Psalms 40; Psalms 41; Psalms 42; Psalms 43; Psalms 44; Psalms 45

1 I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.

2 He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

4 How happy is the man who has put his trust in the Lord and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies!

5 Lord my God, You have done many things- Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak [of them], they are more than can be told.

6 You do not delight in sacrifice and offering; You open my ears to listen. You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.

7 Then I said, "See, I have come; it is written about me in the volume of the scroll.

8 I delight to do Your will, my God; Your instruction resides within me."

9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; see, I do not keep my mouth closed -as You know, Lord.

10 I did not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I spoke about Your faithfulness and salvation; I did not conceal Your constant love and truth from the great assembly.

11 Lord, do not withhold Your compassion from me; Your constant love and truth will always guard me.

12 For troubles without number have surrounded me; my sins have overtaken me; I am unable to see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my courage leaves me.

13 Lord, be pleased to deliver me; hurry to help me, Lord.

14 Let those who seek to take my life be disgraced and confounded. Let those who wish me harm be driven back and humiliated.

15 Let those who say to me, "Aha, aha!" be horrified because of their shame.

16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation continually say, "The Lord is great!"

17 I am afflicted and needy; the Lord thinks of me. You are my help and my deliverer; my God, do not delay.

1 Happy is one who cares for the poor; the Lord will save him in a day of adversity.

2 The Lord will keep him and preserve him; he will be blessed in the land. You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed; You will heal him on the bed where he lies.

4 I said, "Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against You."

5 My enemies speak maliciously about me: "When will he die and be forgotten?"

6 When one [of them] comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully; he stores up evil in his heart; he goes out and talks.

7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they plan to harm me.

8 "Lethal poison has been poured into him, and he won't rise again from where he lies!"

9 Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But You, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up; then I will repay them.

11 By this I know that You delight in me: my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.

12 You supported me because of my integrity and set me in Your presence forever.

13 May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen. BOOK II (Psalms 42-72)

1 As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God.

2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, "Where is your God?"

4 I remember this as I pour out my heart: how I walked with many, leading the festive procession to the house of God, with joyful and thankful shouts.

5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

6 I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.

8 The Lord will send His faithful love by day; His song will be with me in the night- a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will say to God, my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy's oppression?"

10 My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, "Where is your God?"

11 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

1 Vindicate me, God, and defend my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.

2 For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy's oppression?

3 Send Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling place.

4 Then I will come to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the lyre, God, my God.

5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

1 God, we have heard with our ears- our forefathers have told us- the work You accomplished in their days, in days long ago:

2 to plant them, You drove out the nations with Your hand; to settle them, You crushed the peoples.

3 For they did not take the land by their sword- their arm did not bring them victory- but by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You were pleased with them.

4 You are my King, my God, who ordains victories for Jacob.

5 Through You we drive back our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.

6 For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory.

7 But You give us victory over our foes and let those who hate us be disgraced.

8 We boast in God all day long; we will praise Your name forever. Selah

9 But You have rejected and humiliated us; You do not march out with our armies.

10 You make us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have taken plunder for themselves.

11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep and scatter us among the nations.

12 You sell Your people for nothing; You make no profit from selling them.

13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.

14 You make us a joke among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.

15 My disgrace is before me all day long, and shame has covered my face,

16 because of the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy and avenger.

17 All this has happened to us, but we have not forgotten You or betrayed Your covenant.

18 Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.

19 But You have crushed us in a haunt of jackals and have covered us with deepest darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God and spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21 wouldn't God have found this out, since He knows the secrets of the heart?

22 Because of You we are slain all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Wake up, Lord! Why are You sleeping? Get up! Don't reject us forever!

24 Why do You hide Yourself and forget our affliction and oppression?

25 For we have sunk down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.

26 Rise up! Help us! Redeem us because of Your faithful love.

1 My heart is moved by a noble theme as I recite my verses to the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

2 You are the most handsome of men; grace flows from your lips. Therefore God has blessed you forever.

3 Mighty warrior, strap your sword at your side. In your majesty and splendor-

4 in your splendor ride triumphantly in the cause of truth, humility, and justice. May your right hand show your awe-inspiring deeds.

5 Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you.

6 Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you, more than your companions, with the oil of joy.

8 Myrrh, aloes, and cassia [perfume] all your garments; from ivory palaces harps bring you joy.

9 Kings' daughters are among your honored women; the queen, adorned with gold from Ophir, stands at your right hand.

10 Listen, daughter, pay attention and consider: forget your people and your father's house,

11 and the king will desire your beauty. Bow down to him, for he is your lord.

12 The daughter of Tyre, the wealthy people, will seek your favor with gifts.

13 In [her chamber], the royal daughter is all glorious, her clothing embroidered with gold.

14 In colorful garments she is led to the king; after her, the virgins, her companions, are brought to you.

15 They are led in with gladness and rejoicing; they enter the king's palace.

16 Your sons will succeed your ancestors; you will make them princes throughout the land.

17 I will cause your name to be remembered for all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.