Psalm 44–49

Psalm 44

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

¹God, we have heard what you did.

Those who came before us have told us

what you did in their days,

in days long ago.

²With your powerful hand you drove out the nations.

You settled our people in the land.

You crushed the people who were there.

And you made our people do well.

³They didn’t win the land with their swords.

They didn’t gain success with their powerful arms.

Your powerful right hand and your mighty arm gave them success.

You looked on them with favor. You loved them.

⁴You are my King and my God.

You give success to the people of Jacob.

⁵With your help we push our enemies back.

By your power we walk all over them.

⁶I don’t trust in my bow.

My sword doesn’t bring me success.

⁷But you give us success over our enemies.

You put them to shame.

⁸All day long we talk about how great God is.

We will praise your name forever. Selah

⁹But now you have turned your back on us and made us low.

You don’t march out with our armies anymore.

¹⁰You made us turn and run from our enemies.

They have taken what belongs to us.

¹¹You handed us over to be eaten up like sheep.

You have scattered us among the nations.

¹²You sold your people for very little.

You didn’t gain anything when you sold them.

¹³You have made us something that our neighbors laugh at.

Those who live around us make fun of us and tease us.

¹⁴The nations make jokes about us.

They shake their heads at us.

¹⁵All day long I am reminded of my shame.

My face is covered with it

¹⁶because of those who laugh at me and attack me with their words.

They want to get even with me.

¹⁷All of this happened to us,

even though we had not forgotten you.

We had been true to the covenant you made with us.

¹⁸Our hearts had not turned away from you.

Our feet had not wandered from your path.

¹⁹But you crushed us and left us to the wild dogs.

You covered us over with deep darkness.

²⁰We didn’t forget our God.

We didn’t spread out our hands in prayer to a strange god.

²¹If we had, God would have discovered it.

He knows the secrets of our hearts.

²²But because of you, we face death all day long.

We are considered as sheep to be killed.

²³Lord, wake up! Why are you sleeping?

Get up! Don’t say no to us forever.

²⁴Why do you turn your face away from us?

Why do you forget our pain and troubles?

²⁵We are brought down to the dust.

Our bodies lie flat on the ground.

²⁶Rise up and help us.

Save us because of your faithful love.

Psalm 45

For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. A wedding song to the tune of “Lilies.”

¹My heart is full of beautiful words

as I say my poem for the king.

My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

²You are the most excellent of men.

Your lips have been given the ability to speak gracious words.

God has blessed you forever.

³Mighty one, put your sword at your side.

Put on glory and majesty as if they were your clothes.

⁴In your majesty ride out with power

in honor of what is true and right.

Do it in honor of all those who are not proud.

Let your right hand do wonderful things.

⁵Shoot your sharp arrows into the hearts of your enemies.

Let the nations come under your control.

⁶Your throne is the very throne of God.

Your kingdom will last for ever and ever.

You will rule by treating everyone fairly.

⁷You love what is right and hate what is evil.

So your God has placed you above your companions.

He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred oil on your head.

⁸Myrrh and aloes and cassia make all of your robes smell good.

In palaces decorated with ivory

the music played on stringed instruments makes you glad.

⁹Daughters of kings are among the women you honor.

At your right hand is the royal bride dressed in gold from Ophir.

¹⁰Royal bride, listen. Think about this and pay attention to it.

Forget about your people and the home you came from.

¹¹The king is charmed by your beauty.

Honor him. He is now your master.

¹²The people of Tyre will come with gifts.

Wealthy people will try to gain your favor.

¹³The princess comes into the palace in all her glory.

Her gown has gold threads running through it.

¹⁴Dressed in beautiful clothes, she is led to the king.

Her virgin companions follow her

and are brought to him.

¹⁵They are led in with joy and gladness.

They enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶Your sons will rule just as your father and grandfather did.

You will make them princes through the whole land.

¹⁷I will make sure that people will always remember you.

The nations will praise you for ever and ever.

Psalm 46

For the director of music. A song of the Sons of Korah. For alamoth.

¹God is our place of safety. He gives us strength.

He is always there to help us in times of trouble.

²The earth may fall apart.

The mountains may fall into the middle of the sea.

But we will not be afraid.

³The waters of the sea may roar and foam.

The mountains may shake when the waters rise.

