Where Is Your Steadfast Love of Old?

Verses 1–37 · celebrating God's covenant with David

1. ^{verse 1}I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.
2. ^{verse 2}For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever; in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”
3. ^{verse 3}You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant:
4. ^{verse 4}‘I will establish your offspring forever and build up your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5. ^{verse 5}The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD — Your faithfulness as well — in the assembly of the holy ones.
6. ^{verse 6}For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
7. ^{verse 7}In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him.
8. ^{verse 8}O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You? O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.
9. ^{verse 9}You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.
10. ^{verse 10}You crushed Rahab like a carcass; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11. ^{verse 11}The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
12. ^{verse 12}North and south You created; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13. ^{verse 13}Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand. Your right hand is exalted.
14. ^{verse 14}Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
15. ^{verse 15}Blessed are those who know the joyful sound, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.
16. ^{verse 16}They rejoice in Your name all day long, and in Your righteousness they exult.
17. ^{verse 17}For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18. ^{verse 18}Surely our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19. ^{verse 19}You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20. ^{verse 20}I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.
21. ^{verse 21}My hand will sustain him; surely My arm will strengthen him.
22. ^{verse 22}No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.
23. ^{verse 23}I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
24. ^{verse 24}My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him, and through My name his horn will be exalted.
25. ^{verse 25}I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers.
26. ^{verse 26}He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’
27. ^{verse 27}I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28. ^{verse 28}I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast.
29. ^{verse 29}I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30. ^{verse 30}If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments,
31. ^{verse 31}if they violate My statutes and fail to keep My commandments,
32. ^{verse 32}I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes.
33. ^{verse 33}But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness.
34. ^{verse 34}I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.
35. ^{verse 35}Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness — I will not lie to David —
36. ^{verse 36}his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun,
37. ^{verse 37}like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

Verses 38–52 · anguished protest that the covenant seems broken

1. ^{verse 38}Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him; You are enraged by Your anointed one.
2. ^{verse 39}You have renounced the covenant with Your servant and sullied his crown in the dust.
3. ^{verse 40}You have broken down all his walls; You have reduced his strongholds to rubble.
4. ^{verse 41}All who pass by plunder him; he has become a reproach to his neighbors.
5. ^{verse 42}You have exalted the right hand of his foes; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
6. ^{verse 43}You have bent the edge of his sword and have not sustained him in battle.
7. ^{verse 44}You have ended his splendor and cast his throne to the ground.
8. ^{verse 45}You have cut short the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah
9. ^{verse 46}How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?
10. ^{verse 47}Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!
11. ^{verse 48}What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
12. ^{verse 49}Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old, which You faithfully swore to David?
13. ^{verse 50}Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my heart from so many people —
14. ^{verse 51}how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD, and have mocked every step of Your anointed one!
15. ^{verse 52}Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen.