Psalm 42–83

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

42To the choirmaster. A Maskil¹ of ^sthe Sons of Korah.

^1tAs a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

^2uMy soul thirsts for God,

for ^vthe living God.

When shall I come and ^wappear before God?²

^3xMy tears have been my food

day and night,

^ywhile they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

⁴These things I remember,

as I ^zpour out my soul:

^ahow I would go ^bwith the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

^ca multitude keeping festival.

^5dWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you ^ein turmoil within me?

^fHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation^{3 6}and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I ^gremember you

^hfrom the land of Jordan and of ⁱHermon,

from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

^jall your breakers and your ^kwaves

have gone over me.

⁸By day the Lord ^lcommands his steadfast love,

and at ^mnight his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I say to God, ⁿmy rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

^oWhy do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?”

¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

^pwhile they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

^11qWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

43^rVindicate me, O God, and ^sdefend my cause

against an ungodly people,

from ^tthe deceitful and unjust man

deliver me!

²For you are ^uthe God in whom I take refuge;

why have you ^vrejected me?

Why do I ^wgo about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

^3xSend out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your ^yholy hill

and to your ^zdwelling!

⁴Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy,

and I will praise you with the lyre,

O God, my God.

^5aWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

^bHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Come to Our Help

44To the choirmaster. ^cA Maskil¹ of the Sons of Korah.

¹O God, we have heard with our ears,

^dour fathers have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days,

^ein the days of old:

²you with your own hand ^fdrove out the nations,

but ^gthem you planted;

you afflicted the peoples,

but ^hthem you set free;

³for not ⁱby their own sword did they win the land,

nor did their own arm save them,

but your right hand and your arm,

and ^jthe light of your face,

^kfor you delighted in them.

^4lYou are my King, O God;

^mordain salvation for Jacob!

⁵Through you we ⁿpush down our foes;

through your name we ^otread down those who rise up against us.

⁶For not in ^pmy bow do I trust,

nor can my sword save me.

⁷But you have saved us from our foes

and have ^qput to shame those who hate us.

^8rIn God we have boasted continually,

and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

⁹But you have ^srejected us and disgraced us

and ^thave not gone out with our armies.

¹⁰You have made us ^uturn back from the foe,

and those who hate us have gotten spoil.

¹¹You have made us like ^vsheep for slaughter

and have ^wscattered us among the nations.

^12xYou have sold your people for a trifle,

demanding no high price for them.

¹³You have made us ^ythe taunt of our neighbors,

the derision and ^zscorn of those around us.

¹⁴You have made us ^aa byword among the nations,

^ba laughingstock² among the peoples.

¹⁵All day long my disgrace is before me,

and ^cshame has covered my face

¹⁶at the sound of the taunter and reviler,

at the sight of ^dthe enemy and the avenger.

^17eAll this has come upon us,

though we have not forgotten you,

and we have not been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our heart has not turned back,

nor have our ^fsteps ^gdeparted from your way;

¹⁹yet you have ^hbroken us in the place of ⁱjackals

and covered us with ^jthe shadow of death.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God

or ^kspread out our hands to ^la foreign god,

^21mwould not God discover this?

ⁿFor he knows the secrets of the heart.

²²Yet ^ofor your sake we are killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

^23pAwake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?

Rouse yourself! ^qDo not reject us forever!

²⁴Why ^rdo you hide your face?

Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

²⁵For our ^ssoul is bowed down to the dust;

our belly clings to the ground.

²⁶Rise up; ^tcome to our help!

^uRedeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

45To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil¹ of ^vthe Sons of Korah; a love song.

¹My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;

I address my verses to the king;

my tongue is like the pen of ^wa ready scribe.

²You are ^xthe most handsome of the sons of men;

^ygrace is poured upon your lips;

therefore God has blessed you forever.

^3zGird your ^asword on your thigh, O ^bmighty one,

in ^cyour splendor and majesty!

⁴In your majesty ^dride out victoriously

for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

let your right hand teach you ^eawesome deeds!

⁵Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the king’s enemies;

the peoples fall under you.

^6fYour throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The ^gscepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

^7hyou have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore ⁱGod, your God, has ^janointed you

with the oil of ^kgladness ^lbeyond your companions;

⁸your robes are all fragrant with ^mmyrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces ⁿstringed instruments make you glad;

⁹daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;

^oat your right hand stands the queen in ^pgold of Ophir.

¹⁰Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:

forget your people and your father’s house,

¹¹and the king will desire your beauty.

Since he is your ^qlord, ^rbow to him.

¹²The people² of Tyre will ^sseek your favor with ^tgifts,

^uthe richest of the people.³

¹³All glorious is ^vthe princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.

^14wIn many-colored robes ^xshe is led to the king,

with her virgin companions following behind her.

¹⁵With joy and gladness they are led along

as they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶In place of your fathers shall be your sons;

you will make them ^yprinces in all the earth.

^17zI will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;

therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

God Is Our Fortress

46To the choirmaster. Of ^athe Sons of Korah. According to ^bAlamoth.¹ A Song.

¹God is our ^crefuge and strength,

a very ^dpresent² help in ^etrouble.

²Therefore we will not fear ^fthough the earth give way,

though the mountains be moved into ^gthe heart of the sea,

³though ^hits waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

⁴There is ⁱa river whose streams make glad ^jthe city of God,

the holy ^khabitation of the Most High.

^5lGod is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

^6mThe nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he ⁿutters his voice, the earth ^omelts.

^7pThe Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

^8qCome, behold the works of the Lord,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

^9rHe makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he ^sbreaks the bow and shatters the spear;

^the burns the chariots with fire.

^10u“Be still, and know that I am God.

^vI will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

^11pThe Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

God Is King over All the Earth

47To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^wthe Sons of Korah.

^1xClap your hands, all peoples!

^yShout to God with loud songs of joy!

²For the Lord, the Most High, ^zis to be feared,

^aa great king over all the earth.

³He ^bsubdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet.

⁴He chose our ^cheritage for us,

^dthe pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

⁵God ^ehas gone up with a shout,

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises!

Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

⁷For God is ^fthe King of all the earth;

sing praises ^gwith a psalm!¹

⁸God ^hreigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.

⁹ⁱThe princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For ^jthe shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted!

Zion, the City of Our God

48A Song. A Psalm of ^kthe Sons of Korah.

^1lGreat is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in ^mthe city of our God!

His ⁿholy mountain, ^2obeautiful in elevation,

is ^pthe joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

^qthe city of the great King.

³Within her citadels God

has made himself known as a fortress.

⁴For behold, ^rthe kings assembled;

they came on together.

⁵As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

they were in panic; they took to flight.

^6sTrembling took hold of them there,

anguish ^tas of a woman in labor.

⁷By ^uthe east wind you ^vshattered

the ships of ^wTarshish.

⁸As we have heard, so have we seen

in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in ^mthe city of our God,

which God will ^xestablish forever. Selah

⁹We have thought on your ^ysteadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple.

¹⁰As your ^zname, O God,

so your praise reaches to ^athe ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

¹¹Let Mount ^bZion be glad!

Let ^bthe daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments!

¹²Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

¹³consider well her ^cramparts,

go through her citadels,

^dthat you may tell the next generation

¹⁴that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will ^eguide us forever.¹

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

49To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^fthe Sons of Korah.

^1gHear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

^2hboth low and high,

rich and poor together!

³My mouth shall speak ⁱwisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to ^ja proverb;

I will solve my ^kriddle to the music of the lyre.

^5lWhy should I fear in ^m…