I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord
A Maskil of aEthan the Ezrahite.
bI will sing of cthe steadfast love of the Lord forever;
with my mouth I will make known your dfaithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, a“Steadfast love will be built up forever;
in the heavens byou will establish your cfaithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made aa covenant with my bchosen one;
I have csworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your aoffspring forever,
and build your bthrone for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let athe heavens praise your bwonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of cthe holy ones!
6 For awho in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
aWho among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
7 a God greatly ato be feared in the council of bthe holy ones,
and awesome above all cwho are around him?
8 O Lord God of hosts,
awho is mighty as you are, O bLord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you astill them.
10 You acrushed bRahab like a carcass;
you cscattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 aThe heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
bthe world and all that is in it, you have cfounded them.
12 aThe north and the south, you have created them;
bTabor and cHermon djoyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 aRighteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
bsteadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know athe festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in bthe light of your face,
16 who exult in your aname all the day
and in your righteousness are bexalted.
17 For you are athe glory of their strength;
by your favor our bhorn is exalted.
18 For our ashield belongs to the Lord,
our king to bthe Holy One of Israel.
19 aOf old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
“I have bgranted help to one who is cmighty;
I have exalted one dchosen from the people.
20 aI have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have banointed him,
21 so that my ahand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
athe wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will acrush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My afaithfulness and my asteadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his bhorn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on athe sea
and his right hand on athe rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my aFather,
my God, and bthe Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the afirstborn,
bthe highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my acovenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his aoffspring forever
and his athrone as bthe days of the heavens.
30 aIf his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with athe rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my acovenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn aby my holiness;
I will not blie to David.
36 His aoffspring shall endure forever,
bhis athrone as long as cthe sun before me.
37 Like athe moon it shall be established forever,
ba faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have acast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your banointed.
39 You have arenounced bthe covenant with your servant;
you have cdefiled his dcrown in the dust.
40 You have abreached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 aAll who pass by plunder him;
he has become bthe scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short athe days of his youth;
you have bcovered him with shame. Selah
46 aHow long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath bburn like fire?
47 aRemember bhow short my ctime is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 aWhat man can live and never bsee death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of cSheol? Selah
49 Lord, where is your asteadfast love of old,
which by your afaithfulness you swore to David?
50 aRemember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my bheart the insults of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
with which they mock athe footsteps of your banointed.
52 aBlessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.