^{1 Ref} <Maschil. Of Ethan the Ezrahite.> My song will be of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make his faith clear to all generations.

^{2 Ref} For you have said, Mercy will be made strong for ever; my faith will be unchanging in the heavens.

^{3 Ref} I have made an agreement with the man of my selection, I have made an oath to David my servant;

^{4 Ref} I will make your seed go on for ever, your kingdom will be strong through all generations. (Selah.)

^{5 Ref} In heaven let them give praise for your wonders, O Lord; and your unchanging faith among the saints.

^{6 Ref} For who is there in the heavens in comparison with the Lord? who is like the Lord among the sons of the gods?

^{7 Ref} God is greatly to be feared among the saints, and to be honoured over all those who are about him.

^{8 Ref} O Lord God of armies, who is strong like you, O Jah? and your unchanging faith is round about you.

^{9 Ref} You have rule over the sea in storm; when its waves are troubled, you make them calm.

^{10 Ref} Rahab was crushed by you like one wounded to death; with your strong arm you put to flight all your haters.

^{11 Ref} Yours are the heavens, and the earth is yours; you have made the world, and everything which is in it.

^{12 Ref} You have made the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon are sounding with joy at your name.

^{13 Ref} Yours is an arm of power; strong is your hand and high your right hand.

^{14 Ref} The seat of your kingdom is resting on righteousness and right judging: mercy and good faith come before your face.

^{15 Ref} Happy are the people who have knowledge of the holy cry: the light of your face, O Lord, will be shining on their way.

^{16 Ref} In your name will they have joy all the day: in your righteousness will they be lifted up.

^{17 Ref} For you are the glory of their strength; in your pleasure will our horn be lifted up.

^{18 Ref} For our breastplate is the Lord; and our king is the Holy One of Israel's.

^{19 Ref} Then your voice came to your holy one in a vision, saying, I have put the crown on a strong one, lifting up one taken from among the people.

^{20 Ref} I have made discovery of David my servant; I have put my holy oil on his head.

^{21 Ref} My hand will be his support; my arm will give him strength.

^{22 Ref} The deceit of those who are against him will not overcome him; he will not be troubled by the sons of evil.

^{23 Ref} I will have those who are against him broken before his face, and his haters will be crushed under my blows.

^{24 Ref} But my faith and my mercy will be with him; and in my name will his horn be lifted up.

^{25 Ref} I will put his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

^{26 Ref} He will say to me, You are my father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.

^{27 Ref} And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth.

^{28 Ref} I will keep my mercy for him for ever; my agreement with him will not be changed.

^{29 Ref} His seed will keep their place for ever; his kingdom will be eternal, like the heavens.

^{30 Ref} If his children give up my law, and are not ruled by my decisions;

^{31 Ref} If my rules are broken, and my orders are not kept;

^{32 Ref} Then I will send punishment on them for their sin; my rod will be the reward of their evil-doing.

^{33 Ref} But I will not take away my mercy from him, and will not be false to my faith.

^{34 Ref} I will be true to my agreement; the things which have gone out of my lips will not be changed.

^{35 Ref} I have made an oath once by my holy name, that I will not be false to David.

^{36 Ref} His seed will not come to an end for ever; the seat of his kingdom will be like the sun before me.

^{37 Ref} It will be fixed for ever like the moon; and the witness in heaven is true. (Selah.)

^{38 Ref} But you have put him away in disgust; you have been angry with the king of your selection.

^{39 Ref} You have made your agreement with your servant of no effect: you have had no respect for his crown, it has come down even to the earth.

^{40 Ref} All his walls are broken down; you have given his strong towers to destruction.

^{41 Ref} All those who come by take away his goods; he is laughed at by his neighbours.

^{42 Ref} You have given power to the right hand of his haters; you have made glad all those who are against him.

^{43 Ref} His sword is turned back; you have not been his support in the fight.

^{44 Ref} You have put an end to his glory: the seat of his kingdom has been levelled to the earth.

^{45 Ref} You have made him old before his time; he is covered with shame. (Selah.)

^{46 Ref} How long, O Lord, will you Keep yourself for ever from our eyes? how long will your wrath be burning like fire?

^{47 Ref} See how short my time is; why have you made all men for no purpose?

^{48 Ref} What man now living will not see death? will he be able to keep back his soul from the underworld? (Selah.)

^{49 Ref} Lord, where are your earlier mercies? where is the oath which you made to David in unchanging faith?

^{50 Ref} Keep in mind, O Lord, the shame of your servants, and how the bitter words of all the people have come into my heart;

^{51 Ref} The bitter words of your haters, O Lord, shaming the footsteps of your king.

^{52 Ref} Let the Lord be praised for ever. So be it, So be it.

^{1 Ref} I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

^{2 Ref} For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

^{3 Ref} I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

^{4 Ref} Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

^{5 Ref} And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

^{6 Ref} For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?

^{7 Ref} God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

^{8 Ref} O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

^{9 Ref} Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

^{10 Ref} Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

^{11 Ref} The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

^{12 Ref} The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

^{13 Ref} Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

^{14 Ref} Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

^{15 Ref} Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

^{16 Ref} In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

^{17 Ref} For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

^{18 Ref} For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

^{19 Ref} Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

^{20 Ref} I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

^{21 Ref} With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

^{22 Ref} The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

^{23 Ref} And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

^{24 Ref} But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

^{25 Ref} I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

^{26 Ref} He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

^{27 Ref} Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

^{28 Ref} My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

^{29 Ref} His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

^{30 Ref} If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

^{31 Ref} If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

^{32 Ref} Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

^{33 Ref} Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

^{34 Ref} My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

^{35 Ref} Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

^{36 Ref} His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

^{37 Ref} It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

^{38 Ref} But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

^{39 Ref} Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

^{40 Ref} Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

^{41 Ref} All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

^{42 Ref} Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

^{43 Ref} Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

^{44 Ref} Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

^{45 Ref} The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

^{46 Ref} How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

^{47 Ref} Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

^{48 Ref} What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

^{49 Ref} Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?

