Psalm 89

1    My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord:  

with my mouth will I proclaim your faithfulness

    throughout all generations.

2    I will declare that your love is established for ever;  

you have set your faithfulness as firm as the heavens.

3    For you said: ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one;  

I have sworn an oath to David my servant:

4    “‘Your seed will I establish for ever  

and build up your throne for all generations.”’

5    The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,  

and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones;

6    For who among the clouds can be compared to the Lord?  

Who is like the Lord among the host of heaven?

7    A God feared in the council of the holy ones,  

great and terrible above all those round about him.

8    Who is like you, Lord God of hosts?  

Mighty Lord, your faithfulness is all around you.

9    You rule the raging of the sea;  

you still its waves when they arise.

10  You crushed Rahab with a deadly wound  

and scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

11  Yours are the heavens; the earth also is yours;  

you established the world and all that fills it.

12  You created the north and the south;  

Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.

13  You have a mighty arm;  

strong is your hand and high is your right hand.

14  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;  

steadfast love and faithfulness go before your face.

15  Happy are the people who know the shout of triumph:  

they walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance.

16  In your name they rejoice all the day long  

and are exalted in your righteousness.

17  For you are the glory of their strength,  

and in your favour you lift up our heads.

18  Truly the Lord is our shield;  

the Holy One of Israel is our king.

19  You spoke once in a vision and said to your faithful people:  

‘I have set a youth above the mighty;

    I have raised a young man over the people.

20  ‘I have found David my servant;  

with my holy oil have I anointed him.

21  ‘My hand shall hold him fast  

and my arm shall strengthen him.

22  ‘No enemy shall deceive him,  

nor any wicked person afflict him.

23  ‘I will strike down his foes before his face  

and beat down those that hate him.

24  ‘My truth also and my steadfast love shall be with him,  

and in my name shall his head be exalted.

25  ‘I will set his dominion upon the sea  

and his right hand upon the rivers.

26  ‘He shall call to me, “You are my Father,  

my God, and the rock of my salvation;”

27  ‘And I will make him my firstborn,  

the most high above the kings of the earth.

28  ‘The love I have pledged to him will I keep for ever,  

and my covenant will stand fast with him.

29  ‘His seed also will I make to endure for ever  

and his throne as the days of heaven.

30  ‘But if his children forsake my law  

and cease to walk in my judgements,

31  ‘If they break my statutes  

and do not keep my commandments,

32  ‘I will punish their offences with a rod  

and their sin with scourges.

33  ‘But I will not take from him my steadfast love  

nor suffer my truth to fail.

34  ‘My covenant will I not break  

nor alter what has gone out of my lips.

35  ‘Once for all have I sworn by my holiness  

that I will not prove false to David.

36  ‘His seed shall endure for ever  

and his throne as the sun before me;

37  ‘It shall stand fast for ever as the moon,  

the enduring witness in the heavens.’

38  But you have cast off and rejected your anointed;  

you have shown fierce anger against him.

39  You have broken the covenant with your servant,  

and have cast his crown to the dust.

40  You have broken down all his walls  

and laid his strongholds in ruins.

41  All who pass by despoil him,  

and he has become the scorn of his neighbours.

42  You have exalted the right hand of his foes  

and made all his enemies rejoice.

43  You have turned back the edge of his sword  

and have not upheld him in battle.

44  You have made an end of his radiance  

and cast his throne to the ground.

45  You have cut short the days of his youth  

and have covered him with shame.

46  How long will you hide yourself so utterly, O Lord?  

How long shall your anger burn like fire?

47  Remember how short my time is,  

how frail you have made all mortal flesh.

48  Which of the living shall not see death,  

and shall deliver their soul from the power of darkness?

49  Where, O Lord, is your steadfast love of old,  

which you swore to David in your faithfulness?

50  Remember, O Lord, how your servant is scorned,  

how I bear in my bosom the taunts of many peoples,

51  While your enemies mock, O Lord,  

while they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

52  Blessed be the Lord for evermore.  

Amen and Amen.

 

Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000 and published by Church House Publishing.

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