Comfort from the Word – Day 30

₈₉Your word, O LORD, will last for ever;

it is eternal in heaven.

₉₀Your faithfulness endures through all the ages;

you have set the earth in place, and it remains.

₉₁All things remain to this day because of your command,

because they are all your servants.

₁O LORD, I will always sing of your constant love;

I will proclaim your faithfulness for ever.

₂I know that your love will last for all time,

that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky.

₃You said, “I have made a covenant with the man I chose;

I have promised my servant David,

₄‘A descendant of yours will always be king;

I will preserve your dynasty for ever.’ ”

₅The heavens sing of the wonderful things you do;

the holy ones sing of your faithfulness, LORD.

₆No one in heaven is like you, LORD;

none of the heavenly beings is your equal.

₇You are feared in the council of the holy ones;

and all of them stand in awe of you.

₈LORD God Almighty, none is as mighty as you;

in all things you are faithful, O LORD.

₉You rule over the powerful sea;

you calm its angry waves.

₁₀You crushed the monster Rahab and killed it;

with your mighty strength you defeated your enemies.

₁₁Heaven is yours, the earth also;

you made the world and everything in it.

₁₂You created the north and the south;

Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you for joy.

₁₃How powerful you are!

How great is your strength!

₁₄Your kingdom is founded on righteousness and justice;

love and faithfulness are shown in all you do.

₁₅How happy are the people who worship you with songs,

who live in the light of your kindness!

₁₆Because of you they rejoice all day long,

and they praise you for your goodness.

₁₇You give us great victories;

in your love you make us triumphant.

₁₈You, O LORD, chose our protector;

you, the Holy God of Israel, gave us our king.

₁₉In a vision long ago you said to your faithful servants,

“I have given help to a famous soldier;

I have given the throne to one I chose from the people.

₂₀I have made my servant David king

by anointing him with holy oil.

₂₁My strength will always be with him,

my power will make him strong.

₂₂His enemies will never succeed against him;

the wicked will not defeat him.

₂₃I will crush his foes

and kill everyone who hates him.

₂₄I will love him and be loyal to him;

I will make him always victorious.

₂₅I will extend his kingdom

from the Mediterranean to the River Euphrates.

₂₆He will say to me,

‘You are my father and my God;

you are my protector and saviour.’

₂₇I will make him my firstborn son,

the greatest of all kings.

₂₈I will always keep my promise to him,

and my covenant with him will last for ever.

₂₉His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky;

a descendant of his will always be king.

₃₀“But if his descendants disobey my law

and do not live according to my commands,

₃₁if they disregard my instructions

and do not keep my commandments,

₃₂then I will punish them for their sins;

I will make them suffer for their wrongs.

₃₃But I will not stop loving David

or fail to keep my promise to him.

₃₄I will not break my covenant with him

or take back even one promise I made him.

₃₅“Once and for all I have promised by my holy name:

I will never lie to David.

₃₆He will always have descendants,

and I will watch over his kingdom as long as the sun shines.

₃₇It will be as permanent as the moon,

that faithful witness in the sky.”

₃₈But you are angry with your chosen king;

you have deserted and rejected him.

₃₉You have broken your covenant with your servant

and thrown his crown in the mud.

₄₀You have torn down the walls of his city

and left his forts in ruins.

₄₁All who pass by steal his belongings;

all his neighbours laugh at him.

₄₂You have given the victory to his enemies;

you have made them all happy.

₄₃You have made his weapons useless

and let him be defeated in battle.

₄₄You have taken away his royal sceptre

and hurled his throne to the ground.

₄₅You have made him old before his time

and covered him with disgrace.

₄₆LORD, will you hide yourself for ever?

How long will your anger burn like fire?

₄₇Remember how short my life is;

remember that you created all of us mortal!

₄₈Who can live and never die?

How can human beings keep themselves from the grave?

₄₉Lord, where are the former proofs of your love?

Where are the promises you made to David?

₅₀Don't forget how I, your servant, am insulted,

how I endure all the curses of the heathen.

₅₁Your enemies insult your chosen king, O LORD!

They insult him wherever he goes.

₅₂Praise the LORD for ever!

₁The LORD is great and is to be highly praised

in the city of our God, on his sacred hill.

₂Zion, the mountain of God, is high and beautiful;

the city of the great king brings joy to all the world.

₃God has shown that there is safety with him

inside the fortresses of the city.

₄The kings gathered together

and came to attack Mount Zion.

₅But when they saw it, they were amazed;

they were afraid and ran away.

₆There they were seized with fear and anguish,

like a woman about to bear a child,

₇like ships tossing in a furious storm.

₈We have heard what God has done,

and now we have seen it

in the city of our God, the LORD Almighty;

he will keep the city safe for ever.

₉Inside your Temple, O God,

we think of your constant love.

₁₀You are praised by people everywhere,

and your fame extends over all the earth.

You rule with justice;

₁₁let the people of Zion be glad!

You give right judgements;

let there be joy in the cities of Judah!

₁₂People of God, walk round Zion and count the towers;

₁₃take notice of the walls and examine the fortresses,

so that you may tell the next generation:

₁₄“This God is our God for ever and ever;

he will lead us for all time to come.”

₁O Lord, you have always been our home.

₂Before you created the hills

or brought the world into being,

you were eternally God,

and will be God for ever.

₁₄Fill us each morning with your constant love,

so that we may sing and be glad all our life.

₁₅Give us now as much happiness as the sadness you gave us

during all our years of misery.

₁₆Let us, your servants, see your mighty deeds;

let our descendants see your glorious might.

₁₇LORD our God, may your blessings be with us.

Give us success in all we do!