New King James Version (NKJV)

Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings

A Contemplation of

#

Ethan the Ezrahite.

1 I will sing of the mercies of theLordforever;

With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;

# Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”

3 “Ihave made a covenant with My chosen,

# I havesworn to My servant David:

4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever,

# And build up your throneto all generations.’ ”

Selah

5 Andthe heavens will praise Your wonders, OLord;

Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.

6 For who in the heavens can be compared to theLord?

Whoamong the sons of the mighty can be likened to theLord?

7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,

And to be held in reverence by allthosearound Him.

8 OLordGod of hosts,

Whoismighty like You, OLord?

Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

9 You rule the raging of the sea;

When its waves rise, You still them.

10 You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;

You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

11 The heavensareYours, the earth alsoisYours;

The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

12 The north and the south, You have created them;

# Tabor andHermon rejoice in Your name.

13 You have a mighty arm;

Strong is Your hand,andhigh is Your right hand.

14 Righteousness and justicearethe foundation of Your throne;

Mercy and truth go before Your face.

15 Blessedarethe people who know thejoyful sound!

They walk, OLord, in the light of Your countenance.

16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,

And in Your righteousness they are exalted.

17 For Youarethe glory of their strength,

# And in Your favor our horn isexalted.

18 For our shieldbelongsto theLord,

And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one,

And said: “I have given help toonewhoismighty;

# I have exalted onechosen from the people.

20 I have found My servant David;

With My holy oil I have anointed him,

21 With whom My hand shall be established;

Also My arm shall strengthen him.

22 The enemy shall not outwit him,

Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

23 I will beat down his foes before his face,

And plague those who hate him.

24 “But My faithfulness and My mercyshallbewith him,

And in My name his horn shall be exalted.

25 Also I willset his hand over the sea,

And his right hand over the rivers.

26 He shall cry to Me, ‘Youaremy Father,

# My God, andthe rock of my salvation.’

27 Also I will make himMyfirstborn,

# The highest of the kings of the earth.

28 My mercy I will keep for him forever,

And My covenant shall stand firm with him.

29 His seed also I will maketoendureforever,

# And his throneas the days of heaven.

30 “Ifhis sonsforsake My law

And do not walk in My judgments,

31 If they break My statutes

And do not keep My commandments,

32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,

And their iniquity with stripes.

33 Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him,

Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

34 My covenant I will not break,

# Noralter the word that has gone out of My lips.

35 Once I have swornby My holiness;

I will not lie to David:

36 His seed shall endure forever,

# And his throneas the sun before Me;

37 It shall be established forever like the moon,

Evenlikethe faithful witness in the sky.”

Selah

38 But You havecast off andabhorred,

You have been furious with Your anointed.

39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;

# You have profaned his crownbycastingitto the ground.

40 You have broken down all his hedges;

You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

41 All who pass by the wayplunder him;

He is a reproach to his neighbors.

42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;

You have made all his enemies rejoice.

43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,

And have not sustained him in the battle.

44 You have made his glory cease,

And cast his throne down to the ground.

45 The days of his youth You have shortened;

You have covered him with shame.

Selah

46 How long,Lord?

Will You hide Yourself forever?

Will Your wrath burn like fire?

47 Remember how short my timeis;

# For whatfutility have You created all the children of men?

48 What man can live and not seedeath?

Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?

Selah

49 Lord, whereareYour former lovingkindnesses,

# WhichYouswore to Davidin Your truth?

50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants—

# HowI bear in my bosomthereproachofall the many peoples,

51 With which Your enemies have reproached, OLord,

With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

52 BlessedbetheLordforevermore!

Amen and Amen.

BOOK FOUR: Psalms 90—106

The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty

A Prayer

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of Moses the man of God.

1 Lord,You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,

Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,

Even from everlasting to everlasting, YouareGod.

3 You turn man to destruction,

# And say,“Return, O children of men.”

4 For a thousand years in Your sight

Arelike yesterday when it is past,

Andlikea watch in the night.

5 You carry them awaylikea flood;

# Theyarelike a sleep.

# In the morningthey are like grasswhichgrows up:

6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;

In the evening it is cut down and withers.

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,

And by Your wrath we are terrified.

8 You have set our iniquities before You,

# Oursecretsinsin the light of Your countenance.

9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;

We finish our years like a sigh.

10 The days of our livesareseventy years;

And if by reason of strengththeyareeighty years,

Yet their boastisonly labor and sorrow;

For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11 Who knows the power of Your anger?

For as the fear of You,soisYour wrath.

12 So teachusto number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, OLord!

How long?

# Andhave compassion on Your servants.

14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,

# That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

15 Make us glad according to the daysinwhichYou have afflicted us,

The yearsinwhichwe have seen evil.

16 LetYour work appear to Your servants,

And Your glory to their children.

17 And let the beauty of theLordour God be upon us,

# Andestablish the work of our hands for us;

Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

1 Hewho dwells in the secret place of the Most High

# Shall abideunder the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of theLord,“He ismy refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 SurelyHe shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

Andfrom the perilous pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truthshallbeyourshield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Norof the arrowthatflies by day,

6 Norof the pestilencethatwalks in darkness,

Norof the destructionthatlays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

Butit shall not come near you.

8 Onlywith your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made theLord,whoismy refuge,

# Eventhe Most High,your dwelling place,

10 No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

12 Intheirhands they shall bear you up,

# Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

# I will set him on high, because he hasknown My name.

15 He shallcall upon Me, and I will answer him;

# Iwillbewith him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation.”

Praise to the Lord for His Love and Faithfulness

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.

1 Itisgood to give thanks to theLord,

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

2 Todeclare Your lovingkindness in the morning,

And Your faithfulness every night,

3 On an instrument of ten strings,

On the lute,

And on the harp,

With harmonious sound.

4 For You,Lord, have made me glad through Your work;

I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

5 OLord, how great are Your works!

# Your thoughts are very deep.

6 A senseless man does not know,

Nor does a fool understand this.

7 Whenthe wicked spring up like grass,

And when all the workers of iniquity flourish,

Itisthat they may be destroyed forever.

8 But You,Lord,areon high forevermore.

9 For behold, Your enemies, OLord,

For behold, Your enemies shall perish;

# All the workers of iniquity shallbe scattered.

10 Butmy horn You have exalted like a wild ox;

# I have beenanointed with fresh oil.

11 My eye also has seenmydesireon my enemies;

My ears hearmydesireon the wicked

Who rise up against me.

12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,

He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 Those who are planted in the house of theLord

Shall flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;

They shall be fresh and flourishing,

15 To declare that theLordis upright;

# Heismy rock, andthereisno unrighteousness in Him.

The Eternal Reign of the Lord

1 TheLordreigns, He is clothed with majesty;

TheLordis clothed,

# He has girded Himself with strength.

Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.

2 Your throneisestablished from of old;

Youarefrom everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, OLord,

The floods have lifted up their voice;

The floods lift up their waves.

4 TheLordon highismightier

Than the noise of many waters,

Thanthe mighty waves of the sea.

5 Your testimonies are very sure;

Holiness adorns Your house,

OLord, forever.

God the Refuge of the Righteous

1 OLordGod,to whom vengeance belongs—

O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!

2 Rise up, OJudge of the earth;

Render punishment to the proud.

3 Lord,how long will the wicked,

How long will the wicked triumph?

4 Theyutter speech,andspeak insolent things;

All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.

5 They break in pieces Your people, OLord,

And afflict Your heritage.

6 They slay the widow and the stranger,

And murder the fatherless.

7 Yet they say, “TheLorddoes not see,

Nor does the God of Jacob understand.”

8 Understand, you senseless among the people;

Andyoufools, when will you be wise?

9 He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?

He who formed the eye, shall He not see?

10 He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct,

He who teaches man knowledge?

11 TheLordknows the thoughts of man,

That theyarefutile.

12 Blessedisthe man whom Youinstruct, OLord,

And teach out of Your law,

13 That You may give him rest from the days of adversity,

Until the pit is dug for the wicked.

14 For theLordwill not cast off His people,

Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

15 But judgment will return to righteousness,

And all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?

Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

17 Unless theLordhadbeenmy help,

My soul would soon have settled in silence.

18 If I say, “My foot slips,”

Your mercy, OLord, will hold me up.

19 In the multitude of my anxieties within me,

Your comforts delight my soul.

20 Shallthe throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,

Have fellowship with You?

21 They gather together against the life of the righteous,

# And condemninnocent blood.

22 But theLordhas been my defense,

And my God the rock of my refuge.

23 He has brought on them their own iniquity,

And shall cut them off in their own wickedness;

TheLordour God shall cut them off.

A Call to Worship and Obedience

1 Oh come, let us sing to theLord!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;

# Let us shout joyfully to Him withpsalms.

3 FortheLordisthe great God,

And the great King above all gods.

4 In His handarethe deep places of the earth;

The heights of the hillsareHis also.

5 The seaisHis, for He made it;

And His hands formed the dryland.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

# Letus kneel before theLordour Maker.

7 For Heisour God,

# Andwearethe people of His pasture,

And the sheep of His hand.

# Today, if you will hear His voice:

8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,

# Asinthe day of trial in the wilderness,

9 Whenyour fathers tested Me;

# They tried Me, though theysaw My work.

10 For forty years I was grieved withthatgeneration,

And said, ‘Itisa people who go astray in their hearts,

And they do not know My ways.’

11 SoI swore in My wrath,

‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

A Song of Praise to God Coming in Judgment

1 Oh,sing to theLorda new song!

Sing to theLord, all the earth.

2 Sing to theLord, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3 Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

4 FortheLordisgreat andgreatly to be praised;

# Heisto be feared above all gods.

5 Forall the gods of the peoplesareidols,

# But theLordmade the heavens.

6 Honor and majestyarebefore Him;

# Strength andbeautyarein His sanctuary.

7 Give to theLord, O families of the peoples,

Give to theLordglory and strength.

8 Give to theLordthe glorydueHis name;

Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

9 Oh, worship theLordin the beauty of holiness!

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations,“TheLordreigns;

The world also is firmly established,

It shall not be moved;

# He shall judge the peoples righteously.”

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

# Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

12 Let the field be joyful, and all thatisin it.

Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before theLord.

13 For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.

# He shall judge the world with righteousness,

And the peoples with His truth.

A Song of Praise to the Sovereign Lord

1 TheLordreigns;

Let the earth rejoice;

Let the multitude of isles be glad!

2 Clouds and darkness surround Him;

# Righteousness and justicearethe foundation of His throne.

3 A fire goes before Him,

And burns up His enemies round about.

4 His lightnings light the world;

The earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of theLord,

At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

6 The heavens declare His righteousness,

And all the peoples see His glory.

7 Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,

Who boast of idols.

# Worship Him, allyougods.

8 Zion hears and is glad,

And the daughters of Judah rejoice

Because of Your judgments, OLord.

9 For You,Lord,aremost high above all the earth;

# You are exalted far above all gods.

10 You who love theLord,hate evil!

# He preserves the souls of His saints;

# He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

11 Light is sown for the righteous,

And gladness for the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in theLord, you righteous,

# And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

A Song of Praise to the Lord for His Salvation and Judgment

A Psalm.

1 Oh,sing to theLorda new song!

# For He hasdone marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

2 TheLordhas made known His salvation;

# His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

# All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout joyfully to theLord, all the earth;

Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

5 Sing to theLordwith the harp,

With the harp and the sound of a psalm,

6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn;

Shout joyfully before theLord, the King.

7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it;

8 Let the rivers claptheirhands;

Let the hills be joyful together before theLord,

9 For He is coming to judge the earth.

With righteousness He shall judge the world,

And the peoples with equity.