Chronological
God is my Hope during Times of Trouble
43 [a]You be my judge,[b] God,
and plead my case against an unholy nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 Since you are the God who strengthens me,
why have you forsaken me?
Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”
3 Send forth your light and your truth
so they may guide me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling places.[c]
4 Then I will approach the altar of God,
even to God in whom my joy finds its source.[d]
Then I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God,
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God,
because I will praise him once again,
since his presence saves me
and he is my God.
To the Director: An instruction[e] of the Sons of Korah.
A Prayer in Times of Defeat
44 God, we heard it with our ears;
our ancestors told us about what you did in their day—
a long time ago.
2 With your hand you expelled the nations
and established our ancestors.[f]
You afflicted nations
and cast them out.
3 It was not with their sword that they inherited the land,
nor did their own arm deliver them.
But it was by your power,[g] your strength,
and by the light of your face;
because you were pleased with them.
4 You are my king, God,
command[h] victories[i] for Jacob.
5 Through you we will knock down our oppressors;
through your name we will tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For I place no confidence in my bow,
nor will my sword deliver me.
7 For you delivered us from our oppressors
and put to shame those who hate us.
8 We will praise God all day long;
and to your name we will give thanks forever.
9 However, you cast us off and made us ashamed!
You did not even march with our armies!
10 You made us retreat from our oppressors.
Our enemies ransacked us.
11 You handed us over to be slaughtered like sheep
and you scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold out your people for nothing,
and made no profit at that price.
13 You made us a laughing stock to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and derision to those around us.
14 You made us an object lesson among the nations;
people shake their heads at us.[j]
15 My dishonor tortures[k] me continuously;[l]
the shame on my face overwhelms[m] me
16 because of the voice of the one who mocks and reviles,
because of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this came upon us,
yet we did not forsake you,
and we have not dealt falsely with your covenant;
18 Our hearts have not turned away;
our steps have not swerved from your path.
19 Nevertheless, you crushed us in the lair of jackals,
and covered us in deep darkness.[n]
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or lifted our hands to a foreign god,
21 wouldn’t God find out
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 For your sake we are being killed all day long.
We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Wake up! Why are you asleep, Lord?
Get up! Don’t cast us off forever!
24 Why are you hiding your face?
Why are you ignoring our affliction and oppression?
25 For we[o] have collapsed in the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Arise! Deliver us!
Redeem us according to your gracious love!
To the Director: An instruction[p] by the Sons of Korah. A love song to the tune of[q] “Lilies”.
A Royal Wedding Song
45 My heart is overflowing with good news;
I speak what I have composed to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of an articulate scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants;
grace has anointed your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Strap your sword to your side,
mighty warrior, along with your honor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness;
and your strong right hand will teach you awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharpened
to penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
People will fall under you.
6 Your throne, God, exists forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.
7 You love justice and hate wickedness.
That is why God, even your God, has anointed you
rather than your companions with the oil of gladness.
8 All your clothes are scented with[r] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
9 The king’s daughters are among your honorable women;
the queen, dressed in gold from Ophir, has taken her place at your right hand.”
10 Listen, daughter! Consider and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will greatly desire your beauty.
Because he is your lord, you should bow in respect before him.
12 The daughter[s] of Tyre will come with[t] a wedding gift;
wealthy people will entreat your favor.
13 In her chamber,[u] the king’s daughter is glorious;
her clothing is embroidered with gold thread.
14 In embroidered garments
she is presented to the king.
Her virgin companions who follow her train
will be presented to you.
15 Filled with joy and gladness, they are presented
when they enter the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will take the place of your ancestors,
and you will set them up as princes in all the earth.
17 From generation to generation,
I will cause your name to be remembered.
Therefore people will thank you forever and ever.
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Destiny of the Wicked and the Upright
49 Listen to this, all you people!
Pay attention, all you who live in the world,
2 both average people and those of means,[a]
the rich and the poor together.