^{50 Ref} Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

^{51 Ref} Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

^{52 Ref} Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

^{1 Ref} An instruction, by Ethan the Ezrahite. Of the kind acts of Jehovah, to the age I sing, To all generations I make known Thy faithfulness with my mouth,

^{2 Ref} For I said, `To the age is kindness built, The heavens! Thou dost establish Thy faithfulness in them.'

^{3 Ref} I have made a covenant for My chosen, I have sworn to David My servant:

^{4 Ref} `Even to the age do I establish thy seed, And have built to generation and generation thy throne. Selah.

^{5 Ref} and the heavens confess Thy wonders, O Jehovah, Thy faithfulness also `is' in an assembly of holy ones.

^{6 Ref} For who in the sky, Compareth himself to Jehovah? Is like to Jehovah among sons of the mighty?

^{7 Ref} God is very terrible, In the secret counsel of His holy ones, And fearful over all surrounding Him.

^{8 Ref} O Jehovah, God of Hosts, Who `is' like Thee -- a strong Jah? And Thy faithfulness `is' round about Thee.

^{9 Ref} Thou `art' ruler over the pride of the sea, In the lifting up of its billows Thou dost restrain them.

^{10 Ref} Thou hast bruised Rahab, as one wounded. With the arm of Thy strength Thou hast scattered Thine enemies.

^{11 Ref} Thine `are' the heavens -- the earth also `is' Thine, The habitable world and its fulness, Thou hast founded them.

^{12 Ref} North and south Thou hast appointed them, Tabor and Hermon in Thy name do sing.

^{13 Ref} Thou hast an arm with might, Strong is Thy hand -- high Thy right hand.

^{14 Ref} Righteousness and judgment `Are' the fixed place of Thy throne, Kindness and truth go before Thy face.

^{15 Ref} O the happiness of the people knowing the shout, O Jehovah, in the light of Thy face they walk habitually.

^{16 Ref} In Thy name they rejoice all the day, And in Thy righteousness they are exalted,

^{17 Ref} For the beauty of their strength `art' Thou, And in Thy good will is our horn exalted,

^{18 Ref} For of Jehovah `is' our shield, And of the Holy One of Israel our king.

^{19 Ref} Then Thou hast spoken in vision, To Thy saint, yea, Thou sayest, I have placed help upon a mighty one, Exalted a chosen one out of the people,

^{20 Ref} I have found David My servant, With My holy oil I have anointed him.

^{21 Ref} With whom My hand is established, My arm also doth strengthen him.

^{22 Ref} An enemy exacteth not upon him, And a son of perverseness afflicteth him not.

^{23 Ref} And I have beaten down before him his adversaries, And those hating him I plague,

^{24 Ref} And My faithfulness and kindness `are' with him, And in My name is his horn exalted.

^{25 Ref} And I have set on the sea his hand, And on the rivers his right hand.

^{26 Ref} He proclaimeth me: `Thou `art' my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.'

^{27 Ref} I also first-born do appoint him, Highest of the kings of the earth.

^{28 Ref} To the age I keep for him My kindness, And My covenant `is' stedfast with him.

^{29 Ref} And I have set his seed for ever, And his throne as the days of the heavens.

^{30 Ref} If his sons forsake My law, And in My judgments do not walk;

^{31 Ref} If My statutes they pollute, And My commands do not keep,

^{32 Ref} I have looked after with a rod their transgression, And with strokes their iniquity,

^{33 Ref} And My kindness I break not from him, Nor do I deal falsely in My faithfulness.

^{34 Ref} I profane not My covenant, And that which is going forth from My lips I change not.

^{35 Ref} Once I have sworn by My holiness, I lie not to David,

^{36 Ref} His seed is to the age, And his throne `is' as the sun before Me,

^{37 Ref} As the moon it is established -- to the age, And the witness in the sky is stedfast. Selah.

^{38 Ref} And Thou, Thou hast cast off, and dost reject, Thou hast shown Thyself wroth With Thine anointed,

^{39 Ref} Hast rejected the covenant of Thy servant, Thou hast polluted to the earth his crown,

^{40 Ref} Thou hast broken down all his hedges, Thou hast made his fenced places a ruin.

^{41 Ref} Spoiled him have all passing by the way, He hath been a reproach to his neighbours,

^{42 Ref} Thou hast exalted the right hand of his adversaries, Thou hast caused all his enemies to rejoice.

^{43 Ref} Also -- Thou turnest back the sharpness of his sword, And hast not established him in battle,

^{44 Ref} Hast caused `him' to cease from his brightness, And his throne to the earth hast cast down.

^{45 Ref} Thou hast shortened the days of his youth, Hast covered him over `with' shame. Selah.

^{46 Ref} Till when, O Jehovah, art Thou hidden? For ever doth Thy fury burn as fire?

^{47 Ref} Remember, I pray Thee, what `is' life-time? Wherefore in vain hast Thou created All the sons of men?

^{48 Ref} Who `is' the man that liveth, and doth not see death? He delivereth his soul from the hand of Sheol. Selah.

^{49 Ref} Where `are' Thy former kindnesses, O Lord. Thou hast sworn to David in Thy faithfulness,

^{50 Ref} Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Thy servants, I have borne in my bosom all the strivings of the peoples,

^{51 Ref} Wherewith Thine enemies reproached, O Jehovah, Wherewith they have reproached The steps of Thine anointed.

^{52 Ref} Blessed `is' Jehovah to the age. Amen, and amen!