Psalms 89:31-52

If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod [of discipline], And [correct] their wickedness with stripes. [2 Sam 7:14] “Nevertheless, I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail. “My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. “Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated]; I will not lie to David. “His descendants shall endure forever And his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me. [Is 9:7; Jer 33:14-26; Gal 3:16] “It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the heavens is ever faithful.” [Rev 1:5; 3:14] Selah. ¶But [in apparent contradiction of all this] You [the faithful LORD] have cast off and rejected; You have been full of wrath against Your anointed. You have spurned and repudiated the covenant with Your servant; You have profaned his crown [by casting it] in the dust. You have broken down all his [city] walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin. All who pass along the road rob him; He has become the scorn of his neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of his foes; You have made all his enemies rejoice. Also, You have turned back the edge of his sword And have not made him [strong enough] to stand in battle. You have put an end to his splendor And have hurled his throne to the ground. You have shortened the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah. ¶How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? Remember how fleeting my lifetime is; For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men! What man can live and not see death? Can he rescue his soul from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah. ¶O Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses [so abundant in the days of David and Solomon], Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness? Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants [scorned, insulted, and disgraced]; How I bear in my heart the reproach of all the many peoples, With which Your enemies have taunted, O LORD, With which they have mocked the footsteps of Your anointed. ¶Blessed be the LORD forevermore! Amen and Amen.