Psalm 42

Hope in God in the Midst of Despair

42For the music director. A maskil of the sons of Korah.^a

¹As a deer longs for streams of water,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?^b

³My tears have been my food day and night,

while they say to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

⁴These I remember and I pour out my soul within me:

that I would go with the multitude;

I led them in procession to the house^c of God,

with a voice of rejoicing and thanksgiving,

a crowd celebrating a festival.

⁵Why are you in despair,^d O my soul,

and disturbed within me?

Hope in God, because I will again praise him,

for the salvation of his presence.

⁶O my God, within me my soul is in despair;^e

therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan

and the heights of Hermon, from the mountain of Mizar.

⁷Deep is calling to deep

at^f the thunder of your waterfalls.

All your breakers and your waves

have passed over me.

⁸By day Yahweh commands his loyal love,

and in the night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I say to God, my rock,

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I walk about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?”

¹⁰As with a shattering in my bones

my oppressors taunt me,

while they say to me all day,^g

“Where is your God?”

¹¹Why are you in despair,^h O my soul?

And why are you disturbed within me?

Hope in God, because I shall again praise him,

my salvationⁱ and my God.