Psalm 42–43

The Prayer of a Man in Exile^s

42 As a deer longs for a stream of cool water,

so I long for you, O God.

²I thirst for you, the living God;

when can I go and worship in your presence?

³Day and night I cry,

and tears are my only food;

all the time my enemies ask me,

“Where is your God?”

⁴My heart breaks when I remember the past,

when I went with the crowds to the house of God

and led them as they walked along,

a happy crowd, singing and shouting praise to God.

⁵Why am I so sad?

Why am I so troubled?

I will put my hope in God,

and once again I will praise him,

my saviour and my God.

^6–7Here in exile my heart is breaking,

and so I turn my thoughts to him.

He has sent waves of sorrow over my soul;

chaos roars at me like a flood,

like waterfalls thundering down to the Jordan

from Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar.

⁸May the Lord show his constant love during the day,

so that I may have a song at night,

a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹To God, my defender, I say,

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I go on suffering

from the cruelty of my enemies?”

¹⁰I am crushed by their insults,

as they keep on asking me,

“Where is your God?”

¹¹Why am I so sad?

Why am I so troubled?

I will put my hope in God,

and once again I will praise him,

my saviour and my God.

The Prayer of a Man in Exile

43O God, declare me innocent,

and defend my cause against the ungodly;

deliver me from lying and evil people!

²You are my protector;

why have you abandoned me? Why must I go on suffering

from the cruelty of my enemies?

³Send your light and your truth;

may they lead me

and bring me back to Zion, your sacred hill,^t

and to your Temple, where you live.

⁴Then I will go to your altar, O God;

you are the source of my happiness.

I will play my harp and sing praise to you,

O God, my God.

⁵Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled?

I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my saviour and my God.