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The LORD'S Covenant with David, and Israel's Afflictions.

¹ I will ^(C1)sing of the goodness and lovingkindness of the LORD forever;
With my mouth I will ^(C2)make known Your ^(C3)faithfulness from generation to generation.

² For I have said, "^(C1)Goodness and lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens unchangeable and majestic You will establish Your ^(C2)faithfulness."

³ God has said "I have made a covenant with ^(C1)My chosen one;
I have ^(C2)sworn to David My servant,

⁴ I will establish your ^(C1)seed forever
And I will build up your ^(C2)throne for all generations." ^(VR1) Selah.

⁵ The ^(C1)heavens (angels) praise Your wonders, O LORD,
Your faithfulness also ^(C2)in the assembly of the ^(C3)holy ones.

⁶ For ^(C1)who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the ^(C2)divine beings is like the LORD,

⁷ A God ^(C1)greatly feared and reverently worshiped in the council of the ^(C2)holy angelic ones,
And ^(C3)awesome above all those who are around Him?

⁸ O LORD God of hosts, ^(C1)who is like You, O mighty LORD?
Your faithfulness surrounds You as an intrinsic, unchangeable part of Your very being.

⁹ You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You ^(C1)still them. ^(VR1)

¹⁰ You have crushed ^(C1)Rahab (Egypt) like one who is slain;
You have ^(C2)scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹ The ^(C1)heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The ^(C2)world and all that is in it, You have founded and established them. ^(VR1)

¹² The ^(C1)north and the south, You have created them;
Mount ^(C2)Tabor and Mount ^(C3)Hermon ^(C4)shout for joy at Your name.

¹³ You have a strong arm;
Mighty is Your hand, Your ^(C1)right hand is exalted.

^14 (C1)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
^(C2)Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

¹⁵ Blessed and happy are the people who know the ^(C1)joyful sound of the trumpet's blast!
They walk, O LORD, in the ^(C2)light and favor of Your countenance!

¹⁶ In ^(C1)Your name they rejoice all the day,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

¹⁷ For You are the glory of ^(C1)their strength their proud adornment,
And by Your favor our ^(C2)horn is exalted.

¹⁸ For our ^(C1)shield belongs to the LORD,
And our king to the ^(C2)Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones,
And said, "I have given help to one who is ^(C1)mighty giving him the power to be a champion for Israel;
I have exalted one ^(C2)chosen from the people.

²⁰ "I have ^(C1)found David My servant;
With My holy ^(C2)oil I have anointed him, ^(VR1)

²¹ With whom ^(C1)My hand shall be established and steadfast;
My arm also shall ^(C2)strengthen him.

²² "The enemy will not outwit him,
Nor will the ^(C1)wicked man afflict or humiliate him.

²³ "I will ^(C1)crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.

²⁴ "My ^(C1)faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him,
And in My name shall his ^(C2)horn be exalted great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him.

²⁵ "I will also ^(F1)set his hand ^(C1)on the Mediterranean sea,
And his right hand on the rivers the tributaries of the Euphrates.

²⁶ "He will cry to Me, 'You are ^(C1)my Father,
My God, and the ^(C2)rock of my salvation.'

²⁷ "I will also make him My ^(C1)firstborn (preeminent),
The ^(C2)highest of the kings of the earth. ^(VR1)

²⁸ "My ^(C1)lovingkindness I will keep for him forevermore,
And My ^(C2)covenant will be confirmed to him.

²⁹ "His ^(C1)descendants I will establish forever,
And his ^(C2)throne will endure ^(C3)as the days of heaven. ^(VR1)

³⁰ "If his children ^(F1)(C1)turn away from My law
And do not walk in My ordinances,

³¹ If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,

³² Then I will punish their transgression with the ^(C1)rod of discipline,
And correct their wickedness with stripes. ^(VR1)

³³ "Nevertheless, I will not break off ^(C1)My lovingkindness from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

³⁴ "My ^(C1)covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I ^(C2)alter the utterance of My lips.

³⁵ "Once for all I have ^(C1)sworn by My holiness, My vow which cannot be violated;
I will not lie to David.

³⁶ "His ^(F1)(C1)descendants shall endure forever
And his ^(C2)throne will continue ^(C3)as the sun before Me. ^(VR1)

³⁷ "It shall be established forever ^(C1)like the moon,
And the ^(C2)witness in the heavens is ever faithful." ^(VR1) Selah.

³⁸ But in apparent contradiction of all this You the faithful LORD have ^(C1)cast off and ^(C2)rejected;
You have been full of wrath against Your ^(C3)anointed.

³⁹ You have ^(C1)spurned and repudiated the covenant with Your servant;
You have ^(C2)profaned ^(C3)his crown by casting it in the dust.

⁴⁰ You have ^(C1)broken down all his city walls;
You have ^(C2)brought his strongholds to ruin.

^41 (C1)All who pass along the road rob him;
He has become the ^(C2)scorn of his neighbors.

⁴² You have ^(C1)exalted the right hand of his foes;
You have ^(C2)made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³ Also, You have turned back the edge of his sword
And have ^(C1)not made him strong enough to stand in battle.

⁴⁴ You have put an end to his ^(C1)splendor
And have hurled his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵ You have ^(C1)shortened the days of his youth;
You have ^(C2)covered him with shame. Selah.

^46 (C1)How long, O LORD?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your ^(C2)wrath burn like fire?

^47 (C1)Remember how fleeting my lifetime is;
For what ^(C2)vanity, for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke You have created all the sons of men!

⁴⁸ What man can live and not ^(C1)see death?
Can he ^(C2)rescue his soul from the powerful hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah.

⁴⁹ O Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses so abundant in the days of David and Solomon,
Which You ^(C1)swore to David in Your faithfulness?

⁵⁰ Remember, O Lord, the ^(C1)reproach of Your servants scorned, insulted, and disgraced;
How I bear in ^(F1)my heart the reproach of all the many peoples,

⁵¹ With which ^(C1)Your enemies have taunted, O LORD,
With which they have mocked the footsteps of ^(C2)Your anointed.

^52 (C1)Blessed be the LORD forevermore!
Amen and Amen.