¹A well-written song by Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing continually about the Lord’s faithful deeds; to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness. ²For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” ³The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant: ⁴‘I will give you an eternal dynasty and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” (Selah)⁵O Lord, the heavens praise your amazing deeds, as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ⁶For who in the skies can compare to the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, ⁷a God who is honored in the great angelic assembly, and more awesome than all who surround him?⁸O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies! Who is strong like you, O Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds you.⁹You rule over the proud sea. When its waves surge, you calm them.¹⁰You crushed the Proud One and killed it; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. ¹¹The heavens belong to you, as does the earth. You made the world and all it contains. ¹²You created the north and the south. Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name. ¹³Your arm is powerful, your hand strong, your right hand victorious. ¹⁴Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. ¹⁵How blessed are the people who worship you! O Lord, they experience your favor. ¹⁶They rejoice in your name all day long, and are vindicated by your justice. ¹⁷For you give them splendor and strength. By your favor we are victorious. ¹⁸For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁹Then you spoke through a vision to your faithful followers and said: “I have placed a young hero over a warrior; I have raised up a young man from the people. ²⁰I have discovered David, my servant. With my holy oil I have anointed him as king.²¹My hand will support him, and my arm will strengthen him.²²No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him; a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him.²³I will crush his enemies before him; I will strike down those who hate him.²⁴He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love, and by my name he will win victories. ²⁵I will place his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. ²⁶He will call out to me, ‘You are my father, my God, and the protector who delivers me.’²⁷I will appoint him to be my firstborn son, the most exalted of the earth’s kings. ²⁸I will always extend my loyal love to him, and my covenant with him is secure. ²⁹I will give him an eternal dynasty and make his throne as enduring as the skies above.³⁰If his sons reject my law and disobey my regulations, ³¹if they break my rules and do not keep my commandments, ³²I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club, their sin by inflicting them with bruises. ³³But I will not remove my loyal love from him nor be unfaithful to my promise. ³⁴I will not break my covenant or go back on what I promised. ³⁵Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness, I will never deceive David. ³⁶His dynasty will last forever. His throne will endure before me, like the sun; ³⁷it will remain stable, like the moon. His throne will endure like the skies.” (Selah)³⁸But you have spurned and rejected him; you are angry with your chosen king. ³⁹You have repudiated your covenant with your servant; you have thrown his crown to the ground. ⁴⁰You have broken down all his walls; you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.⁴¹All who pass by have robbed him; he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors. ⁴²You have allowed his adversaries to be victorious and all his enemies to rejoice. ⁴³You turn back his sword from the adversary and have not sustained him in battle. ⁴⁴You have brought to an end his splendor and have knocked his throne to the ground. ⁴⁵You have cut short his youth and have covered him with shame. (Selah)⁴⁶How long, O Lord, will this last? Will you remain hidden forever? Will your anger continue to burn like fire? ⁴⁷Take note of my brief lifespan. Why do you make all people so mortal? ⁴⁸No man can live on without experiencing death or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. (Selah)⁴⁹Where are your earlier faithful deeds, O Lord, the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? ⁵⁰Take note, O Lord, of the way your servants are taunted and of how I must bear so many insults from people. ⁵¹Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults; they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps.⁵² The Lord deserves praise forevermore! We agree! We agree!