But we will not be afraid. Selah

⁴God’s blessings are like a river. They fill the city of God with joy.

That city is the holy place where the Most High God lives.

⁵Because God is there, the city will not fall.

God will help it at the beginning of the day.

⁶Nations are in disorder. Kingdoms fall.

God speaks, and the people of the earth melt in fear.

⁷The Lord who rules over all is with us.

The God of Jacob is like a fort to us. Selah

⁸Come and see what the Lord has done.

See the places he has destroyed on the earth.

⁹He makes wars stop from one end of the earth to the other.

He breaks every bow. He snaps every spear.

He burns every shield with fire.

¹⁰He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be honored among the nations.

I will be honored in the earth.”

¹¹The Lord who rules over all is with us.

The God of Jacob is like a fort to us. Selah

Psalm 47

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

¹Clap your hands, all you nations.

Shout to God with cries of joy.

²How wonderful is the Lord Most High!

He is the great King over the whole earth.

³He brought nations under our control.

He made them fall under us.

⁴He chose our land for us.

The people of Jacob are proud of their land,

and God loves them. Selah

⁵God went up to his throne while his people were shouting with joy.

The Lord went up while trumpets were playing.

⁶Sing praises to God. Sing praises.

Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.

⁷God is the King of the whole earth.

Sing a psalm of praise to him.

⁸God rules over the nations.

He is seated on his holy throne.

⁹The nobles of the nations come together.

They are now part of the people of the God of Abraham.

The kings of the earth belong to God.

He is greatly honored.

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹The Lord is great. He is really worthy of praise.

Praise him in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

²Mount Zion is high and beautiful.

It brings joy to everyone on earth.

Mount Zion is like the highest parts of Mount Zaphon.

It is the city of the Great King.

³God is there to keep it safe.

He has shown himself to be like a fort to the city.

⁴Many kings joined forces.

They entered Israel together.

⁵But when they saw Mount Zion, they were amazed.

They ran away in terror.

⁶Trembling took hold of them.

They felt pain like a woman giving birth to a baby.

⁷Lord, you destroyed them like ships of Tarshish

that were torn apart by an east wind.

⁸What we heard we have also seen.

We have seen it

in the city of the Lord who rules over all.

We have seen it in the city of our God.

We have heard and seen that God makes her secure forever. Selah

⁹God, inside your temple

we think about your faithful love.

¹⁰God, your fame reaches from one end of the earth to the other.

In the same way, people praise you from one end of the earth to the other.

You use your power to do what is right.

¹¹Mount Zion is filled with joy.

The villages of Judah are glad.

That’s because you judge fairly.

¹²Walk around Zion. Go all around it.

Count its towers.

¹³Think carefully about its outer walls.

Just look at how safe it is!

Then you can tell its people that God keeps them safe.

¹⁴This God is our God for ever and ever.

He will be our guide to the very end.

Psalm 49

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

¹Hear this, all you nations.

Listen, all you who live in this world.

²Listen, ordinary and important people alike.

Listen, those of you who are rich or poor.

³My mouth will speak wise words.

What I say from my heart will give understanding.

⁴I will pay attention to a proverb.

I will explain my riddle as I play the harp.

⁵Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?

Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?

They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.

⁶They trust in their wealth.

They brag about how rich they are.

⁷No man can pay for the life of anyone else.

No one can give God what that would cost.

⁸The price for a life is very high.

No payment is ever enough.

⁹No one can pay enough to live forever

and not rot in the grave.

¹⁰Everyone can see that even wise people die.

Foolish and dumb people also pass away.

All of them leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their graves will remain their houses forever.

Their graves will be their homes for all time to come.

Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.

¹²Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on.

They are like the animals. They die.

¹³That’s what happens to those who trust in themselves.

It also happens to their followers, who agree with what they say. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they will end up in the grave.

Death will swallow them up.

When honest people come to power, a new day will dawn.

The bodies of sinners will waste away in the grave.

They will end up far away from their princely houses.

¹⁵But God will save me from the grave.

He will certainly take me to himself. Selah

¹⁶Don’t be upset when someone becomes rich.

Don’t be troubled when he becomes more and more wealthy.

¹⁷He won’t take anything with him when he dies.

His riches won’t go down to the grave with him.

¹⁸While he lived, he believed he was blessed.

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