Psalm 89 - Ethan's Song of Covenant and Lament
A sworn covenant with David, praised at length, then mourned as broken.
Psalm 89 opens by celebrating God's oath to David, 'thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations,' one of the fullest covenant statements in the Psalms overview. Ethan the Ezrahite spends its first half in confident praise of God's faithfulness.
The title of the nyne and eiytetithe salm. The preier of Moises, the man of God. Lord, thou art maad help to vs; fro generacioun in to generacioun.
Bifore that hillis weren maad, ether the erthe and the world was formed; fro the world and in to the world thou art God.
Turne thou not awei a man in to lownesse; and thou seidist, Ye sones of men, be conuertid.
For a thousynde yeer ben bifore thin iyen; as yistirdai, which is passid, and as keping in the niyt.
The yeeris of hem schulen be; that ben had for nouyt.
Eerli passe he, as an eerbe, eerli florische he, and passe; in the euentid falle he doun, be he hard, and wexe drie.
For we han failid in thin ire; and we ben disturblid in thi strong veniaunce.
Thou hast set oure wickidnessis in thi siyt; oure world in the liytning of thi cheer.
For alle oure daies han failid; and we han failid in thin ire. Oure yeris schulen bithenke, as an yreyn;
the daies of oure yeeris ben in tho seuenti yeeris. Forsothe, if fourescoor yeer ben in myyti men; and the more tyme of hem is trauel and sorewe. For myldenesse cam aboue; and we schulen be chastisid.
Who knew the power of thin ire; and durste noumbre thin ire for thi drede?
Make thi riythond so knowun; and make men lerned in herte bi wisdom.
Lord, be thou conuertid sumdeel; and be thou able to be preied on thi seruauntis.
We weren fillid eerli with thi merci; we maden ful out ioye, and we delitiden in alle oure daies.
We weren glad for the daies in whiche thou madist vs meke; for the yeeris in whiche we siyen yuels.
Lord, biholde thou into thi seruauntis, and in to thi werkis; and dresse thou the sones of hem.
And the schynyng of oure Lord God be on vs; and dresse thou the werkis of oure hondis on vs, and dresse thou the werk of oure hondis.