Prayer to God in Time of Trouble

43 Vindicate (A)me, O God,
And (B)plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
(C)Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

(D)Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to (E)Your holy hill
And to Your [a]tabernacle.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.

(F)Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The [b]help of my countenance and my God.

Redemption Remembered in Present Dishonor

To the Chief Musician. A (G)Contemplation[c] of the sons of Korah.

44 We have heard with our ears, O God,
(H)Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:
(I)You drove out the [d]nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
For (J)they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
(K)Because You favored them.

(L)You are my King, [e]O God;
[f]Command victories for Jacob.
Through You (M)we will push down our enemies;
Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
For (N)I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.
But You have saved us from our enemies,
And have put to shame those who hated us.
(O)In God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever. Selah

But (P)You have cast us off and put us to shame,
And You do not go out with our armies.
10 You make us (Q)turn back from the enemy,
And those who hate us have taken [g]spoil for themselves.
11 (R)You have given us up like sheep intended for food,
And have (S)scattered us among the nations.
12 (T)You sell Your people for next to nothing,
And are not enriched by selling them.

13 (U)You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and a derision to those all around us.
14 (V)You make us a byword among the nations,
(W)A shaking of the head among the peoples.
15 My dishonor is continually before me,
And the shame of my face has covered me,
16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
(X)Because of the enemy and the avenger.

17 (Y)All this has come upon us;
But we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
(Z)Nor have our steps departed from Your way;
19 But You have severely broken us in (AA)the place of jackals,
And covered us (AB)with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God,
Or (AC)stretched[h] out our hands to a foreign god,
21 (AD)Would not God search this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 (AE)Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 (AF)Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Arise! Do not cast us off forever.
24 (AG)Why do You hide Your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
25 For (AH)our soul is bowed down to the [i]dust;
Our body clings to the ground.
26 Arise for our help,
And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake.

The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride

To the Chief Musician. (AI)Set to [j]“The Lilies.” A [k]Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.

45 My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a [l]ready writer.

You are fairer than the sons of men;
(AJ)Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.
[m]Gird Your (AK)sword upon Your thigh, (AL)O Mighty One,
With Your (AM)glory and Your majesty.
(AN)And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness;
And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies;
The peoples fall under You.

(AO)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A (AP)scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (AQ)anointed You
With the oil of (AR)gladness more than Your companions.
All Your garments are (AS)scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia,
Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.
(AT)Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women;
(AU)At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.

10 Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear;
(AV)Forget your own people also, and your father’s house;
11 So the King will greatly desire your beauty;
(AW)Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
(AX)The rich among the people will seek your favor.

13 The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace;
Her clothing is woven with gold.
14 (AY)She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors;
The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You.
15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
They shall enter the King’s palace.

16 Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons,
(AZ)Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.
17 (BA)I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;
Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 43:3 dwelling places
  2. Psalm 43:5 Lit. salvation
  3. Psalm 44:1 Heb. Maschil
  4. Psalm 44:2 Gentiles, heathen
  5. Psalm 44:4 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. and my God
  6. Psalm 44:4 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. Who commands
  7. Psalm 44:10 plunder
  8. Psalm 44:20 Worshiped
  9. Psalm 44:25 Ground, in humiliation
  10. Psalm 45:1 Heb. Shoshannim
  11. Psalm 45:1 Heb. Maschil
  12. Psalm 45:1 skillful
  13. Psalm 45:3 Belt on

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