--- title: "Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 5" author: "John Calvin" translator: "James Anderson" languages: [en] shelf: "Commentaries" section: 109 of 159 url: https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-the-psalms-volume-5/109/ cite: "John Calvin, tr. James Anderson, Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 5, section 109. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-the-psalms-volume-5/109/" --- # Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 5 *John Calvin, tr. James Anderson* Calvin on the Psalms, volume 5 of 5. ## 109. Psalm 89 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-the-psalms-volume-5/109/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-the-psalms-volume-5/109/#p-N [¶0] An Instruction of Ethan, the Ezrahite [¶1] 1 The mercies of Jehovah for ever will I sing: From generation to generation will I celebrate thy truth with my mouth. [¶2] 2 For I have said, For ever Mercy shall be built up: The heavens thou shalt establish; thy truth [is] in them. [¶3] 3 “I have made a covenant with my chosen: “I have sworn to David my servant: [¶4] 4 “For ever will I establish thy seed, “And I will build up from age to age thy throne.” Selah. [¶5] 5 And celebrate shall the heavens thy wondrous work, O Jehovah! Also thy truth in the congregation of the saints. [¶6] 6 For who in the clouds can be compared to Jehovah? Who is like unto Jehovah among the sons of the gods? [¶7] 7 God is terrible exceedingly in the assembly of the saints, And to be feared above all who are around him. [¶8] 8 O Jehovah, God of armies! who is a strong God like thee? And thy truth is round about thee. [¶9] 9 Thou governest the pride of the sea: When rise up do the waves thereof, thou restrainest them. [¶10] 10 Thou hast overthrown Egypt as a wounded mail; With the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies. [¶11] 11 Thine are the heavens, thine also is the earth: The world, and the fullness thereof thou hast formed. [¶12] 12 The north and the south thou hast created: Tabor and Hermon in thy name shall exult. [¶13] 13 Thou hast an arm of might: Thou wilt strengthen thy hand, Thou wilt exalt thy right hand. [¶14] 14 Righteousness and judgment are the seat of thy throne: Mercy and truth shall go before thy face. [¶15] 15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound! O Jehovah! in the brightness of thy countenance they shall walk. [¶16] 16 In thy name shall they exult daily; And in thy righteousness shall they glory: [¶17] 17 For the glory of their strength art thou; And in thy favor exalted shall be our horn. [¶18] 18 For to Jehovah is our buckler; And to the Holy One of Israel is our King. [¶19] 19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy meek ones, And saidst, “I have laid help upon a Mighty One; “I have exalted one chosen from among the people. [¶20] 20 “I have found David my servant; “With the oil of my holiness have I anointed him. [¶21] 21 “Therefore, my hand shall be established with him: “Yea, my arm shall strengthen him. [¶22] 22 “The enemy shall not exact upon him, “Nor shall the son of iniquity afflict him. [¶23] 23 “And I will break in pieces before his face his oppressors; “And those who hate him I will smite. [¶24] 24 “And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: “And in my name exalted shall be his horn. [¶25] 25 “And I will set in the sea his hand, “And in the rivers his right hand. [¶26] 26 “He shall cry to me, ‘My Father art thou, “‘My God, the Rock of my salvation.’ [¶27] 27 “Also I myself my firstborn will make him, “Higher than the kings of the earth. [¶28] 28 “And for ever will I keep for him my mercy, “And my covenant shall stand firm with him. [¶29] 29 “And I will establish for ever his seed, “And his throne as the days of heaven. [¶30] 30 “If forsake shall his children my law, “And in my judgments shall not walk; [¶31] 31 “If my ordinances they shall profane, “And my statutes they shall not keep; [¶32] 32 “Then will I visit with my rod their transgressions, “And with stripes their iniquity. [¶33] 33 “But my mercy will I not withdraw from him; “Nor will I be false in my truth. [¶34] 34 “I will not profane my covenant, “And that which is gone forth from my lips I will not alter. [¶35] 35 “Once have I sworn by my holiness, “If to David I lie — [¶36] 36 “His seed for ever shall endure; “And his throne as the sun before me. [¶37] 37 “As the moon it shall be established for ever, “And [as] a faithful witness in the heaven.” Selah. [¶38] 38 But thou, even thou, hast abhorred and rejected him; Thou hast been wroth with thy anointed. [¶39] 39 Thou hast made to cease the covenant of thy servant; Thou hast profaned to the earth his crown. [¶40] 40 Thou hast broken down all his walls; Thou hast made his fortresses a ruin. [¶41] 41 Plundered him have all who pass by the way: He hath been a reproach to his neighbors. [¶42] 42 Thou hast exalted the right hand of his oppressors; Thou hast made glad all his adversaries. [¶43] 43 Also thou hast blunted the edge of his sword, And hast not made him to stand in battle. [¶44] 44 Thou hast effaced his splendor, And his throne to the ground thou hast east down. [¶45] 45 Thou hast shortened the days of his youth; Thou hast covered him with disgrace. Selah. [¶46] 46 How long, O Jehovah! wilt thou hide thyself for ever? Burn like fire shall thy indignation? [¶47] 47 Remember how short-lived I am! Wherefore in vain shouldst thou have created all the sons of men? [¶48] 48 What man shall live, and shall not see death? And shall deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. [¶49] 49 Where are thy former compassions, O Lord? Thou hast sworn to David in thy truth. [¶50] 50 Remember, O Lord! the reproach of thy servants: I have sustained in my bosom all those [reproaches] of the mighty peoples, [¶51] 51 With which thy enemies have reproached thee, O Jehovah! With which they have reproached the footsteps of thy Messiah. [¶52] 52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. Amen and Amen!