Psalms 42-48

Psalm 42

¹To the chief music-maker. Maschil. Of the sons of Korah. Like the desire of the roe for the water-streams, so is my soul's desire for you, O God.

²My soul is dry for need of God, the living God; when may I come and see the face of God?

³My tears have been my food day and night, while they keep saying to me, Where is your God?

⁴Let my soul be overflowing with grief when these things come back to my mind, how I went in company to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with the song of those who were keeping the feast.

⁵Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? put your hope in God; for I will again give him praise who is my help and my God.

⁶My soul is crushed down in me, so I will keep you in mind; from the land of Jordan and of the Hermons, from the hill Mizar.

⁷Deep is sounding to deep at the noise of your waterfalls; all your waves have gone rolling over me.

⁸But the Lord will send his mercy in the daytime, and in the night his song will be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I will say to God my Rock, Why have you let me go from your memory? why do I go in sorrow because of the attacks of my haters?

¹⁰The cruel words of my haters are like a crushing of my bones; when they say to me every day, Where is your God?

¹¹Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? put your hope in God; for I will again give him praise who is my help and my God.

Psalm 43

¹Be my judge, O God, supporting my cause against a nation without religion; O keep me from the false and evil man.

²You are the God of my strength; why have you put me from you? why do I go in sorrow because of the attacks of my haters?

³O send out your light and your true word; let them be my guide: let them take me to your holy hill, and to your tents.

⁴Then I will go up to the altar of God, to the God of my joy; I will be glad and give praise to you on an instrument of music, O God, my God.

⁵Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? put your hope in God, for I will again give him praise who is my help and my God.

Psalm 44

¹To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah Maschil. It has come to our ears, O God, our fathers have given us the story, of the works which you did in their days, in the old times,

²Uprooting the nations with your hand, and planting our fathers in their place; cutting down the nations, but increasing the growth of your people.

³For they did not make the land theirs by their swords, and it was not their arms which kept them safe; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you had pleasure in them.

⁴You are my King and my God; ordering salvation for Jacob.

⁵Through you will we overcome our haters; by your name will they be crushed under our feet who are violent against us.

⁶I will not put faith in my bow, my sword will not be my salvation.

⁷But it is you who have been our saviour from those who were against us, and have put to shame those who had hate for us.

⁸Our pride is in God at all times, to his name we give praise for ever. (Selah.)

⁹But now you have sent us away from you, and put us to shame; you do not go out with our armies.

¹⁰Because of this we are turned back by the attacker: those who have hate for us take our goods for themselves.

¹¹You have made us like sheep which are taken for meat; we are put to flight among the nations.

¹²You let your people go for nothing; your wealth is not increased by their price.

¹³You have made us to be looked down on by our neighbours, we are laughed at and shamed by those who are round about us.

¹⁴Our name is a word of shame among the nations, a sign for the shaking of heads among the peoples.

¹⁵My downfall is ever before me, and I am covered with the shame of my face;

¹⁶Because of the voice of him who says sharp and bitter words; because of the hater and him who is the instrument of punishment.

¹⁷All this has come on us, but still we have kept you in our memory; and we have not been false to your word.

¹⁸Our hearts have not gone back, and our steps have not been turned out of your way;

¹⁹Though you have let us be crushed in the place of jackals, though we are covered with darkest shade.

²⁰If the name of our God has gone out of our minds, or if our hands have been stretched out to a strange god,

²¹Will not God make search for it? for he sees the secrets of the heart.

²²Truly, because of you we are put to death every day; we are numbered like sheep for destruction.

²³Why are you sleeping, O Lord? awake! and come to our help, do not give us up for ever.

²⁴Why is your face covered, and why do you give no thought to our trouble and our cruel fate?

²⁵For our souls are crushed down to the dust: our bodies are stretched out on the earth.

²⁶Up! and come to our help, and give us salvation because of your mercy.

Psalm 45

¹To the chief music-maker; put to Shoshannim. Of the sons of Korah. Maschil. A Song of loves. My heart is flowing over with good things; my words are of that which I have made for a king; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

²You are fairer than the children of men; grace is flowing through your lips; for this cause the blessing of God is with you for ever.

