Come to Our Help

To the choirmaster. (A)A Maskil[a] of the Sons of Korah.

44 O God, we have heard with our ears,
    (B)our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
    (C)in the days of old:
you with your own hand (D)drove out the nations,
    but (E)them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
    but (F)them you set free;
for not (G)by their own sword did they win the land,
    nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
    and (H)the light of your face,
    (I)for you delighted in them.

(J)You are my King, O God;
    (K)ordain salvation for Jacob!
Through you we (L)push down our foes;
    through your name we (M)tread down those who rise up against us.
For not in (N)my bow do I trust,
    nor can my sword save me.
But you have saved us from our foes
    and have (O)put to shame those who hate us.
(P)In God we have boasted continually,
    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

But you have (Q)rejected us and disgraced us
    and (R)have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us (S)turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like (T)sheep for slaughter
    and have (U)scattered us among the nations.
12 (V)You have sold your people for a trifle,
    demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us (W)the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and (X)scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us (Y)a byword among the nations,
    (Z)a laughingstock[b] among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and (AA)shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
    at the sight of (AB)the enemy and the avenger.

17 (AC)All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our (AD)steps (AE)departed from your way;
19 yet you have (AF)broken us in the place of (AG)jackals
    and covered us with (AH)the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or (AI)spread out our hands to (AJ)a foreign god,
21 (AK)would not God discover this?
    (AL)For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet (AM)for your sake we are killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 (AN)Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
    Rouse yourself! (AO)Do not reject us forever!
24 Why (AP)do you hide your face?
    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our (AQ)soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; (AR)come to our help!
    (AS)Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil[c] of (AT)the Sons of Korah; a love song.

45 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
    I address my verses to the king;
    my tongue is like the pen of (AU)a ready scribe.

You are (AV)the most handsome of the sons of men;
    (AW)grace is poured upon your lips;
    therefore God has blessed you forever.
(AX)Gird your (AY)sword on your thigh, O (AZ)mighty one,
    in (BA)your splendor and majesty!

In your majesty (BB)ride out victoriously
    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
    let your right hand teach you (BC)awesome deeds!
Your arrows are sharp
    in the heart of the king's enemies;
    the peoples fall under you.

(BD)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
    The (BE)scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
    (BF)you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore (BG)God, your God, has (BH)anointed you
    with the oil of (BI)gladness (BJ)beyond your companions;
    your robes are all fragrant with (BK)myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces (BL)stringed instruments make you glad;
    daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
    (BM)at your right hand stands the queen in (BN)gold of Ophir.

10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
    forget your people and your father's house,
11     and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your (BO)lord, (BP)bow to him.
12     The people[d] of Tyre will (BQ)seek your favor with (BR)gifts,
    (BS)the richest of the people.[e]

13 All glorious is (BT)the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14     (BU)In many-colored robes (BV)she is led to the king,
    with her virgin companions following behind her.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
    as they enter the palace of the king.

16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
    you will make them (BW)princes in all the earth.
17 (BX)I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
    therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of (BY)the Sons of Korah. According to (BZ)Alamoth.[f] A Song.

46 God is our (CA)refuge and strength,
    a very (CB)present[g] help in (CC)trouble.
Therefore we will not fear (CD)though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into (CE)the heart of the sea,
though (CF)its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is (CG)a river whose streams make glad (CH)the city of God,
    the holy (CI)habitation of the Most High.
(CJ)God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
(CK)The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he (CL)utters his voice, the earth (CM)melts.
(CN)The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

(CO)Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
(CP)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he (CQ)breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    (CR)he burns the chariots with fire.
10 (CS)“Be still, and know that I am God.
    (CT)I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 (CU)The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of (CV)the Sons of Korah.

47 (CW)Clap your hands, all peoples!
    (CX)Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, (CY)is to be feared,
    (CZ)a great king over all the earth.
He (DA)subdued peoples under us,
    and nations under our feet.
He chose our (DB)heritage for us,
    (DC)the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

God (DD)has gone up with a shout,
    the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is (DE)the King of all the earth;
    sing praises (DF)with a psalm![h]

God (DG)reigns over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.
(DH)The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
For (DI)the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted!

Zion, the City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of (DJ)the Sons of Korah.

48 (DK)Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
    in (DL)the city of our God!
His (DM)holy mountain, (DN)beautiful in elevation,
    is (DO)the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
    (DP)the city of the great King.
Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.

For behold, (DQ)the kings assembled;
    they came on together.
As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic; they took to flight.
(DR)Trembling took hold of them there,
    anguish (DS)as of a woman in labor.
By (DT)the east wind you (DU)shattered
    the ships of (DV)Tarshish.
As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in (DW)the city of our God,
    which God will (DX)establish forever. Selah

We have thought on your (DY)steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
10 As your (DZ)name, O God,
    so your praise reaches to (EA)the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11     Let Mount (EB)Zion be glad!
Let (EC)the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
    number her towers,
13 consider well her (ED)ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
(EE)that you may tell the next generation
14     that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
    He will (EF)guide us forever.[i]

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of (EG)the Sons of Korah.

49 (EH)Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
(EI)both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
My mouth shall speak (EJ)wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
I will incline my ear to (EK)a proverb;
    I will solve my (EL)riddle to the music of the lyre.

(EM)Why should I fear in (EN)times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
those who (EO)trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly no man (EP)can ransom another,
    or (EQ)give to God (ER)the price of his life,
for (ES)the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
that he should live on forever
    and (ET)never see the pit.

10 For he sees (EU)that even the wise die;
    (EV)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and (EW)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their (EX)graves are their homes forever,[j]
    their dwelling places (EY)to all generations,
    though they (EZ)called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp (FA)will not remain;
    (FB)he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the path of those who have (FC)foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.[k] Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright (FD)shall rule over them in the morning.
    (FE)Their form shall be consumed (FF)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will (FG)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will (FH)receive me. Selah

16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
17 (FI)For when he dies he will (FJ)carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself (FK)blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will (FL)go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again (FM)see light.
20 (FN)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 44:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 44:14 Hebrew a shaking of the head
  3. Psalm 45:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  4. Psalm 45:12 Hebrew daughter
  5. Psalm 45:12 Or The daughter of Tyre is here with gifts, the richest of people seek your favor
  6. Psalm 46:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  7. Psalm 46:1 Or well proved
  8. Psalm 47:7 Hebrew maskil
  9. Psalm 48:14 Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death
  10. Psalm 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever
  11. Psalm 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts

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