Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite.

The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. I will shew forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.

For thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever in the heavens: thy truth shall be prepared in them.

I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant:

Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.

The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord: and thy truth in the church of the saints.

For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to God?

God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him.

O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee.

Thou rulest the power of the sea: and appeasest the motion of the waves thereof.

Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.

Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded:

The north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name:

Thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted:

Justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face:

Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance:

And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted.

For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted.

For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel.

Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people.

I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him.

For my hand shall help him: and my arm shall strengthen him.

The enemy shall have no advantage over him: nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him.

And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that hate him I will put to flight.

And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers.

He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation.

And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth.

I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.

And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven.

And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments:

If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments:

I will visit their iniquities with a rod and their sins with stripes.

But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail.

Neither will I profane my covenant: and the words that proceed from my mouth I will not make void.

Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:

His seed shall endure for ever.

And his throne as the sun before me: and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven.

But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with my anointed.

Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his sanctuary on the earth.

Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear.

All that pass by the way have robbed him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours.

Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not assisted him in battle.

Thou hast made his purification to cease: and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground.

Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion.

How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end? shall thy anger burn like fire?

Remember what my substance is: for hast thou made all the children of men in vain?

Who is the man that shall live, and not see death: that shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell?

Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth?

Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations:

Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed.

Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.

A canticle for David himself, when the house was built after the captivity. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing ye to the Lord and bless his name: shew forth his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the Gentiles: his wonders among all people.

For the Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils: but the Lord made the heavens.

Praise and beauty are before him: holiness and majesty in his sanctuary.

Bring ye to the Lord, O ye kindreds of the Gentiles, bring ye to the Lord glory and honour:

Bring to the Lord glory unto his name. Bring up sacrifices, and come into his courts:

Adore ye the Lord in his holy court. Let all the earth be moved at his presence.

Say ye among the Gentiles, the Lord hath reigned. For he hath corrected the world, which shall not be moved: he will judge the people with justice.

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the sea be moved, and the fulness thereof:

The fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful. Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice

before the face of the Lord, because he cometh: because he cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth.

A psalm of praise.

Sing joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness. Come in before his presence with exceeding great joy.

Know ye that the Lord he is God: he made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Go ye into his gates with praise, into his courts with hymns: and give glory to him. Praise ye his name:

For the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth for ever, and his truth to generation and generation.

A psalm for David himself. Mercy and judgment I will sing to thee, O Lord: I will sing,

And I will understand in the unspotted way, when thou shalt come to me. I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.

I will not set before my eyes any unjust thing: I hated the workers of iniquities.

The perverse heart did not cleave to me: and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.

The man that in private detracted his neighbour, him did I persecute. With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I would not eat.

My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me: the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.

He that worketh pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house: he that speaketh unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.

In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land: that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.

Give glory to the Lord, and call upon his name: declare his deeds among the Gentiles.

Sing to him, yea sing praises to him: relate all his wondrous works.

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

Seek ye the lord, and be strengthened: seek his face evermore.

Remember his marvellous works which he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.

O ye seed of Abraham his servant; ye sons of Jacob his chosen.

He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

He hath remembered his covenant for ever: the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

Which he made to Abraham; and his oath to Isaac:

And he appointed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting testament:

Saying: To thee will I give the land of Chanaan, the lot of your inheritance.

When they were but a small number: yea very few, and sojourners therein:

And they passed from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people.

He suffered no man to hurt them: and he reproved kings for their sakes.

Touch ye not my anointed: and do no evil to my prophets.

And he called a famine upon the land: and he broke in pieces all the support of bread.

He sent a man before them: Joseph, who was sold for a slave.

They humbled his feet in fetters: the iron pierced his soul,

Until his word came. The word of the Lord inflamed him.

The king sent, and he released him: the ruler of the people, and he set him at liberty.

He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his possession.

That he might instruct his princes as himself, and teach his ancients wisdom.

And Israel went into Egypt: and Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Cham.

And he increased his people exceedingly: and strengthened them over their enemies.

He turned their heart to hate his people: and to deal deceitfully with his servants.

He sent Moses his servant: Aaron the man whom he had chosen.

He gave them power to shew them signs, and his wonders in the land of Cham.

He sent darkness, and made it obscure: and grieved not his words.

He turned their waters into blood, and destroyed their fish.

Their land brought forth frogs, in the inner chambers of their kings.

He spoke, and there came divers sorts of flies and sciniphs in all their coasts.

He gave them hail for rain, a burning fire in the land.

And he destroyed their vineyards and their fig trees: and he broke in pieces the trees of their coasts.

He spoke, and the locust came, and the bruchus, of which there was no number.

And they devoured all the grass in their land, and consumed all the fruit of their ground.

And he slew all the firstborn in their land: the firstfruits of all their labour.

And he brought them out with silver and gold: and there was not among their tribes one that was feeble.

Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them lay upon them.

He spread a cloud for their protection, and fire to give them light in the night.

They asked, and the quail came: and he filled them with the bread of heaven.

He opened the rock, and waters flowed: rivers ran down in the dry land.

Because he remembered his holy word, which he had spoken to his servant Abraham.

And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness.

And he gave them the lands of the Gentiles: and they possessed the labours of the people:

That they might observe his justifications, and seek after his law.

O Lord, remember David, and all his meekness.

How he swore to the Lord, he vowed a vow to the God of Jacob:

If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house: if I shall go up into the bed wherein I lie:

If I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids,

Or rest to my temples: until I find out a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

Behold we have heard of it in Ephrata: we have found it in the fields of the wood.

We will go into his tabernacle: we will adore in the place where his feet stood.

Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified.

Let thy priests be clothed with justice: and let thy saints rejoice.

For thy servant David’s sake, turn not away the face of thy anointed.

The Lord hath sworn truth to David, and he will not make it void: of the fruit of thy womb I will set upon thy throne.

If thy children will keep my covenant, and these my testimonies which I shall teach them: Their children also for evermore shall sit upon thy throne.

For the Lord hath chosen Sion: he hath chosen it for his dwelling.

This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.

Blessing I will bless her widow: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.

There will I bring forth a horn to David: I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

His enemies I will clothe with confusion: but upon him shall my sanctification flourish.