Psalm 89

This is a special song that Ethan the Ezrahite wrote.

A song about God's faithful love

1 I will always sing about the Lord's faithful love.

I will tell my children and my grandchildren

that you are always faithful.

2 Yes! Your faithful love will always continue to be strong.

You will always be faithful,

as the skies will always be there.

3 The Lord has said,

‘I have made a covenant with the king that I chose.

I have made this strong promise to my servant David:

4 “Someone from your family will always be king.

Your descendants will continue to rule for ever.” ’

5 Lord, everything in heaven praises you

for the great things that you have done.

Yes, your angels meet together to praise you,

because you are always faithful.

6 In all the heavens,

there is no one like you, Lord!

No angel in heaven is equal to you.

7 When the angels meet together in heaven,

they give you honour.

All who meet round your throne in heaven respect you,

as you deserve.

8 Lord God Almighty,

no one is as powerful as you!

You are always faithful in all that you do!

9 You rule over the powerful sea.

When the waves rise up,

you make them quiet again.

10 You caught the monster Rahab

and you killed it!

With your power,

you chased away your enemies.

11 The heavens belong to you

and so does the earth.

You made the world

and everything that is in it.

12 You made everything,

from the north to the south.

Tabor and Hermon are happy to praise your name.

13 You have great strength,

and you can do great things.

You hold up your right hand,

as you win against your enemies.

14 As King, you rule with justice,

and you always do what is right.

You show your faithful love and you are faithful.

15 You have truly blessed the people

who know how to praise you, Lord.

They know that you are pleased with them.

16 They praise your name all the time.

Your justice makes them happy.

17 You give strength and glory to your people.

Because you are kind to us,

we win against our enemies.

18 Yes! Our king belongs to the Lord,

and he protects us like a shield.

Our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.

God's covenant with King David

19 A long time ago, Lord,

you spoke to your servants.

In a vision, you said to them,

‘I have helped a brave soldier to be strong.

I have chosen as king

a young man from among the people.

20 I have found David, my servant.

I have poured my special oil on him,

to make him king.

21 I will help him with my power,

so that he is strong.

22 No enemy will win against him.

No cruel people will have power to hurt him.

23 I will destroy his enemies in front of him.

I will kill those who hate him.

24 I will always be faithful

and show him my faithful love.

By my name he will win against his enemies.

25 I will cause his kingdom to reach

beyond the sea and the rivers.

26 The king will say to me, “You are my Father.

You are my God.

You protect me and you rescue me.”

27 Also, I will make him my firstborn son.

He will be the greatest of the kings of the earth.

28 I will always love him with my faithful love.

I will never change the covenant

that I have made with him.

29 Someone from his family will always be king.

They will rule for ever,

as long as there are skies above us.

30-31 But I will punish his descendants,

if they do not accept my laws.

If they do not obey my teaching, my rules, or my commands,

32 I will punish them.

Because of their sins,

I will cause them to suffer.

33 But I will not take my faithful love away from David.

I will always be faithful,

and I will do what I have promised to him.

34 I will not spoil the covenant that I have made with him.

I will always do what I have promised to do.

35 I made a promise to David at one time,

and that will not change.

I promised him by my holy name

and I will never deceive him.

36 His descendants will always rule.

His kingdom will continue to be there for ever,

as long as the sun shines.

37 As the moon is always there in the sky,

to show that God is faithful,

David's kingdom will also continue.’

A sad song about trouble

38 But now you have turned against your king.

You have become angry with the king that you have chosen.

39 You have spoiled the covenant

that you made with your servant.

You have thrown his crown into the dirt.

40 You have knocked down all the walls of his city.

You have destroyed all his strong places.

41 Every stranger robs him of his things.

His neighbours laugh at him.

42 You have made his enemies strong,

so that they win against him and they are happy.

43 You have made his weapons useless,

so that he cannot win against his enemies in war.

44 You have taken away his authority as king.

You have knocked down his throne to the ground.

45 He no longer has the strength of a young man.

You have dressed him in clothes of shame.

A prayer for God's help to come quickly

46 Lord, how long will this continue?

Will you hide yourself from us for ever?

Will your anger continue to burn like a fire?

47 Remember that my life is very short!

People are weak and their lives seem useless.

Why do you make people like that?

48 Nobody can continue to live and never die.

Nobody can escape from the power of death.

49 My Lord, where is the faithful love

that you showed to us in past times?

Where are the blessings that you promised to David?

50 My Lord, look at how people are insulting me!

People from all nations laugh at me, your servant.

51 Lord, your enemies insult the king that you have chosen.

Wherever I go, they insult me!

52  Praise the Lord as he deserves!

Yes! Amen! We agree!