³Put on your sword, make it ready at your side, O strong chief, with your glory and power.

⁴And go nobly on in your power, because you are good and true and without pride; and your right hand will be teaching you things of fear.

⁵Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's haters; because of them the peoples are falling under you.

⁶Your seat of power, O God, is for ever and ever; the rod of your kingdom is a rod of honour.

⁷You have been a lover of righteousness and a hater of evil: and so God, your God, has put the oil of joy on your head, lifting you high over all other kings.

⁸Your robes are full of the smell of all sorts of perfumes and spices; music from the king's ivory houses has made you glad.

⁹Kings' daughters are among your noble women: on your right is the queen in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰O daughter, give thought and attention, and let your ear be open; no longer keep in mind your people, and your father's house;

¹¹So will the king have a great desire for you, seeing how beautiful you are; because he is your lord, give him honour.

¹²And the daughters of Tyre will be there with an offering; those who have wealth among the people will be looking for your approval.

¹³In the great house the king's daughter is all shining: her clothing is worked with gold.

¹⁴She will come before the king in robes of needlework; the virgins in her train will come before you.

¹⁵With joy and rapture will they come; they will go into the king's house.

¹⁶Your children will take the place of your fathers; so that you may make them rulers over all the earth.

¹⁷I will keep the memory of your name living through all generations; and because of this the people will give you praise for ever.

Psalm 46

¹To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah; put to Alamoth. A Song. God is our harbour and our strength, a very present help in trouble.

²For this cause we will have no fear, even though the earth is changed, and though the mountains are moved in the heart of the sea;

³Though its waters are sounding and troubled, and though the mountains are shaking with their violent motion. (Selah.)

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the resting-place of God, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.

⁵God has taken his place in her; she will not be moved: he will come to her help at the dawn of morning.

⁶The nations were angry, the kingdoms were moved; at the sound of his voice the earth became like wax.

⁷The Lord of armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower. (Selah.)

⁸Come, see the works of the Lord, the destruction which he has made in the earth.

⁹He puts an end to wars over all the earth; by him the bow is broken, and the spear cut in two, and the carriage burned in the fire.

¹⁰Be at peace in the knowledge that I am God: I will be lifted up among the nations, I will be honoured through all the earth.

¹¹The Lord of armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower. (Selah.)

Psalm 47

¹To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of the sons of Korah. O make a glad noise with your hands, all you peoples; letting your voices go up to God with joy.

²For the Lord Most High is to be feared; he is a great King over all the earth.

³He will put down the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.

⁴He will give us our heritage, the glory of Jacob who is dear to him. (Selah.)

⁵God has gone up with a glad cry, the Lord with the sound of the horn.

⁶Give praises to God, make songs of praise; give praises to our King, make songs of praise.

⁷For God is the King of all the earth; make songs of praise with knowledge.

⁸God is the ruler over the nations; God is on the high seat of his holy rule.

⁹The rulers of the peoples have come together, with the people of the God of Abraham; because the powers of the earth are God's: he is lifted up on high.

Psalm 48

¹A Song. A Psalm. Of the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, in the town of our God, in his holy mountain.

²Beautiful in its high position, the joy of all the earth, is the mountain of Zion, the mountain of God, the town of the great King.

³In its buildings God is seen to be a high tower.

⁴For see! the kings came together by agreement, they were joined together.

⁵They saw it, and so were full of wonder; they were troubled, and went quickly away in fear.

⁶Shaking came on them and pain, as on a woman in childbirth.

⁷By you the ships of Tarshish are broken as by an east wind.

⁸As it came to our ears so have we seen it, in the town of the Lord of armies, in the town of our God; God will keep it fixed for ever. (Selah.)

⁹Our thoughts were of your mercy, O God, while we were in your Temple.

¹⁰As your name is, O God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth; your right hand is full of righteousness.

¹¹Let there be joy in the mountain of Zion, and let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of your wise decisions.

¹²Make your way about Zion, and go round it, numbering its towers.

¹³Take note of its strong walls, looking well at its fair buildings; so that you may give word of it to the generation which comes after.

¹⁴Because this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide.