Psalm 89
A Song About God’s Loyalty
1 I will always sing about the Lord’s love; I will tell of his loyalty from now on.
2 I will say, “Your love continues forever; your loyalty goes on and on like the sky.”
3 You said, “I made an agreement with the man of my choice; I made a promise to my servant David.
4 I told him, ‘I will make your family continue forever. Your kingdom will go on and on.’ ” Selah
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for your miracles and for your loyalty in the meeting of your holy ones.
6 Who in heaven is equal to the Lord? None of the angels is like the Lord.
7 When the holy ones meet, it is God they fear. He is more frightening than all who surround him.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, who is like you? Lord, you are powerful and completely trustworthy.
9 You rule the mighty sea and calm the stormy waves.
10 You crushed the sea monster Rahab; by your power you scattered your enemies.
11 The skies and the earth belong to you. You made the world and everything in it.
12 You created the north and the south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm has great power. Your hand is strong; your right hand is lifted up.
14 Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair. Love and truth are in all you do.
15 Happy are the people who know how to praise you. Lord, let them live in the light of your presence.
16 In your name they rejoice and continually praise your goodness.
17 You are their glorious strength, and in your kindness you honor our king.
18 Our king, our shield, belongs to the Lord, to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once, in a vision, you spoke to those who worship you.
You said, “I have given strength to a warrior; I have raised up a young man from my people.
20 I have found my servant David; I appointed him by pouring holy oil on him.
21 I will steady him with my hand and strengthen him with my arm.
22 No enemy will make him give forced payments, and wicked people will not defeat him.
23 I will crush his enemies in front of him; I will defeat those who hate him.
24 My loyalty and love will be with him. Through me he will be strong.
25 I will give him power over the sea and control over the rivers.
26 He will say to me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock, my Savior.’
27 I will make him my firstborn son, the greatest king on earth.
28 My love will watch over him forever, and my agreement with him will never end.
29 I will make his family continue, and his kingdom will last as long as the skies.
30 “If his descendants reject my teachings and do not follow my laws,
31 if they ignore my demands and disobey my commands,
32 then I will punish their sins with a rod and their wrongs with a whip.
33 But I will not hold back my love from David, nor will I stop being loyal.
34 I will not break my agreement nor change what I have said.
35 I have promised by my holiness, I will not lie to David.
36 His family will go on forever. His kingdom will last before me like the sun.
37 It will continue forever, like the moon, like a dependable witness in the sky.” Selah
38 But now you have refused and rejected your appointed king. You have been angry with him.
39 You have abandoned the agreement with your servant and thrown his crown to the ground.
40 You have torn down all his city walls; you have turned his strong cities into ruins.
41 Everyone who passes by steals from him. His neighbors insult him.
42 You have given strength to his enemies and have made them all happy.
43 You have made his sword useless; you did not help him stand in battle.
44 You have kept him from winning and have thrown his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut his life short and covered him with shame. Selah
46 Lord, how long will this go on? Will you ignore us forever? How long will your anger burn like a fire?
47 Remember how short my life is. Why did you create us? For nothing?
48 What person alive will not die? Who can escape the grave? Selah
49 Lord, where is your love from times past, which in your loyalty you promised to David?
50 Lord, remember how they insulted your servant; remember how I have suffered the insults of the nations.
51 Lord, remember how your enemies insulted you and how they insulted your appointed king wherever he went.
52 Praise the Lord forever!
Amen and amen.
Book 4
Psalm 89
A well-written song by Ethan the Ezrachite.
1 I will sing continually about the Lord’s faithful deeds;
to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness.
2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established;
in the skies you set up your faithfulness.”
3 The Lord said,
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:
4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty
and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” (Selah)
5 O Lord, the heavens praise your amazing deeds,
as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly.
6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings,
7 a God who is honored in the great angelic assembly,
and more awesome than all who surround him?
8 O Lord, sovereign God!
Who is strong like you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the proud sea.
When its waves surge, you calm them.
10 You crushed the Proud One and killed it;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.
You made the world and all it contains.
12 You created the north and the south.
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
13 Your arm is powerful,
your hand strong,
your right hand victorious.
14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne.
Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule.
15 How blessed are the people who worship you!
O Lord, they experience your favor.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long,
and are vindicated by your justice.
17 For you give them splendor and strength.
By your favor we are victorious.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Then you spoke through a vision to your faithful followers and said:
“I have energized a warrior;
I have raised up a young man from the people.
20 I have discovered David, my servant.
With my holy oil I have anointed him as king.
21 My hand will support him,
and my arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him;
a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him.
23 I will crush his enemies before him;
I will strike down those who hate him.
24 He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love,
and by my name he will win victories.
25 I will place his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
26 He will call out to me,
‘You are my father, my God, and the protector who delivers me.’
27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn son,
the most exalted of the earth’s kings.
28 I will always extend my loyal love to him,
and my covenant with him is secure.
29 I will give him an eternal dynasty,
and make his throne as enduring as the skies above.
30 If his sons reject my law
and disobey my regulations,
31 if they break my rules
and do not keep my commandments,
32 I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club,
their sin by inflicting them with bruises.
33 But I will not remove my loyal love from him,
nor be unfaithful to my promise.
34 I will not break my covenant
or go back on what I promised.
35 Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,
I will never deceive David.
36 His dynasty will last forever.
His throne will endure before me, like the sun,
37 it will remain stable, like the moon,
his throne will endure like the skies.” (Selah)
38 But you have spurned and rejected him;
you are angry with your chosen king.
39 You have repudiated your covenant with your servant;
you have thrown his crown to the ground.
40 You have broken down all his walls;
you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.
41 All who pass by have robbed him;
he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors.
42 You have allowed his adversaries to be victorious,
and all his enemies to rejoice.
43 You turn back his sword from the adversary,
and have not sustained him in battle.
44 You have brought to an end his splendor,
and have knocked his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short his youth,
and have covered him with shame. (Selah)
46 How long, O Lord, will this last?
Will you remain hidden forever?
Will your anger continue to burn like fire?
47 Take note of my brief lifespan!
Why do you make all people so mortal?
48 No man can live on without experiencing death,
or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. (Selah)
49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, O Lord,
the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David?
50 Take note, O Lord, of the way your servants are taunted,
and of how I must bear so many insults from people!
51 Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;
they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps.
52 The Lord deserves praise forevermore!
We agree! We agree!