Psalm 43-45
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 43
Prayer to God in Time of Trouble
1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust,
deliver me!(A)
2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy?(B)
3 O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.(C)
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.(D)
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.(E)
Psalm 44
National Lament and Prayer for Help
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.
1 We have heard with our ears, O God;
our ancestors have told us
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:(F)
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;(G)
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm give them victory,
but your right hand, and your arm,
and the light of your countenance,
for you delighted in them.(H)
4 You are my King and my God;
you command[a] victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down our assailants.(I)
6 For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to confusion those who hate us.(J)
8 In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah(K)
9 Yet you have rejected us and shamed us
and have not gone out with our armies.(L)
10 You made us turn back from the foe,
and our enemies have gotten spoil.(M)
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.(N)
12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.(O)
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.(P)
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock[b] among the peoples.(Q)
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
16 at the words of the taunters and revilers,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.(R)
17 All this has come upon us,
yet we have not forgotten you
or been false to your covenant.(S)
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way,(T)
19 yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals
and covered us with deep darkness.(U)
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a strange god,(V)
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.(W)
22 Because of you we are being killed all day long
and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.(X)
23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Awake, do not cast us off forever!(Y)
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?(Z)
25 For we sink down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.(AA)
26 Rise up, come to our help.
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.(AB)
Psalm 45
Ode for a Royal Wedding
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites. A Maskil. A love song.
1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.(AC)
2 You are the most handsome of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.(AD)
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your glory and majesty.(AE)
4 In your majesty ride on victoriously
for the cause of truth and to defend[c] the right;
let your right hand teach you dread deeds.(AF)
5 Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God,[d] endures forever and ever.
Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;(AG)
7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;(AH)
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;(AI)
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.(AJ)
10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
forget your people and your father’s house,(AK)
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him;(AL)
12 Daughter Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
the richest of the people(AM) 13 with all kinds of wealth.
The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;[e](AN)
14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king;
behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.(AO)
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.