BOOK 2

PSALM 42

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

For the choir director. A †Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1 As the deer 1pants for the water brooks,

So my soul 1apants for You, O God.

2 My soul athirsts for God, for the bliving God;

When shall I come and 1cappear before God?

3 My atears have been my food day and night,

While they bsay to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

4 These things I remember and I apour out my soul within me.

For I bused to go along with the throng and 1lead them in procession to the house of God,

With the voice of cjoy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

5 aWhy are you 1bin despair, O my soul?

And why have you become cdisturbed within me?

2dHope in God, for I shall 3again praise 4Him

For the 5ehelp of His presence.

6 O my God, my soul is 1in despair within me;

Therefore I aremember You from bthe land of the Jordan

And the 2peaks of cHermon, from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;

All Your abreakers and Your waves have rolled over me.

8 The Lord will acommand His lovingkindness in the daytime;

And His song will be with me bin the night,

A prayer to cthe God of my life.

9 I will say to God amy rock, “Why have You forgotten me?

Why do I go bmourning 1because of the coppression of the enemy?”

10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,

While they asay to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

11 aWhy are you 1in despair, O my soul?

And why have you become disturbed within me?

2Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,

The 3help of my countenance and my God.

PSALM 44

Former Deliverances and Present Troubles.

For the choir director. A †Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1 O God, we have heard with our ears,

Our afathers have told us

The bwork that You did in their days,

In the cdays of old.

2 You with Your own hand adrove out the nations;

Then You bplanted them;

You cafflicted the peoples,

Then You dspread them abroad.

3 For by their own sword they adid not possess the land,

And their own arm did not save them,

But Your right hand and Your barm and the clight of Your presence,

For You dfavored them.

4 You are amy King, O God;

bCommand 1victories for Jacob.

5 Through You we will apush back our adversaries;

Through Your name we will btrample down those who rise up against us.

6 For I will anot trust in my bow,

Nor will my sword save me.

7 But You ahave saved us from our adversaries,

And You have bput to shame those who hate us.

8 In God we have aboasted all day long,

And we will bgive thanks to Your name forever.

1Selah.

9 Yet You ahave rejected us and brought us to bdishonor,

And cdo not go out with our armies.

10 You cause us to aturn back from the adversary;

And those who hate us bhave taken spoil for themselves.

11 You give us as asheep 1to be eaten

And have bscattered us among the nations.

12 You asell Your people 1cheaply,

And have not 2profited by their sale.

13 You make us a areproach to our neighbors,

A scoffing and a bderision to those around us.

14 You make us aa byword among the nations,

A 1blaughingstock among the peoples.

15 All day long my dishonor is before me

And 1my ahumiliation has overwhelmed me,

16 Because of the voice of him who areproaches and reviles,

Because of the presence of the benemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, but we have anot forgotten You,

And we have not bdealt falsely with Your covenant.

18 Our heart has not aturned back,

And our steps bhave not deviated from Your way,

19 Yet You have acrushed us in a place of bjackals

And covered us with cthe shadow of death.

20 If we had aforgotten the name of our God

Or extended our 1hands to ba strange god,

21 Would not God afind this out?

For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22 But afor Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are considered as bsheep to be slaughtered.

23 aArouse Yourself, why bdo You sleep, O Lord?

Awake, cdo not reject us forever.

24 Why do You ahide Your face

And bforget our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our asoul has sunk down into the dust;

Our body cleaves to the earth.

26 aRise up, be our help,

And bredeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

PSALM 45

A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

For the choir director; according to the †Shoshannim. A •Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.

1 My heart 1overflows with a good theme;

I 2address my 3verses to the 4King;

My tongue is the pen of aa ready writer.

2 You are fairer than the sons of men;

aGrace is poured 1upon Your lips;

Therefore God has bblessed You forever.

3 Gird aYour sword on Your thigh, O 1bMighty One,

In Your splendor and Your majesty!

4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,

For the cause of truth and ameekness and righteousness;

Let Your bright hand teach You 1awesome things.

5 Your aarrows are sharp;

The bpeoples fall under You;

Your arrows are cin the heart of the King’s enemies.

6 aYour throne, O God, is forever and ever;

A scepter of buprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

7 You have aloved righteousness and hated wickedness;

Therefore God, Your God, has banointed You

With the oil of joy above Your fellows.

8 All Your garments are fragrant with amyrrh and aloes and cassia;

Out of ivory palaces bstringed instruments have made You glad.

9 Kings’ daughters are among aYour noble ladies;

At Your bright hand stands the queen in cgold from Ophir.

10 Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:

aForget your people and your father’s house;

11 Then the King will desire your beauty.

Because He is your aLord, bbow down to Him.

12 The daughter of aTyre will come with a gift;

The brich among the people will seek your favor.

13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;

Her clothing is ainterwoven with gold.

14 She will be aled to the King bin embroidered work;

The cvirgins, her companions who follow her,

Will be brought to You.

15 They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;

They will enter into the King’s palace.

16 In place of your fathers will be your sons;

You shall make them princes in all the earth.

17 I will cause aYour name to be remembered in all generations;

Therefore the peoples bwill give You thanks forever and ever.

PSALM 46

God the Refuge of His People.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, †set to Alamoth. A Song.

1 God is our arefuge and strength,

1A very bpresent help cin 2trouble.

2 Therefore we will anot fear, though bthe earth should change

And though cthe mountains slip into the heart of the 1sea;

3 Though its awaters roar and foam,

Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

1Selah.

4 There is a ariver whose streams make glad the bcity of God,

The holy cdwelling …