The L{ORD}'{S} Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1
I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever;
To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. 2
For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness. 3
“I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant, 4
I will establish your seed forever
And build up your throne to all generations. Selah.

 5
The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. 6
For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD, 7
A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him? 8
O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You. 9
You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them. 10
You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

 11
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have founded them. 12
The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name. 13
You have a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted. 14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You. 15
How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance. 16
In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted. 17
For You are the glory of their strength,
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 vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people. 20
“I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21
With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him. 22
“The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23
“But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him. 24
“My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted. 25
“I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers. 26
“He will cry to Me, `You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ 27
“I also shall make him {My} firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth. 28
“My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. 29
“So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.

 30
“If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments, 31
If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments, 32
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod
And their iniquity with stripes. 33
“But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. 34
“My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. 35
“Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David. 36
“His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me. 37
“It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful. Selah.

 38
But You have cast off and rejected,
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed. 39
You have spurned the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown in the dust. 40
You have broken down all his walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin. 41
All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a reproach to his neighbors. 42
You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice. 43
You also turn back the edge of his sword
And 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 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 what my span of life is;
For what vanity You have created all the sons of men! 48
What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.

 49
Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness? 50
Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants;
How I bear in my bosom {the reproach of} all the many peoples, 51
With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

 52
Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.

A Petition to Be Saved from Death.

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

For the choir director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1
O LORD, the God of my salvation,
I have cried out by day and in the night before You. 2
Let my prayer come before You;
Incline Your ear to my cry! 3
For my soul has had enough troubles,
And my life has drawn near to Sheol. 4
I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit;
I have become like a man without strength, 5
Forsaken among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And they are cut off from Your hand. 6
You have put me in the lowest pit,
In dark places, in the depths. 7
Your wrath has rested upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah. 8
You have removed my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an object of loathing to them;
I am shut up and cannot go out. 9
My eye has wasted away because of affliction;
I have called upon You every day, O LORD;
I have spread out my hands to You.

 10
Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Will the departed spirits rise {and} praise You? Selah. 11
Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12
Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

 13
But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You. 14
O LORD, why do You reject my soul?
{Why} do You hide Your face from me? 15
I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on;
I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome. 16
Your burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me. 17
They have surrounded me like water all day long;
They have encompassed me altogether. 18
You have removed lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are {in} darkness.

The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion.

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.

1
His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2
The LORD loves the gates of Zion
More than all the {other} dwelling places of Jacob. 3
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God. Selah. 4
“I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia:
`This one was born there.’ 5
But of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself will establish her. 6
The LORD will count when He registers the peoples,
“This one was born there. Selah. 7
Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes {shall say,}
“All my springs {of joy} are in you.

A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.

A Prayer of David.

1
Incline Your ear, O LORD, {and} answer me;
For I am afflicted and needy. 2
Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man;
O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. 3
Be gracious to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry all day long. 4
Make glad the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. 6
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
And give heed to the voice of my supplications! 7
In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You,
For You will answer me. 8
There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works like Yours. 9
All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name. 10
For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God.

 11
Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name. 12
I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever. 13
For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

 14
O God, arrogant men have risen up against me,
And a band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them. 15
But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. 16
Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Oh grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid. 17
Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see {it} and be ashamed,
Because You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.

For the choir director.

A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1
O LORD, You showed favor to Your land;
You restored the captivity of Jacob. 2
You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin. Selah. 3
You withdrew all Your fury;
You turned away from Your burning anger.

 4
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease. 5
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? 6
Will You not Yourself revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You? 7
Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.

 8
I will hear what God the LORD will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly. 9
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land. 10
Lovingkindness and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11
Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven. 12
Indeed, the LORD will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce. 13
Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.

Longing for the Temple Worship.

For the choir director; on the Gittith.

A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1
How lovely are Your dwelling places,
O LORD of hosts! 2
My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3
The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God. 4
How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You. Selah.

 5
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways {to Zion!} 6
Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7
They go from strength to strength,
{Every one of them} appears before God in Zion.

 8
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. 9
Behold our shield, O God,
And look upon the face of Your anointed. 10
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand {outside.}
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12
O LORD of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

God Implored to Confound His Enemies.

A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.

1
O God, do not remain quiet;
Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. 2
For behold, Your enemies make an uproar,
And those who hate You have exalted themselves. 3
They make shrewd plans against Your people,
And conspire together against Your treasured ones. 4
They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,
That the name of Israel be remembered no more. 5
For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant: 6
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites; 7
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8
Assyria also has joined with them;
They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.

 9
Deal with them as with Midian,
As with Sisera {and} Jabin at the torrent of Kishon, 10
Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who became as dung for the ground. 11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12
Who said, “Let us possess for ourselves
The pastures of God.

 13
O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
Like chaff before the wind. 14
Like fire that burns the forest
And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, 15
So pursue them with Your tempest
And terrify them with Your storm. 16
Fill their faces with dishonor,
That they may seek Your name, O LORD. 17
Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever,
And let them be humiliated and perish, 18
That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD,
Are the Most High over all the earth.

Unjust Judgments Rebuked.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1
God takes His stand in His own congregation;
He judges in the midst of the rulers. 2
How long will you judge unjustly
And show partiality to the wicked? Selah. 3
Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4
Rescue the weak and needy;
Deliver {them} out of the hand of the wicked.

 5
They do not know nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6
I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are sons of the Most High. 7
“Nevertheless you will die like men
And fall like {any} one of the princes. 8
Arise, O God, judge the earth!
For it is You who possesses all the nations.

God’s Goodness and Israel’s Waywardness.

For the choir director; on the Gittith.

{A Psalm} of Asaph.

1
Sing for joy to God our strength;
Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. 2
Raise a song, strike the timbrel,
The sweet sounding lyre with the harp. 3
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
At the full moon, on our feast day. 4
For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5
He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard a language that I did not know:

 6
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the basket. 7
“You called in trouble and I rescued you;
I answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 8
“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, if you would listen to Me! 9
“Let there be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god. 10
“I, the LORD, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

 11
“But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me. 12
“So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices. 13
“Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways! 14
“I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15
“Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him,
And their time {of punishment} would be forever. 16
“But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

For the choir director; {set to} El Shoshannim; Eduth.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1
Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who are enthroned {above} the cherubim, shine forth! 2
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power
And come to save us! 3
O God, restore us
And cause Your face to shine {upon us,} and we will be saved.

 4
O LORD God {of} hosts,
How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? 5
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And You have made them to drink tears in large measure. 6
You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves. 7
O God {of} hosts, restore us
And cause Your face to shine {upon us,} and we will be saved.

 8
You removed a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and planted it. 9
You cleared {the ground} before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land. 10
The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And the cedars of God with its boughs. 11
It was sending out its branches to the sea
And its shoots to the River. 12
Why have You broken down its hedges,
So that all who pass {that} way pick its {fruit?} 13
A boar from the forest eats it away
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

 14
O God {of} hosts, turn again now, we beseech You;
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, 15
Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. 16
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. 18
Then we shall not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. 19
O LORD God of hosts, restore us;
Cause Your face to shine {upon us,} and we will be saved.