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

Psalms 40

1 I waited patiently for the Lord's help; then he listened to me and heard my cry.

2 He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a rock and made me secure.

3 He taught me to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. Many who see this will take warning and will put their trust in the Lord.

4 Happy are those who trust the Lord, who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods.

5 You have done many things for us, O Lord our God; there is no one like you! You have made many wonderful plans for us. I could never speak of them all - their number is so great!

6 You do not want sacrifices and offerings; you do not ask for animals burned whole on the altar or for sacrifices to take away sins. Instead, you have given me ears to hear you,

7 and so I answered, "Here I am; your instructions for me are in the book of the Law.

8 How I love to do your will, my God! I keep your teaching in my heart."

9 In the assembly of all your people, Lord, I told the good news that you save us. You know that I will never stop telling it.

10 I have not kept the news of salvation to myself; I have always spoken of your faithfulness and help. In the assembly of all your people I have not been silent about your loyalty and constant love.

11 Lord, I know you will never stop being merciful to me. Your love and loyalty will always keep me safe.

12 I am surrounded by many troubles - too many to count! My sins have caught up with me, and I can no longer see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and I have lost my courage.

13 Save me, Lord! Help me now!

14 May those who try to kill me be completely defeated and confused. May those who are happy because of my troubles be turned back and disgraced.

15 May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat.

16 May all who come to you be glad and joyful. May all who are thankful for your salvation always say, "How great is the Lord!"

17 I am weak and poor, O Lord, but you have not forgotten me. You are my savior and my God - hurry to my aid!

Psalms 41

1 Happy are those who are concerned for the poor; the Lord will help them when they are in trouble.

2 The Lord will protect them and preserve their lives; he will make them happy in the land; he will not abandon them to the power of their enemies.

3 The Lord will help them when they are sick and will restore them to health.

4 I said, "I have sinned against you, Lord; be merciful to me and heal me."

5 My enemies say cruel things about me. They want me to die and be forgotten.

6 Those who come to see me are not sincere; they gather bad news about me and then go out and tell it everywhere.

7 All who hate me whisper to each other about me, they imagine the worst about me.

8 They say, "He is fatally ill; he will never leave his bed again."

9 Even my best friend, the one I trusted most, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

10 Be merciful to me, Lord, and restore my health, and I will pay my enemies back.

11 They will not triumph over me, and I will know that you are pleased with me.

12 You will help me, because I do what is right; you will keep me in your presence forever.

13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! Praise him now and forever! Amen! Amen!

Psalms 42

1 As a deer longs for a stream of cool water, so I long for you, O God.

2 I thirst for you, the living God. When can I go and worship in your presence?

3 Day and night I cry, and tears are my only food; all the time my enemies ask me, "Where is your God?"

4 My heart breaks when I remember the past, when I went with the crowds to the house of God and led them as they walked along, a happy crowd, singing and shouting praise to God.

5 Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God.

6 Here in exile my heart is breaking, and so I turn my thoughts to him. He has sent waves of sorrow over my soul; chaos roars at me like a flood, like waterfalls thundering down to the Jordan from Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar.

8 May the Lord show his constant love during the day, so that I may have a song at night, a prayer to the God of my life.

9 To God, my defender, I say, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go on suffering from the cruelty of my enemies?"

10 I am crushed by their insults, as they keep on asking me, "Where is your God?"

11 Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God.

Psalms 43

1 O God, declare me innocent, and defend my cause against the ungodly; deliver me from lying and evil people!

2 You are my protector; why have you abandoned me? Why must I go on suffering from the cruelty of my enemies?

3 Send your light and your truth; may they lead me and bring me back to Zion, your sacred hill, and to your Temple, where you live.

4 Then I will go to your altar, O God; you are the source of my happiness. I will play my harp and sing praise to you, O God, my God.

5 Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God.

Psalms 44

1 With our own ears we have heard it, O God - our ancestors have told us about it, about the great things you did in their time, in the days of long ago:

2 how you yourself drove out the heathen and established your people in their land; how you punished the other nations and caused your own to prosper.

3 Your people did not conquer the land with their swords; they did not win it by their own power; it was by your power and your strength, by the assurance of your presence, which showed that you loved them.

4 You are my king and my God; you give victory to your people,

5 and by your power we defeat our enemies.

6 I do not trust in my bow or in my sword to save me;

7 but you have saved us from our enemies and defeated those who hate us.

8 We will always praise you and give thanks to you forever.

9 But now you have rejected us and let us be defeated; you no longer march out with our armies.

10 You made us run from our enemies, and they took for themselves what was ours.

11 You allowed us to be slaughtered like sheep; you scattered us in foreign countries.

12 You sold your own people for a small price as though they had little value.

13 Our neighbors see what you did to us, and they mock us and laugh at us.

14 You have made us a joke among the nations; they shake their heads at us in scorn.

15 I am always in disgrace; I am covered with shame

16 from hearing the sneers and insults of my enemies and those who hate me.

17 All this has happened to us, even though we have not forgotten you or broken the covenant you made with us.

18 We have not been disloyal to you; we have not disobeyed your commands.

19 Yet you left us helpless among wild animals; you abandoned us in deepest darkness.

20 If we had stopped worshiping our God and prayed to a foreign god,

21 you would surely have discovered it, because you know our secret thoughts.

22 But it is on your account that we are being killed all the time, that we are treated like sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you asleep? Rouse yourself! Don't reject us forever!

24 Why are you hiding from us? Don't forget our suffering and trouble!

25 We fall crushed to the ground; we lie defeated in the dust.

26 Come to our aid! Because of your constant love save us!

Psalms 45

1 Beautiful words fill my mind, as I compose this song for the king. Like the pen of a good writer my tongue is ready with a poem.

2 You are the most handsome of men; you are an eloquent speaker. God has always blessed you.

3 Buckle on your sword, mighty king; you are glorious and majestic.

4 Ride on in majesty to victory for the defense of truth and justice! Your strength will win you great victories!

5 Your arrows are sharp, they pierce the hearts of your enemies; nations fall down at your feet.

6 The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever. You rule over your people with justice;

7 you love what is right and hate what is evil. That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has poured out more happiness on you than on any other king.

8 The perfume of myrrh and aloes is on your clothes; musicians entertain you in palaces decorated with ivory.

9 Among the women of your court are daughters of kings, and at the right of your throne stands the queen, wearing ornaments of finest gold.

10 Bride of the king, listen to what I say - forget your people and your relatives.

11 Your beauty will make the king desire you; he is your master, so you must obey him.

12 The people of Tyre will bring you gifts; rich people will try to win your favor.

13 The princess is in the palace - how beautiful she is! Her gown is made of gold thread.

14 In her colorful gown she is led to the king, followed by her bridesmaids, and they also are brought to him.

15 With joy and gladness they come and enter the king's palace.

16 You, my king, will have many sons to succeed your ancestors as kings, and you will make them rulers over the whole earth.

17 My song will keep your fame alive forever, and everyone will praise you for all time to come.