1How good God is to Israel, to those who are pure of heart. 2Yet my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped 3for I was filled with envy of the proud when I saw how the wicked prosper.
4For them there are no pains; their bodies are sound and sleek. 5They do not share in men's sorrows; they are not stricken like others.
6So they wear their pride like a necklace, they clothe themselves with violence. 7Their hearts overflow with malice, their minds seethe with plots.
8They scoff; they speak with malice; from on high they plan oppression. 9They have set their mouths in the heavens and their tongues dictate to the earth.
10So the people turn to follow them and drink in all their words. 11They say: "How can God know? Does the Most High take any notice?" 12Look at them, such are the wicked, but untroubled, they grow in wealth.
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13How useless to keep my heart pure and wash my hands in innocence, 14when I was stricken all day long, suffered punishment day after day.
15Then I said: "If I should speak like that, I should betray the race of your sons."
16I strove to fathom this problem, too hard for my mind to understand, 17until I pierced the mysteries of God and understood what becomes of the wicked.
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18How slippery the paths on which you set them; you make them slide to destruction. 19How suddenly they come to their ruin, wiped out, destroyed by terrors. 20Like a dream one wakes from, O Lord, when you wake you dismiss them as phantoms.
21And so when my heart grew embittered and when I was cut to the quick, 22I was stupid and did not understand, no better than a beast in your sight.
23Yet I was always in your presence; you were holding me by my right hand. 24You will guide me by your counsel and so you will lead me to glory.
25What else have I in heaven but you? Apart from you I want nothing on earth. 26My body and my heart faint for joy; God is my possession for ever.
27All those who abandon you shall perish; you will destroy all those who are faithless. 28To be near God is my happiness. I have made the Lord God my refuge. I will tell of your works at the gates of the city of Zion.
Psalm 74(73) Ut quid, Deus?
1Why, O God, have you cast us off for ever? Why blaze with anger at the sheep of your pasture? 2Remember your people whom who chose long ago, the tribe you redeemed to be your own possession, the mountain of Zion where you made your dwelling.
3Turn your steps to these places that are utterly ruined! The enemy has laid waste the whole of the sanctuary. 4Your foes have made uproar in your house of prayer: they have set up their emblems, their foreign emblems, 5high above the entrance to the sanctuary.
/6Their axes have battered the wood of its doors. They have struck together with hatchet and pickax. 7O God, they have set your sanctuary on fire; they have razed and profaned the place where you dwell. 8They said in their hearts: "Let us utterly crush them; let us burn every shrine of God in the land." 9There is no sign from God, nor have we a prophet, we have no one to tell us how long it will last.
10How long, O God, is the enemy to scoff? Is the foe to insult your name for ever? 11Why, O Lord, do you hold back your hand? Why do you keep your right hand hidden?
12Yet God is our king from time past, the giver of help through all the land. 13It was you who divided the sea by your might, who shattered the heads of the monsters in the sea.
14It was you who crushed Leviathan's heads and gave him as food to the untamed beasts. 15It was you opened springs and torrents; it was you who dried up ever-flowing rivers. 16 Yours is the day and yours is the night. 17It was you who appointed the light and the sun; it was you who fixed the bounds of the earth: you who made both summer and winter.
18Remember this, Lord, and see the enemy scoffing; a senseless people insults your name. 19Do not give Israel, your dove, to the hawk nor forget the life of your poor ones for ever.
20Remember your covenant; every cave in the land is a place where violence makes its home. 21Do not let the oppressed return disappointed; let the poor and the needy bless your name.
22Arise, O God, and defend your cause! Remember how the senseless revile you all the day. 23Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the daily increasing uproar of your foes.
Psalm 75(74) Confitebimur tibi
.2We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks and call upon your name. We recount your wonderful deeds.
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.3"When I reach the appointed time, then I will judge with justice. .4Though the earth and all who dwell in it may rock, it is I who uphold its pillars.
.5To the boastful I say: 'Do not boast,' to the wicked: 'Do not flaunt your strength, .6do not flaunt your strength on high. Do not speak with insolent pride.' "
.7For neither from the east nor the west, nor from desert or mountains comes judgment, .8but God himself is the judge. One he humbles, another he exalts.
.9The Lord holds a cup in his hand, full of wine, foaming and spiced. He pours it; they drink it to the dregs; all the wicked on the earth must drain it.
.10As for me, I will rejoice for ever and sing psalms to Jacob's God. .11He shall break the power of the wicked, while the strength of the just shall be exalted.
Psalm 76(75) Notus in Judaea
.2God, you are made known in Judah; in Israel your name is great. .3You set up your tent in Jerusalem and your dwelling place in Zion. .4It was there you broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, the armor.
.5You, O Lord, are resplendent, more majestic than the everlasting mountains. .6The warriors, despoiled, slept in death; the hands of the soldiers were powerless. .7At your threat, O God of Jacob, horse and rider lay stunned.
.8You, you alone, strike terror. Who shall stand when your anger is roused? .9You uttered your sentence from the heavens; the earth in terror was still .10when you arose to judge, to save the humble of the earth.
.11Men's anger will serve to praise you; its survivors surround you with joy. .12Make vows to your God and fulfill them. Let all pay tribute to him who strikes terror, .13who cuts short the breath of princes, who strikes terror in the kings of the earth.
Psalm 77(76) Voce mea ad Dominum
.2I cry aloud to God, cry aloud to God that he may hear me.
.3In the day of my distress I sought the Lord. My hands were raised at night without ceasing; my soul refused to be consoled. .4I remembered my God and I groaned. I pondered and my spirit fainted.
.5You withheld sleep from my eyes. I was troubled, I could not speak. .6I thought of the days of long ago and remembered the years long past. .7At night I mused within my heart. I pondered and my spirit questioned.
.8"Will the Lord reject us for ever? Will he show us his favor no more? .9Has his love vanished for ever? Has his promise come to an end? .10Does God forget his mercy or in anger withhold his compassion?"
.11I said: "This is what causes my grief; that the way of the Most High has changed." .12I remember the deeds of the Lord, I remember your wonders of old, .13I muse on all your works and ponder your mighty deeds.
.14Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? .15You are the God who works wonders. You showed your power among the peoples. .16Your strong arm redeemed your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
.17The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and trembled; the depths were moved with terror. .18The clouds poured down rain, the skies sent forth their voice; your arrows flashed to and fro.
.19Your thunder rolled round the sky, your flashes lighted up the world. The earth was moved and trembled .20when your way led through the sea, your path through the mighty waters and no one saw your footprints.
.21You guided your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 78(77) Attendite, popule
1Give heed, my people, to my teaching; turn your ear to the words of my mouth. 2I will open my mouth in a parable and reveal hidden lessons of the past.
3The things we have heard and understood, the things our fathers have told us, 4these we will not hide from their children but will tell them to the next generation:
the glories of the Lord and his might and the marvelous deeds he has done, 5the witness he gave to Jacob, the law he established in Israel.
He gave a command to our fathers to make it known to their children 6that the next generation might know it, the children yet to be born.
7They too should arise and tell their sons that they too should set their hope in God and never forget God's deeds but keep every one of his commands,
8so that they might not be like their fathers, a defiant and rebellious race, a race whose heart was fickle, whose spirit was unfaithful to God.
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9The sons of Ephraim, armed with the bow, turned back in the day of battle. 10They failed to keep God's covenant and would not walk according to his law.
11They forgot the things he has done, the marvelous deeds he had shown them. 12He did wonders in the sight of their fathers, in Egypt, in the plains of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and led them through and made the waters stand up like a wall. 14By day he led them with a cloud, by night, with a light of fire.
15He split the rocks in the desert. He gave them plentiful drink as from the deep. 16He made streams flow out from the rock and made waters run down like rivers.
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17Yet still they sinned against him; they defied the Most High in the desert. 18In their heart they put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
19They even spoke against God. They said: "Is it possible for God to prepare a table in the desert?
20It was he who struck the rock, water flowed and swept down in torrents. But can he also give us bread? Can he provide meat for his people?"
21When he heard this the Lord was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger rose against Israel 22for having no faith in God; for refusing to trust in his help.
23Yet he commanded the clouds above and opened the gates of heaven. 24He rained down manna for their food, and gave them bread from heaven.
25Mere men ate the bread of angels. He sent them abundance of food; 26he made the east wind blow from heaven and roused the south wind by his might.
27He rained food on them like dust, winged fowl like the sands of the sea. 28He let it fall in the midst of their camp and all around their tents.
29So they ate and had their fill; and he gave them all they craved. 30But before they had sated their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,
31God's anger rose against them. He slew the strongest among them, struck down the flower of Israel.
32Despite this they went on sinning; they had no faith in his wonders: 33so he ended their days like a breath and their years in sudden ruin.
34When he slew them then they would seek him, return and seek him in earnest. 35They would remember that God was their rock, God the Most High their redeemer.
36But the words they spoke were mere flattery; they lied to him with their lips. 37For their hearts were not truly with him; they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he who is full of compassion forgave them their sin and spared them. So often he held back his anger when he might have stirred up his rage.
39He remembered they were only men, a breath that passes never to return.
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40How often they defied him in the wilderness and caused him pain in the desert!
41Yet again they put God to the test and grieved the Holy One of Israel. 42They did not remember his deeds nor the day he saved them from the foe;
43when he worked his miracles in Egypt, his wonders in the plains of Zoan; 44when he turned their rivers into blood, made their streams impossible to drink.
45He sent dog-flies against them to devour them and swarms of frogs to molest them. 46He gave their crops to the grub, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore trees with frost. 48He gave up their cattle to plague, their flocks and herds to pestilence.
49He turned on them the heat of is anger, fury, rage and havoc, a troop of destroying angels. 50He gave free course to his anger.
He did not spare them from death but gave their lives to the plague. 51He struck all the first-born in Egypt, the finest flower in the dwellings of Ham.
52Then he brought forth his people like sheep; he guided them safely in the desert. 53He led them safely with nothing to fear, while the sea engulfed their foes.
54So he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won. 55He drove out the nations before them, and divided the land for their heritage.
Their tents he gave as a dwelling to each one of Israel's tribes.
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56Still they put God to the proof and defied him; they refused to obey the Most High.
57They strayed, faithless like their fathers, like a bow on which the archer cannot count. 58With their mountain shrines they angered him; made him jealous with the idols they served.
59God saw this and was filled with fury: he utterly rejected Israel. 60He forsook his dwelling place in Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men.
61He gave his ark into captivity, his glorious ark into the hands of the foe. 62He gave up his people to the sword, in his anger against his chosen ones.
63So war devoured their young men, their maidens had no wedding songs; 64their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lament.
65Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, like a warrior overcome with wine. 66He struck his foes from behind and put them to everlasting shame.
67He rejected the tent of Joseph; He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim 68but he chose the tribe of Judah, the hill of Zion which he loves.
69He built his shrine like the heavens, or like the earth which he made firm for ever. 70And he chose David his servant and took him away from the sheepfolds.
71From the care of the ewes he called him to be shepherd of Jacob his people, Of Israel is own possession. 72He tended them with blameless heart, with discerning mind he led them.
Psalm 79(78) Deus, venerunt
1O God, the nations have invaded your land, they have profaned your holy temple. They have made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. 2They have handed over the bodies of your servants as food to feed the birds of heaven and the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3They have poured out blood like water in Jerusalem; no one is left to bury the dead. 4We have become the taunt of our neighbors, the mockery and scorn of those who surround us. 5How long, O Lord? Will you be angry for ever; how long will your anger burn like fire?
6Pour out your rage on the nations, the nations that do not know you. Pour out your rage on the kingdoms that do not call on your name, 7for they have devoured Jacob and laid waste the land where they dwell.
8Do not hold the guilt of our father against us. Let your compassion hasten to meet us; we are left in the depths of distress. 9O God our savior, come to our help. Come for the sake of the glory of your name. O Lord our God, forgive us our sins; rescue us for the sake of your name.
10Why should the nations say: "Where is their God?"
Let us see the nations around us repaid with vengeance for the blood of your servants that was shed! 11Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; let your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.
12Pay back to our neighbors seven times over the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord. 13But we, your people, the flock of your pasture, will give you thanks for ever and ever. We will tell your praise from age to age.
Psalm 80(79) Qui regis Israel
.2O shepherd of Israel, hear us, you who lead Joseph's flock, shine forth from your cherubim throne .3upon Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh. O Lord, rouse up your might, O Lord, come to our help.
.4God of hosts bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
.5Lord God of hosts, how long will you frown on your people's plea? .6You have fed them with tears for their bread, and abundance of tears for their drink. .7You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, our enemies laugh us to scorn.
.8God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
.9You brought a vine our of Egypt; to plant it you drove out the nations. .10Before it you cleared the ground; it took root and spread through the land.
.11The mountains were covered with its shadow, the cedars of God with its boughs. .12It stretched out its branches to the sea, to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.
.13Then why have you broken down its walls? It is plucked by all who pass by. .14It is ravaged by the boar of the forest, devoured by the beasts of the field.
.15God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and see. /.16Visit the vine and protect it, the vine your right hand has planted. .17They have burnt it with fire and destroyed it. May they perish at the frown of your face.
.18May your hand be on the man you have chosen, the man you have given your strength. .19And we shall never forsake you again; give us life that we may call upon your name.
.20God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.
Psalm 81(80) Exulate Deo
.2Ring out your joy to God our strength, shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.
.3Raise a song and sound the timbrel, the sweet-sounding harp and the lute; .4blow the trumpet at the new moon, when the moon is full, on our feast.
.5For this is Israel's law, a command of the God of Jacob. .6He imposed it as a rule on Joseph, when he went out against the land of Egypt.
A voice I did not know said to me: .7"I freed your shoulder from the burden; your hands were freed from the load. .8You called in distress and I saved you.
I answered, concealed in the storm cloud; at the waters of Meribah I tested you. .9Listen, my people, to my warning. O Israel, if only you would heed!
.10Let there be on foreign god among you. no worship of an alien god. .11I am the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
.12But my people did not heed my voice and Israel would not obey, .13so I left them in their stubbornness of heart to follow their own designs.
.14O that my people would heed me, that Israel would walk in my ways! .15At once I would subdue their foes, turn my hand against their enemies.
.16The Lord's enemies would cringe at their feet and their subjection would last for ever. But Israel I would feed with finest wheat and fill them with honey from the rock."
Psalm 82(81) Deus stetit
1God stands in the divine assembly. In the midst of the gods he gives judgment.
2"How long will you judge unjustly and favor the cause of the wicked? 3Do justice for the weak and the orphan, defend the afflicted and the needy. 4Rescue the weak and the poor; set them free from the hand of the wicked.
5Unperceiving, they grope in the darkness and the order of the world is shaken. 6I have said to you: 'You are gods and all of you, sons of the Most High.' 7And yet, you shall die like men, you shall fall like any earthly princes."
8Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you rule all the nations.
Psalm 83(82) Deus, quis similis?
.2O God, do not keep silent, do not be dumb and unmoved, O God, .3for your enemies raise a tumult. Those who hate you lift up their heads.
.4They plot against your people, conspire against those you love. .5They say: "Come, let us destroy them as a nation; let the name of Israel be forgotten." .6They conspire with a single mind, they make common alliance against you,
.7the camps of Edom and of Ishmael, the camps of Moab and Hagar, .8the land of Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. .9Assyria, too, is their ally and joins hands with the sons of Lot.
.10Treat them like Midian, like Sisera, like Jabin at the River Kishon, .11the men who were destroyed at Endor, whose bodies rotted on the ground.
.12Make their captains like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, .13the men who said: "Let us take the fields of God for ourselves." .14My God, scatter them like chaff, drive them like straw in the wind!
.15As fire that burns away the forest, as flame that sets the mountains ablaze, .16drive them away with your tempest and fill them with terror at your storm. .17Cover their faces with shame, till they seek your name, O Lord.
.18Shame and terror be theirs for ever; let them be disgraced, let them perish! .19Let them know that your name is the Lord, the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 84(83) Quam dilecta!
.2How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of hosts.
.3My soul is longing and yearning, is yearning for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my soul ring out their joy to God, the living God.
.4The sparrow herself finds a home and the swallow a nest for her brood; she lays her young by your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
.5They are happy, who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise. .6They are happy, whose strength is in you, in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.
.7As they go through the Bitter Valley they make it a place of springs (the autumn rain covers it with blessings). .8They walk with ever growing strength, they will see the God of gods in Zion.
.9O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer, give ear, O God of Jacob. .10Turn your eyes, O God, our shield, look on the face of your anointed.
.11One day within your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. The threshold of the house of God I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.
.12For the Lord God is a rampart, a shield; he will give us his favor and glory. The Lord will not refuse any good to those who walk without blame.
.13Lord, God of hosts, happy the man who trusts in you!
Psalm 85(84) Benedixisti, Domine
.2O Lord, you once favored your land and revived the fortunes of Jacob, .3you forgave the guilt of your people and covered all their sins. .4You averted all your rage, you calmed the heat of your anger.
.5Revive us now, God, our helper! Put an end to your grievance against us. .6Will you be angry with us for ever, will your anger never cease?
.7Will you not restore again our life that your people may rejoice in you? .8Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and give us your saving help.
* * *
.9I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people and his friends and those who turn to him in their hearts. .10His help is near for those who fear him and his glory will dwell in our land.
.11Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. .12Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.
.13The Lord will make us prosper and our earth shall yield its fruit. .14Justice shall march before him and peace shall follow his steps.
Psalm 86(85) Inclina, Domine
1Turn your ear, O Lord, and give answer for I am poor and needy. 2Preserve my life, for I am faithful; save the servant who trusts in you.
3You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. 4Give joy to your servant, O Lord, for to you I lift up my soul.
5O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of love to all who call. 6Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my voice.
7In the day of distress I will call and surely you will reply. 8Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; nor work to compare with yours.
9All the nations shall come to adore you and glorify your name, O Lord: 10for you are great and do marvelous deeds, you who alone are God.
11Show me, Lord, your way so that I may walk in your truth. Guide my heart to fear your name.
12I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart and glorify your name for ever; 13for your love to me has been great: you have saved me from the depths of the grave.
14The proud have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; to you they pay no heed.
15But you, God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger, O Lord, abounding in love and truth, 16turn and take pity on me.
O give your strength to your servant and save your handmaid's child. 17Show me the sign of your favor that my foes may see to their shame that you console me and give me your help.
Psalm 87(86) Gundamenta ejus
1On the holy mountain is his city cherished by the Lord. 2The Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all Jacob's dwellings. 3Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!
4Babylon and Egypt I will count among those who know me; Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia, these will be her children 5and Zion shall be called "Mother" for all shall be her children."
It is he, the Lord Most High, who gives each his place. 6In his register of peoples he writes: "These are her children," 7and while they dance they will sing: "In you all find their home."
Psalm 88(87) Domine, Deus
.2Lord my God, I call for help by day; I cry at night before you. .3Let my prayer come into your presence. O turn your ear to my cry.
.4For my soul is filled with evils; my life is on the brink of the grave. .5I am reckoned as one in the tomb; I have reached the end of my strength,
.6Like one alone among the dead, like the slain lying in their graves, like those you remember no more, cut off, as they are, from your hand.
.7You have laid me in the depths of the tomb, in places that are dark, in the depths. .8Your anger weighs down upon me; I am drowned beneath your waves.
.9You have taken away my friends and made me hateful in their sight. Imprisoned, I cannot escape; .10my eyes are sunken with grief.
I call to you, Lord, all the day long; to your I stretch out my hands. .11Will you work your wonders for the dead? Will the shades stand and praise you?
.12Will your love be told in the grave or your faithfulness among the dead? .13Will your wonders be known in the dark or your justice in the land of oblivion?
.14As for me, Lord, I call to you for help; in the morning my prayer comes before you. .15Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you hide your face?
.16Wretched, close to death from my youth, I have borne your trials; I am numb. .17Your fury has swept down upon me; your terrors have utterly destroyed me.
.18They surround me all the day like a flood, they assail me all together. .19Friend and neighbor you have taken away: my one companion is darkness.
Psalm 89(88) Misericordias Domini
.2I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth. .3Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever, that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
.4"With my chosen one I have made a covenant; I have sworn to David my servant: .5I will establish your dynasty for ever and set up your throne through all ages."
.6The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord; the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth. .7For who in the skies can compare with the Lord or who is like the Lord among the sons of God?
.8A God to be feared in the council of the holy ones, great and dreadful to all around him. .9O Lord God of hosts, who is your equal? You are mighty, O Lord, and truth is your garment.
.10It is you who rule the sea in its pride; it is you who still the surging of its waves. .11It is you who trod Rahab underfoot like a corpse, scattering your foes with your mighty arm.
.12The heavens are yours, the world is yours. It is you who founded the earth and all it holds; .13it is you who created the North and the South. Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name.
.14Yours is a mighty arm, O Lord; your hand is strong, your right hand ready. .15Justice and right are the pillars of your throne, love and truth walk in your presence.
.16Happy the people who acclaim such a king, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face, .17who find their joy every day in your name, who make your justice the source of their bliss.
.18For you, O Lord, are the glory of their strength; by your favor it is that our might is exalted; .19for our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord; our king in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.
* * *
.20Of old you spoke in a vision. To your friends the prophets you said: "I have set the crown on a warrior, I have exalted one chosen from the people.
.21I have found David my servant and with my holy oil anointed him. .22My hand shall always be with him and my arm shall make him strong.
.23The enemy shall never outwit him nor the evil ones oppress him. .24I will beat down his foes before him and smite those who hate him.
.25My truth and my love shall be with him; by my name his might shall be exalted. .26I will stretch out his hand to the Sea and his right hand as far as the River.
.27He will say to me: 'You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me.' .28And I will make him my first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.
.29I will keep my love for him always; with him my covenant shall last. .30I will establish his dynasty for ever, make his throne endure as the heavens.
.31If his sons forsake my law and refuse to walk as I decree .32and if ever they violate my statutes, refusing to keep my commands;
.33then I will punish their offenses with the rod, then I will scourge them on account of their guilt. .34But I will never take back my love, my truth will never fail.
.35I will never violate my covenant nor go back on the word I have spoken. .36Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness. 'I will never lie to David. .37His dynasty shall last for ever. In my sight his throne is like the sun; .38like the moon, it shall endure for ever, a faithful witness in the skies.' "
* * *
.39And yet you have spurned, rejected, you are angry with the one you have anointed. .40You have broken your covenant with your servant and dishonored his crown in the dust.
.41You have broken down all his walls and reduced his fortresses to ruins. .42He is despoiled by all who pass by; he has become the taunt of his neighbors.
.43You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. .44You have made his sword give way, you have not upheld him in battle.
.45You have brought his glory to an end; you have hurled his throne to the ground. .46You have cut short the years of his youth; you have heaped disgrace upon him.
.47How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?
How long will your anger burn like a fire? .48Remember, Lord, the shortness of my life and how frail you have made the sons of men. .49What man can live and never see death? Who can save himself from the grasp of the grave?
.50Where are the mercies of the past, O Lord, which you have sworn in your faithfulness to David? .51Remember, Lord, how your servant is taunted, how I have to bear all the insults of the peoples. .52Thus your enemies taunt me, O Lord, mocking your anointed at every step.