In Praise of the Temple

¹Lord , do not forget David

and all the hardships he endured.

²Remember, Lord , what he promised,

the vow he made to you, the Mighty God of Jacob:

³“I will not go home or go to bed;

⁴I will not rest or sleep,

⁵until I provide a place for the Lord ,

a home for the Mighty God of Jacob.”

⁶In Bethlehem we heard about the Covenant Box,[#2 Ch 6.41,42]

and we found it in the fields of Jearim.

⁷We said, “Let us go to the Lord 's house;

let us worship before his throne.”

⁸Come to the Temple, Lord , with the Covenant Box,

the symbol of your power,

and stay here forever.

⁹May your priests do always what is right;

may your people shout for joy!

¹⁰You made a promise to your servant David;

do not reject your chosen king, Lord .

¹¹You made a solemn promise to David—[#2 S 7.12-16; 1 Ch 17.11-14; Ps 89.3,4; Ac 2.30]

a promise you will not take back:

“I will make one of your sons king,

and he will rule after you.

¹²If your sons are true to my covenant

and to the commands I give them,

their sons, also, will succeed you for all time as kings.”

¹³The Lord has chosen Zion;

he wants to make it his home:

¹⁴“This is where I will live forever;

this is where I want to rule.

¹⁵I will richly provide Zion with all she needs;

I will satisfy her poor with food.

¹⁶I will bless her priests in all they do,

and her people will sing and shout for joy.

¹⁷Here I will make one of David's descendants a great king;[#1 K 11.36]

here I will preserve the rule of my chosen king.

¹⁸I will cover his enemies with shame,

but his kingdom will prosper and flourish.”