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The Lord’s Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.

A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Ethan the Ezrahite.

89 I will sing of the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord forever;
With my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.

For I have said, “Goodness and lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens [unchangeable and majestic] You will establish Your faithfulness.”

[God has said] “I have made a covenant with My chosen one;
I have sworn to David My servant,

I will establish your seed forever
And I will build up your throne for all generations.”(A) Selah.


The heavens (angels) praise Your wonders, O Lord,
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.

For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the divine beings is like the Lord,

A God greatly feared and reverently worshiped in the council of the holy [angelic] ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?

O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds You [as an intrinsic, unchangeable part of Your very being].

You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.(B)
10 
You have crushed Rahab (Egypt) like one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

11 
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all that is in it, You have founded and established them.(C)
12 
The north and the south, You have created them;
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13 
You have a strong arm;
Mighty is Your hand, Your right hand is exalted.
14 
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.
15 
Blessed and happy are the people who know the joyful sound [of the trumpet’s blast]!
They walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!
16 
In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 
For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment],
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 
Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty [giving him the power to be a champion for Israel];
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 
“I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,(D)
21 
With whom My hand shall be established and steadfast;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
22 
“The enemy will not outwit him,
Nor will the wicked man afflict or humiliate him.
23 
“I will crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24 
“My faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him,
And in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].
25 
“I will also [a]set his hand on the [Mediterranean] sea,
And his right hand on the rivers [the tributaries of the Euphrates].
26 
“He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 
“I will also make him My firstborn (preeminent),
The highest of the kings of the earth.(E)
28 
“My lovingkindness I will keep for him forevermore,
And My covenant will be confirmed to him.
29 
“His descendants I will establish forever,
And his throne [will endure] as the days of heaven.(F)

30 
“If his children [b]turn away from My law
And do not walk in My ordinances,
31 
If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod [of discipline],
And [correct] their wickedness with stripes.(G)
33 
“Nevertheless, I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 
“My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35 
“Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated];
I will not lie to David.
36 
“His [c]descendants shall endure forever
And his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me.(H)
37 
“It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the heavens is ever faithful.”(I) Selah.

38 
But [in apparent contradiction of all this] You [the faithful Lord] have cast off and rejected;
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39 
You have spurned and repudiated the covenant with Your servant;
You have profaned his crown [by casting it] in the dust.
40 
You have broken down all his [city] walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 
All who pass along the road rob him;
He has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 
Also, You have turned back the edge of his sword
And have not made him [strong enough] to stand in battle.
44 
You have put an end to his splendor
And have hurled his throne to the ground.
45 
You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame. Selah.

46 
How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 
Remember how fleeting my lifetime is;
For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!
48 
What man can live and not see death?
Can he rescue his soul from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah.

49 
O Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses [so abundant in the days of David and Solomon],
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 
Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants [scorned, insulted, and disgraced];
How I bear in [d]my heart the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 
With which Your enemies have taunted, O Lord,
With which they have mocked the footsteps of Your anointed.

52 
Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 89:25 I.e. extend his area of influence.
  2. Psalm 89:30 Lit forsake.
  3. Psalm 89:36 Lit seed.
  4. Psalm 89:50 Lit the fold of my garment.

A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.

96 O sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory among the nations,
His marvelous works and wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.(A)

For all the gods of the peoples are [worthless, lifeless] idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.


[a]Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
Tremble [in submissive wonder] before Him, all the earth.
10 
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly and securely established, it shall not be moved;
He will judge and rule the people with fairness.”(B)

11 
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar, and all the things it contains;
12 
Let the field be exultant, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 
Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.(C)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 96:7 Lit Give.

All Men Exhorted to Praise God.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.

Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, [a]not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.(A)


Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.

For the Lord is good;
His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.

The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.

A Psalm of David.

101 I will sing of [steadfast] lovingkindness and justice;
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.

I will behave wisely and follow the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will walk in my house in integrity and with a blameless heart.

I will set no worthless or wicked thing before my eyes.
I hate the practice of those who fall away [from the right path];
It will not grasp hold of me.

A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will not tolerate evil.

Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will silence;
The one who has a haughty look and a proud (arrogant) heart I will not tolerate.


My eyes will be on the faithful (honorable) of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks blamelessly is the one who will minister to and serve me.

He who practices deceit will not dwell in my house;
He who tells lies and half-truths will not continue [to remain] in my presence.

Morning after morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land,
That I may cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do evil.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 100:3 Some mss read His we are.

The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.

105 O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the people.

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonderful acts and devoutly praise them.

Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those who seek and require the Lord [as their most essential need] rejoice.

Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might];
Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.

