Psalm 89
Living Bible
89 Forever and ever I will sing about the tender kindness of the Lord! Young and old shall hear about your blessings. 2 Your love and kindness are forever; your truth is as enduring as the heavens.
3-4 The Lord God says,[a] “I have made a solemn agreement with my chosen servant David. I have taken an oath to establish his descendants as kings forever on his throne, from now until eternity!”
5 All heaven shall praise your miracles, O Lord; myriads of angels[b] will praise you for your faithfulness. 6 For who in all of heaven can be compared with God? What mightiest angel[c] is anything like him? 7 The highest of angelic powers[d] stand in dread and awe of him. Who is as revered as he by those surrounding him? 8 O Jehovah, Commander of the heavenly armies, where is there any other Mighty One like you? Faithfulness is your very character.
9 You rule the oceans when their waves arise in fearful storms; you speak, and they lie still. 10 You have cut haughty Egypt[e] to pieces. Your enemies are scattered by your awesome power. 11 The heavens are yours, the world, everything—for you created them all. 12 You created north and south! Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon rejoice to be signed by your name as their maker! 13 Strong is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
14-15 Your throne is founded on two strong pillars—the one is Justice and the other Righteousness. Mercy and Truth walk before you as your attendants. Blessed are those who hear the joyful blast of the trumpet, for they shall walk in the light of your presence. 16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation and in your perfect righteousness. 17 You are their strength. What glory! Our power is based on your favor! 18 Yes, our protection is from the Lord himself and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
19 In a vision you spoke to your prophet[f] and said, “I have chosen a splendid young man from the common people to be the king— 20 he is my servant David! I have anointed him with my holy oil. 21 I will steady him and make him strong. 22 His enemies shall not outwit him, nor shall the wicked overpower him. 23 I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him. 24 I will protect and bless him constantly and surround him with my love; he will be great because of me. 25 He will hold sway from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. 26 And he will cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and my Rock of Salvation.’
27 “I will treat him as my firstborn son and make him the mightiest king in all the earth. 28 I will love him forever and be kind to him always; my covenant with him will never end. 29 He will always have an heir; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven. 30-32 If his children forsake my laws and don’t obey them, then I will punish them, 33 but I will never completely take away my loving-kindness from them, nor let my promise fail. 34 No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back one word of what I said. 35-36 For I have sworn to David (and a holy God can never lie) that his dynasty will go on forever, and his throne will continue to the end of time.[g] 37 It shall be eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!”
38 Then why cast me off, rejected? Why be so angry with the one you chose as king? 39 Have you renounced your covenant with him? For you have thrown his crown in the dust. 40 You have broken down the walls protecting him and laid in ruins every fort defending him. 41 Everyone who comes along has robbed him while his neighbors mock. 42 You have strengthened his enemies against him and made them rejoice. 43 You have struck down his sword and refused to help him in battle. 44 You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne. 45 You have made him old before his time and publicly disgraced him.
46 O Jehovah, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself from me forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? 47 Oh, remember how short you have made man’s lifespan. Is it an empty, futile life you give the sons of men? 48 No man can live forever. All will die. Who can rescue his life from the power of the grave?
49 Lord, where is the love you used to have for me? Where is your kindness that you promised to David with a faithful pledge? 50 Lord, see how all the people are despising me. 51 Your enemies joke about me, the one you anointed as their king.
52 And yet—blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and amen!
Footnotes
- Psalm 89:3 The Lord God says, implied.
- Psalm 89:5 myriads of angels, literally, “the assembly of the holy ones.”
- Psalm 89:6 mightiest angel, literally, “sons of the mighty.”
- Psalm 89:7 angelic powers, literally, “the assembly of the holy ones.”
- Psalm 89:10 Egypt, literally, “Rahab.”
- Psalm 89:19 your prophet, literally, “your saint,” apparently a reference to Samuel, who was sent to anoint David as king.
- Psalm 89:35 his throne will continue to the end of time, literally, “his throne as the sun before me.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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