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A maskil by Ethan the Ezrahite.

89 I will sing forever about the evidence of your mercy, O Lord.
I will tell about your faithfulness to every generation.
I said, “Your mercy will last forever.
Your faithfulness stands firm in the heavens.”

⌞You said,⌟ “I have made a promise [a] to my chosen one.
I swore this oath to my servant David:
‘I will make your dynasty continue forever.
I built your throne to last throughout every generation.’ ” Selah

O Lord, the heavens praise your miracles
and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
Who in the skies can compare with the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord?
God is terrifying in the council of the holy ones.
He is greater and more awe-inspiring than those who surround him.
O Lord God of Armies, who is like you?
Mighty Lord, even your faithfulness surrounds you.
You rule the raging sea.
When its waves rise, you quiet them.
10 You crushed Rahab; [b] it was like a corpse.
With your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours.
The earth is also yours.
You made the world and everything in it.
12 You created north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing your name joyfully.
13 Your arm is mighty.
Your hand is strong.
Your right hand is lifted high.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne.
Mercy and truth stand in front of you.
15 Blessed are the people who know how to praise you.
They walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.
16 They find joy in your name all day long.
They are joyful in your righteousness
17 because you are the glory of their strength.
By your favor you give us victory.
18 Our shield belongs to the Lord.
Our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once in a vision you said to your faithful ones:
“I set a boy above warriors.
I have raised up one chosen from the people.
20 I found my servant David.
I anointed him with my holy oil.
21 My hand is ready to help him.
My arm will also give him strength.
22 No enemy will take him by surprise.
No wicked person will mistreat him.
23 I will crush his enemies in front of him
and defeat those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him,
and in my name he will be victorious.
25 I will put his ⌞left⌟ hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will call out to me,
‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 Yes, I will make him the firstborn.
He will be the Most High to the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will stay with him forever.
My promise to him is unbreakable.
29 I will make his dynasty endure forever
and his throne like the days of heaven.

30 “If his descendants abandon my teachings
and do not live by my rules,
31 if they violate my laws
and do not obey my commandments,
32 then with a rod I will punish their rebellion
and their crimes with beatings.
33 But I will not take my mercy away from him
or allow my truth to become a lie.
34 I will not dishonor my promise
or alter my own agreement.
35 On my holiness I have taken an oath once and for all:
I will not lie to David.
36 His dynasty will last forever.
His throne will be in my presence like the sun.
37 Like the moon his throne will stand firm forever.
It will be like a faithful witness in heaven.”

38 But you have despised, rejected,
and become angry with your anointed one.
39 You have refused to recognize the promise to your servant
and have thrown his crown into the dirt.
40 You have broken through all his walls
and have laid his fortified cities in ruins.
41 (Everyone who passed by robbed him.
He has become the object of his neighbors’ scorn.)
42 You held the right hand of his enemies high
and made all of his adversaries rejoice.
43 You even took his sword out of his hand
and failed to support him in battle.
44 You put an end to his splendor
and hurled his throne to the ground.
45 You cut short the days of his youth
and covered him with shame. Selah

46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your anger continue to burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is!
Have you created Adam’s descendants for no reason?
48 Can a mortal go on living and never see death?
Who can set himself free from the power of the grave? Selah
49 Where is the evidence of your mercy, Lord?
You swore an oath to David on ⌞the basis of⌟ your faithfulness.

50 Remember, O Lord,[c] how your servant [d] has been insulted.
Remember how I have carried in my heart ⌞the insults⌟ from so many people.
51 Your enemies insulted ⌞me⌟.
They insulted your Messiah [e] every step he took.

52 Thank the Lord forever.
Amen and amen!

Footnotes

  1. 89:3 Or “covenant.”
  2. 89:10 Rahab   is the name of a demonic creature who opposes God.
  3. 89:50 Many Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts “Lord.”
  4. 89:50 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Syriac; other Hebrew manuscripts “your servants.”
  5. 89:51 Or “anointed one.”

Psalm 89[a]

A maskil[b] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing(A) of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(B)
    through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(C)
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
    I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
    and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[c](D)

The heavens(E) praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly(F) of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(G)
In the council(H) of the holy ones(I) God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.(J)
Who is like you,(K) Lord God Almighty?(L)
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.(M)
10 You crushed Rahab(N) like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered(O) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(P) and yours also the earth;(Q)
    you founded the world and all that is in it.(R)
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor(S) and Hermon(T) sing for joy(U) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(V)

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(W)
    love and faithfulness go before you.(X)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk(Y) in the light(Z) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(AA) all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(AB)
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[d](AC)
18 Indeed, our shield[e](AD) belongs to the Lord,
    our king(AE) 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 raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(AF) my servant;(AG)
    with my sacred oil(AH) I have anointed(AI) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.(AJ)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(AK)
    the wicked will not oppress(AL) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(AM)
    and strike down his adversaries.(AN)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(AO)
    and through my name his horn[f] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.(AP)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(AQ)
    my God, the Rock(AR) my Savior.’(AS)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(AT)
    the most exalted(AU) of the kings(AV) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.(AW)
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.(AX)

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;(AY)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(AZ)
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.(BA)
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;(BB)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”(BC)

38 But you have rejected,(BD) 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.(BE)
40 You have broken through all his walls(BF)
    and reduced his strongholds(BG) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(BH) him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(BI)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.(BJ)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.(BK)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(BL) the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(BM)

46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?(BN)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(BO)
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?(BP)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[g] been mocked,(BQ)
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(BR)

52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(BS)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
  2. Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
  4. Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
  5. Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
  6. Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  7. Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have

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

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

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

Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.

16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

41 All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

46 How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?

50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

52 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.