Psalm 42; Psalm 45; Psalm 46; Psalm 47; Psalm 48; Psalm 87; Psalm 88

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Psalm 42

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of sthe Sons of Korah.

tAs a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

uMy soul thirsts for God,

for vthe living God.

When shall I come and wappear before God?2

xMy tears have been my food

day and night,

ywhile they say to me all the day long,

Where is your God?

These things I remember,

as I zpour out my soul:

ahow I would go bwith the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

ca multitude keeping festival.

dWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you ein turmoil within me?

fHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation3 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I gremember you

hfrom the land of Jordan and of iHermon,

from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

jall your breakers and your kwaves

have gone over me.

By day the Lord lcommands his steadfast love,

and at mnight his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, nmy rock:

Why have you forgotten me?

oWhy do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

10  As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

pwhile they say to me all the day long,

Where is your God?

11  qWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.


Psalm 45

Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil1 of vthe Sons of Korah; a love song.

My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;

I address my verses to the king;

my tongue is like the pen of wa ready scribe.

You are xthe most handsome of the sons of men;

ygrace is poured upon your lips;

therefore God has blessed you forever.

zGird your asword on your thigh, O bmighty one,

in cyour splendor and majesty!

In your majesty dride out victoriously

for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

let your right hand teach you eawesome deeds!

Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the king’s enemies;

the peoples fall under you.

fYour throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The gscepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

hyou have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore iGod, your God, has janointed you

with the oil of kgladness lbeyond your companions;

your robes are all fragrant with mmyrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces nstringed instruments make you glad;

daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;

oat your right hand stands the queen in pgold 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 qlord, rbow to him.

12  The people2 of Tyre will sseek your favor with tgifts,

uthe richest of the people.3

13  All glorious is vthe princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.

14  wIn many-colored robes xshe 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 yprinces in all the earth.

17  zI will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;

therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.


Psalm 46

God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of athe Sons of Korah. According to bAlamoth.1 A Song.

God is our crefuge and strength,

a very dpresent2 help in etrouble.

Therefore we will not fear fthough the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into gthe heart of the sea,

though hits waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is ia river whose streams make glad jthe city of God,

the holy khabitation of the Most High.

lGod is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

mThe nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he nutters his voice, the earth omelts.

pThe Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

qCome, behold the works of the Lord,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

rHe makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he sbreaks the bow and shatters the spear;

the burns the chariots with fire.

10  uBe still, and know that I am God.

vI will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

11  pThe Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah


Psalm 47

God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of wthe Sons of Korah.

xClap your hands, all peoples!

yShout to God with loud songs of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, zis to be feared,

aa great king over all the earth.

He bsubdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet.

He chose our cheritage for us,

dthe pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

God ehas 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 fthe King of all the earth;

sing praises gwith a psalm!1

God hreigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.

iThe princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For jthe shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted!


Psalm 48

Zion, the City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of kthe Sons of Korah.

lGreat is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in mthe city of our God!

His nholy mountain, obeautiful in elevation,

is pthe joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

qthe city of the great King.

Within her citadels God

has made himself known as a fortress.

For behold, rthe kings assembled;

they came on together.

As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

they were in panic; they took to flight.

sTrembling took hold of them there,

anguish tas of a woman in labor.

By uthe east wind you vshattered

the ships of wTarshish.

As we have heard, so have we seen

in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in mthe city of our God,

which God will xestablish forever. Selah

We have thought on your ysteadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple.

10  As your zname, O God,

so your praise reaches to athe ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11  Let Mount bZion be glad!

Let bthe daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments!

12  Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

13  consider well her cramparts,

go through her citadels,

dthat you may tell the next generation

14  that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will eguide us forever.1


Psalm 87

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of lthe Sons of Korah. A Song.

On mthe holy mount nstands the city he founded;

the Lord oloves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

pGlorious things of you are spoken,

O qcity of God. Selah

Among those who rknow me I mention sRahab and Babylon;

behold, Philistia and Tyre, with tCush1

This one was born there, they say.

And of Zion it shall be said,

This one and that one were born in her;

for the Most High himself will uestablish her.

The Lord records as he vregisters the peoples,

This one was born there. Selah

wSingers and xdancers alike say,

All my ysprings are in you.


Psalm 88

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of zthe Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to aMahalath Leannoth. A Maskil1 of bHeman the Ezrahite.

O Lord, cGod of my salvation,

I dcry out day and night before you.

Let my prayer come before you;

eincline your ear to my cry!

For my soul is full of troubles,

and fmy life draws near to gSheol.

I am counted among those who hgo down to the pit;

I am a man who has no strength,

like one set loose among the dead,

like the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom iyou remember no more,

for they are jcut off from your hand.

You have put me in kthe depths of the pit,

in the lregions dark and mdeep.

Your wrath nlies heavy upon me,

and you overwhelm me with oall your waves. Selah

You have caused pmy companions to shun me;

you have made me qa horror2 to them.

I am rshut in so that I cannot escape;

smy eye grows dim through sorrow.

Every day I call upon you, O Lord;

I tspread out my hands to you.

10  Do you work wonders for the dead?

uDo the departed rise up to praise you? Selah

11  Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,

or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12  Are your vwonders known in wthe darkness,

or your righteousness in the land of xforgetfulness?

13  But I, O Lord, cry yto you;

zin the morning my prayer comes before you.

14  O Lord, why ado you cast my soul away?

Why bdo you hide your face from me?

15  Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,

I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.3

16  Your wrath has swept over me;

your cdreadful assaults destroy me.

17  They dsurround me like a flood eall day long;

they fclose in on me together.

18  You have caused gmy beloved and my friend to shun me;

my companions have become darkness.4