3 My mouth will speak wisely,
and I will understand what I think about.
4 I will focus my attention on[b] a proverb;
I will use the harp to expound my riddle.
5 Why should I be afraid when evil days come my way,
when the wickedness of those who deceive me surrounds me—
6 those who put confidence in their wealth
and boast about their great riches?
7 No man can redeem the life of another,[c]
nor can he give to God a sufficient payment for him—
8 for it would cost too much to redeem his life,
and the payments would go on forever—
9 that he should go on living
and not see corruption.
10 Indeed, he will see wise people die;
the stupid and the senseless will meet their doom
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inner thoughts are on[d] their homes forever;
their dwellings from generation to generation.
They even name their lands after themselves.
12 But humanity cannot last, despite its conceit;[e]
it will pass away just like the animals.[f]
13 This is the fate of those who are foolish
and of those who correct their words after they speak.
14 Like sheep, they are destined for the realm of the dead,[g]
with death as their shepherd.
The upright will have dominion over them in the morning;
their strength will be consumed in the afterlife,[h]
so that they have no home.
15 God will truly redeem me from the power[i] of Sheol.[j]
He will surely receive me!
16 Don’t be afraid when someone gets rich,
when the glory of his household increases.
17 When he dies, he will not be able to take it all with him[k]—
his possessions[l] will not follow him to the grave,[m]
18 although he considers himself blessed while he’s alive.
Though people praise you for doing well,
19 you will end up like your[n] ancestors’ generation,
never again to see the light of day!
20 Humanity, despite its conceit, does not understand
that it will perish, just like the animals.
To the Director: On the Gittith.
A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Longing for God
84 How lovely are your dwelling places,
Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
2 I desire and long
for the Temple[a] courts of the Lord.
My heart and body[b] sing for joy
to the living God.[c]
3 Even the sparrow found a house for herself
and the swallow a nest
to lay[d] her young at your altar,
Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
my king and God.
4 How happy are those who live in your Temple,
for they can praise you continuously.
5 How happy are those whose strength is in you,
whose heart is on your path.
6 They will pass through the Baca Valley
where he will prepare a spring for them;
even the early rain will cover it with blessings.
7 They will walk from strength to strength;
each will appear before God in Zion.
8 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies, hear my prayer!
Listen, God of Jacob!
9 God, look at our shield,
and show favor to your anointed,
10 for a day in your Temple[e] courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather stand
at the entrance of God’s house
than live in the tent of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord grants grace and favor;
the Lord will not withhold any good thing
from those who walk blamelessly.
12 Lord of Heavenly Armies,
how happy are those who trust in you.
To the Director: A Psalm by the descendants of Korah.
Restore Us, God
85 Lord you have favored your land
and restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You took away the iniquity of your people,
forgiving all their sins.
3 You withdrew all your wrath
and turned away from your burning anger.
4 Restore us, God of our salvation,
and stop being angry with us.
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger from generation to generation?
6 Will you restore our lives again
so that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Lord, show your gracious love
and deliver us.
8 Let me listen to what God, the Lord, says;
for the Lord will promise peace
to his people, to his holy ones;
may they not return to foolishness.
9 Surely, he will soon deliver those who fear him,
for his glory will live in our land.
10 Gracious love and truth meet;
righteousness and peace kiss.
11 Truth sprouts up from the ground,
while righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 The Lord will also provide what is good,
and our land will yield its produce.
13 Righteousness will go before him
to prepare a path for his steps.
A psalm by the descendants of Korah. A song.
The Holy City for All People
87 God’s[a] foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken about you,
city of God.
4 I will mention Rahab and Babylon
among those who acknowledge me—
including Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia[b]—
“This one was born there,” they say.[c]
5 Indeed, about Zion it will be said:
“More than one person[d] was born in it,” and
“The Most High himself did[e] it.”
6 The Lord will record,
as he registers the peoples,[f]
“This one was born there.”
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