Give the King Your Justice
zOf Solomon.
1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 aMay he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you1 bwhile the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, cthroughout all generations!
6 May he be dlike rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may ethe righteous flourish,
and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 fMay he have dominion gfrom sea to sea,
and hfrom the River2 to the iends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies jlick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kkings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 lFor he mdelivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has nno helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and osaves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and pprecious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may qgold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
rlike the grass of the field!
17 May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
sMay people be blessed in him,
all nations call him blessed!
18 tBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does uwondrous things.
19 vBlessed be his glorious name forever;
may wthe whole earth be filled with his glory!
xAmen and Amen!
20 The yprayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.
I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord
A Maskil1 of bEthan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the csteadfast love of the Lord forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
din the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, e“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have fsworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your offspring gforever,
and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let the hheavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6 For iwho in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings2 is like the Lord,
7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
8 O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9 jYou rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
10 You crushed kRahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 lThe heavens are yours; mthe earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12 The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon njoyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty oarm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 pRighteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal qshout,
who walk, O Lord, in the rlight of your face,
16 who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,3 and said:
“I have granted help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 sI have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have tanointed him,
21 so that my hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
uthe wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
25 vI will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my wFather,
my God, and the xRock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the yfirstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 zMy steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my acovenant will stand firm4 for him.
29 I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 bIf his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,5
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but cI will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or dalter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn eby my holiness;
I will not flie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne gas long as the sun before me.
37 Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have hbreached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have imade all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah
46 jHow long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 kRemember how short my time is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 What man can live and never see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
49 Lord, where is your lsteadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 mRemember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults6 of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
52 nBlessed be the Lord forever!
oAmen and Amen.
