Psalm 40:1–42:11

¹I was patient while I waited for the Lord.

He turned to me and heard my cry for help.

²I was sliding down into the pit of death, and he pulled me out.

He brought me up out of the mud and dirt.

He set my feet on a rock.

He gave me a firm place to stand on.

³He gave me a new song to sing.

It is a hymn of praise to our God.

Many people will see what he has done and will worship him.

They will put their trust in the Lord.

⁴Blessed is the man

who trusts in the Lord.

He doesn’t look to proud people for help.

He doesn’t turn away to worship statues of gods.

⁵Lord my God,

no one can compare with you.

You have done many miracles.

And you plan to do many more for us.

There are too many of them

for me to talk about.

⁶You didn’t want sacrifices and offerings.

You weren’t pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings.

You gave me ears to hear you and obey you.

⁷Then I said, “Here I am.

It is written about me in the scroll.

⁸My God, I have come to do what you want.

Your law is in my heart.”

⁹I have told the whole community of those who worship you

that what you do is right.

Lord, you know

that I haven’t kept quiet.

¹⁰I haven’t kept to myself that what you did for me was right.

I have spoken about how faithful you were when you saved me.

I haven’t hidden your love and truth

from the whole community.

¹¹Lord, don’t hold back your mercy from me.

May your love and truth always keep me safe.

¹²There are more troubles all around me than I can count.

My sins have caught up with me, and I can’t see any longer.

My sins are more than the hairs of my head.

I have lost all hope.

¹³Lord, please save me.

Lord, come quickly to help me.

¹⁴Let all those who are trying to kill me be put to shame.

Let them not be honored.

Let all those who want to destroy me

be turned back in shame.

¹⁵Some people make fun of me.

Let them be shocked when their plans fail.

¹⁶But let all those who look to you

be joyful and glad because of what you have done.

Let those who love you because you save them always say,

“May the Lord be honored!”

¹⁷But I am poor and needy.

May the Lord be concerned about me.

You are the One who helps me and saves me.

My God, please don’t wait any longer.

Psalm 41

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹Blessed is the one who cares about weak people.

When he is in trouble, the Lord saves him.

²The Lord will guard him and keep him alive.

He will bless him in the land.

He won’t hand him over to the wishes of his enemies.

³The Lord will take care of him when he is lying sick in bed.

He will make him well again.

⁴I said, “Lord, show me your favor.

Heal me. I have sinned against you.”

⁵My enemies are saying bad things about me.

They say, “When will he die and be forgotten?”

⁶When anyone comes to see me,

he says things he doesn’t mean.

At the same time, he thinks up lies to tell against me.

Then he goes out and spreads those lies around.

⁷All of my enemies whisper to each other about me.

They want something terrible to happen to me.

⁸They say, “He is sick and will die very soon.

He will never get up from his bed again.”

⁹Even my close friend, whom I trusted, has deserted me.

I even shared my bread with him.

¹⁰But Lord, show me your favor.

Make me well, so I can pay them back.

¹¹Then I will know that you are pleased with me,

because my enemies haven’t won the battle over me.

¹²You will take good care of me because I’ve been honest.

You will let me be with you forever.

¹³Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,

for ever and ever.

Amen and Amen.

BOOK II

Psalms 42–72

Psalm 42

For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah.

¹A deer longs for streams of water.

God, I long for you in the same way.

²I am thirsty for God. I am thirsty for the living God.

When can I go and meet with him?

³My tears have been my food

day and night.

All day long people say to me,

“Where is your God?”

⁴When I remember what has happened,

I tell God all of my troubles.

I remember how I used to walk along with the crowd of worshipers.

I led them to the house of God.

We shouted with joy and gave thanks

as we went to the holy feast.

⁵My spirit, why are you so sad?

Why are you so upset deep down inside me?

Put your hope in God.

Once again I will have reason to praise him.

He is my Savior and ⁶my God.

My spirit is very sad deep down inside me.

So I will remember you here where the Jordan River begins.

I will remember you here on the Hermon mountains

and on Mount Mizar.

⁷You have sent wave upon wave of trouble over me.

It roars down on me like a waterfall.

All of your waves and breakers have rolled over me.

⁸During the day the Lord sends his love to me.

During the night I sing about him.

I say a prayer to the God who gives me life.

⁹I say to God my Rock,

“Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I go around in sorrow?

Why am I beaten down by my enemies?”

¹⁰My body suffers deadly pain

as my enemies make fun of me.

All day long they say to me,

“Where is your God?”

¹¹My spirit, why are you so sad?

Why are you so upset deep down inside me?

Put your hope in God.

Once again I will have reason to praise him.

He is my Savior and my God.