Jacob.
2You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin. Selah
3You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5Will you be angry with us for ever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7Show us your merciful love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
8Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts.s
9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10Mercy and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from heaven.
12Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness will go before him,
and make his footsteps a way.
Supplication for Help against Enemies
A Prayer of David.
86[85]Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in mercy to all who call on you.
6Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication.
7In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you do answer me.
8There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10For you are great and do wondrous things,
you alone are God.
11Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
12I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name for ever.
13For great is your merciful love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seek my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy and faithfulness.
16Turn to me and take pity on me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your handmaid.
17Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
The Joy of Living in Zion
A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
A Song.
87[86]On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God. Selah
4Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philis'tia and Tyre, with Ethiopia—
“This one was born there,” they say.
5And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself will establish her.
6The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah
7Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”
Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth.
A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
88[87]O LORD, my God, I call for helpt by day;
I cry out in the night before you.
2Let my prayer come before you,
incline your ear to my cry!
3For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4I am reckoned among those who go down to the Pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5like one forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a thing of horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to you.
10Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise you? Selah
11Is your mercy declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abad'don?
12Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?
13But I, O LORD, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14O LORD, why do you cast me off?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15Afflicted and close to death from my youth,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.u
16Your wrath has swept over me;
your dread assaults destroy me.
17They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in upon me together.
18You have caused loved one and friend to shun me;
my companions are in darkness.
God’s Covenant with David
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89[88]I will sing of your mercies,
O LORD,v for ever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
2For your merciful love was established for ever,
your faithfulness is firm as the heavens.
3You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
4‘I will establish your descendants for ever,
and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beingsw is like the LORD,
7a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and awesomex above all that are round about him?
8O LORD God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
with your faithfulness round about you?
9You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
10You crushed Rahab like a carcass,
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance,
16who exult in your name all the day,
and extoly your righteousness.
17For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
18For our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19Of old you spoke in a vision
to your faithful one, and said:
“I have set the crownz upon one who is mighty,
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21so that my hand shall ever abide with him,
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
23I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27And I will make him the first-born,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28My merciful love I will keep for him for ever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29I will establish his line for ever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges;
33but I will not remove from him my merciful love,
or be false to my faithfulness.
34I will not violate my covenant,
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36His line shall endure for ever,
his throne as long as the sun before me.
37Like the moon it shall be established for ever;
it shall stand firm while the skies endure.”a Selah
38But now you have cast off and rejected,
you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40You have breached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41All that pass by despoil him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43Yes, you have turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
44You have removed the scepter from his hand,b
and cast his throne to the ground.
45You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
46How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself for ever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47Remember, O Lord,c what the measure of life is,
for what vanity you have created all the sons of men!
48What man can live and never see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50Remember, O Lord, how your servant is scorned;
how I bear in my bosom the insultsd of the peoples,
51with which your enemies taunt, O LORD,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD for ever! Amen and Amen.