Remember [with awe and gratitude] the wonderful things which He has done,
His amazing deeds and the judgments uttered by His mouth [on His enemies, as in Egypt],(A)

O you offspring of Abraham, His servant,
O you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.


He has remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded and established to a [a]thousand generations,

The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His sworn oath to Isaac,(B)
10 
Which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 
Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the measured portion of your inheritance.”
12 
When there were only a few men in number,
Very few [in fact], and strangers in it;
13 
And they wandered from one nation to another,
From one kingdom to another people,
14 
He allowed no man to oppress them;
He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,(C)
15 
“Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”(D)

16 
And He called for a famine upon the land [of Egypt];
He [b]cut off every source of bread.(E)
17 
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.(F)
18 
His feet they hurt with shackles;
[c]He was put in chains of iron,
19 
Until the time that his word [of prophecy regarding his brothers] came true,
The word of the Lord tested and refined him.
20 
The king sent and released him,
The ruler of the peoples [of Egypt], and set him free.
21 
He made Joseph lord of his house
And ruler of all his possessions,(G)
22 
To imprison his princes at his will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23 
Israel also came into Egypt;
Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.(H)
24 
There the Lord greatly increased [the number of] His people,
And made them more powerful than their enemies.

25 
He turned the heart [of the Egyptians] to hate His people,
To deal craftily with His servants.
26 
He sent Moses His servant,
And Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 
They exhibited His wondrous signs among them,
Great miracles in the land of Ham (Egypt).
28 
He sent [thick, oppressive] darkness and made the land dark;
And Moses and Aaron did not rebel against His words.(I)
29 
He turned Egypt’s waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.(J)
30 
Their land swarmed with frogs,
Even in the chambers of their kings.(K)
31 
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
And gnats in all their territory.(L)
32 
He gave them hail for rain,
With flaming fire in their land.(M)
33 
He struck their vines also and their fig trees,
And shattered the [ice-laden] trees of their territory.(N)
34 
He spoke, and the [migratory] locusts came,
And the young locusts, even without number,(O)
35 
And ate up all the vegetation in their land,
And devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 
He also struck down all the firstborn in their land,
The first fruits and chief substance of all their strength.(P)

37 
He brought the sons of Israel out [of Egypt] with silver and gold,
And among their tribes there was not one who stumbled.(Q)
38 
Egypt was glad when they departed,
For the dread and fear of them had fallen on the Egyptians.(R)
39 
The Lord spread a cloud as a covering [by day],
And a fire to illumine the night.(S)
40 
The Israelites asked, and He brought quail,
And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.(T)
41 
He opened the rock and water flowed out;
It ran in the dry places like a river.(U)
42 
For He remembered His holy word
To Abraham His servant;(V)
43 
He brought out His people with joy,
And His chosen ones with a joyful shout,
44 
He gave them the lands of the nations [of Canaan],
So that they would possess the fruits of those peoples’ labor,(W)
45 
So that they might observe His precepts
And keep His laws [obediently accepting and honoring and valuing them].
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 105:8 There were twenty-six recorded generations from Adam to Moses. The ancient rabbis took “thousand” here very literally and maintained that God originally planned to give the Law to the thousandth generation, but He foresaw that they would be wicked, so He declined to create 974 generations and gave the Law to the twenty-sixth generation (Moses) instead.
  2. Psalm 105:16 Lit broke the whole rod of, referring to the fact that bread was stored as ring-shaped loaves on a rod. If the rod was broken, the loaves fell off and were lost or ruined.
  3. Psalm 105:18 Lit his soul came into.

Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing Upon the Sanctuary.

A Song of [a]Ascents.

132 O Lord, remember on David’s behalf
All his hardship and affliction;

How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:

“I absolutely will not enter my house,
Nor get into my bed—

I certainly will not permit my eyes to sleep
Nor my eyelids to slumber,

Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob (Israel).”(A)


Behold, we heard of it at Ephrathah;
We found it in the field of Jaar.(B)

Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.

Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark [the symbol] of Your strength.

Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness (right living),
And let Your godly ones shout for joy.

10 
For the sake of Your servant David,
Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.
11 
The Lord swore to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“One of your [b]descendants I will set upon your throne.(C)
12 
“If your children will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.”

13 
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
14 
“This is My resting place forever” [says the Lord];
“Here will I dwell, for I have desired it.
15 
“I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 
“Her priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her godly ones will shout aloud for joy.
17 
“There I will make the horn (strength) of David grow;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed [fulfilling the promises].(D)
18 
“His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon himself shall his crown shine.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 132:1 See Psalm 120 title note.
  2. Psalm 132:11 Lit the fruit of your body.

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