Chronological
Prayer for Help.
43 (A)Vindicate me, God, and (B)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[a]Save me from (C)the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the (D)God of my strength; why have You (E)rejected me?
Why do I go about (F)mourning [b]because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send out Your (G)light and Your truth, they shall lead me;
They shall bring me to Your (H)holy hill
And to Your (I)dwelling places.
4 Then I will go to (J)the altar of God,
To God [c]my exceeding (K)joy;
And I will praise You on the (L)lyre, God, my God.
5 (M)Why are you [d]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will [e]again praise [f]Him
For the [g]help of His presence, my God.
Former Times of Help and Present Troubles.
For the music director. A [h]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
44 God, we have heard with our ears,
Our (N)fathers have told us
The (O)work that You did in their days,
In the (P)days of old.
2 You with Your own hand (Q)drove out the nations;
Then You (R)planted them;
You (S)afflicted the peoples,
Then You (T)let them go free.
3 For by their own sword they (U)did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your (V)arm and the (W)light of Your presence,
For You (X)favored them.
4 You are (Y)my King, God;
(Z)Command [i]victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we will (AA)push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will (AB)trample down those who rise up against us.
6 For I will (AC)not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7 But You (AD)have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have (AE)put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have (AF)boasted all day long,
And we will (AG)give thanks to Your name forever. Selah
9 Yet You (AH)have rejected us and brought us to (AI)dishonor,
And (AJ)do not go out with our armies.
10 You cause us to (AK)turn back from the enemy;
And those who hate us (AL)have taken spoils for themselves.
11 You turn us over [j]to be eaten like (AM)sheep,
And have (AN)scattered us among the nations.
12 You (AO)sell Your people [k]cheaply,
And have not [l]profited by their sale.
13 You make us an object of (AP)reproach to our neighbors,
Of scoffing and (AQ)ridicule to those around us.
14 You make us (AR)a proverb among the nations,
A [m](AS)laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my dishonor is before me
And [n]I am covered with my (AT)humiliation,
16 Because of the voice of one who (AU)taunts and reviles,
Because of the presence of the (AV)enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us, but we have (AW)not forgotten You,
And we have not (AX)dealt falsely with Your covenant.
18 Our heart has not (AY)turned back,
And our steps (AZ)have not deviated from Your way,
19 Yet You have (BA)crushed us in a place of (BB)jackals
And covered us with [o](BC)deep darkness.
20 If we had (BD)forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our [p]hands to (BE)a strange god,
21 Would God not (BF)find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22 But (BG)for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are regarded as (BH)sheep to be slaughtered.
23 (BI)Wake Yourself up, why (BJ)do You sleep, Lord?
Awake, (BK)do not reject us forever.
24 Why do You (BL)hide Your face
And (BM)forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our (BN)souls have sunk down into the dust;
Our bodies cling to the earth.
26 (BO)Rise up, be our help,
And (BP)redeem us because of Your mercy.
A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.
For the music director; according to the [q]Shoshannim. A [r]Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
45 My heart is moved with a good theme;
I [s]address my [t]verses to the [u]King;
My tongue is the pen of (BQ)a ready writer.
2 You are the most handsome of the sons of mankind;
(BR)Grace is poured [v]upon Your lips;
Therefore God has (BS)blessed You forever.
3 Strap (BT)Your sword on Your thigh, [w](BU)Mighty One,
In Your splendor and majesty!
4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,
For the cause of truth, (BV)humility, and righteousness;
Let Your (BW)right hand teach You [x]awesome things.
5 Your (BX)arrows are sharp;
The (BY)peoples fall under You;
Your arrows are (BZ)in the heart of the King’s enemies.
6 (CA)Your throne, God, is forever and ever;
(CB)The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You have (CC)loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (CD)anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with (CE)myrrh, aloes, and cassia;
From ivory palaces (CF)stringed instruments have made You joyful.
9 Kings’ daughters are among (CG)Your noble women;
At Your (CH)right hand stands the queen in (CI)gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, look and incline your ear:
(CJ)Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 Then the King will crave your beauty.
Because He is your (CK)Lord, (CL)bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of (CM)Tyre will come with a gift;
The (CN)wealthy among the people will seek your favor.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is (CO)interwoven with gold.
14 She will be (CP)brought to the King (CQ)in colorful garments;
The (CR)virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 They will be brought with joy and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both (C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [a]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
6 Those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No one can by any means (K)redeem another
Or give God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [b]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
9 That he might (N)live on eternally,
That he might not [c](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise people die;
The (Q)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [d](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have (U)named their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that [e]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)approve their words. Selah
14 Like sheep they sink down (Y)to [f]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the (Z)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for [g]Sheol (AA)to consume
[h]So that they have no lofty home.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [i]power of [j]Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies, he will (AE)take nothing with him;
His [k]wealth will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he (AF)congratulates [l]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 [m]He will (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see (AH)the light.
20 (AI)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is (AJ)like the animals that [n]perish.
Longing for the Temple Worship.
For the music director; [a]on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 How lovely are Your (A)dwelling places,
Lord of armies!
2 My (B)soul longed and even yearned for the courtyards of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the (C)living God.
3 The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may put her young:
Your (D)altars, Lord of armies,
(E)My King and my God.
4 (F)Blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are (G)ever praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the person whose (H)strength is in You,
In [b]whose heart are the (I)roads to Zion!
6 Passing through the Valley of [c]Baca they make it a [d]spring;
The (J)early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They (K)go from strength to strength,
[e]Every one of them (L)appears before God in Zion.
8 (M)Lord God of armies, hear my prayer;
Listen, (N)God of Jacob! Selah
9 See our (O)shield, God,
And look at the face of (P)Your anointed.
10 For (Q)a day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than live in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (R)a sun and (S)shield;
The Lord gives grace and (T)glory;
(U)He withholds no good thing [f]from those who walk with integrity.
12 Lord of armies,
(V)Blessed is the person who trusts in You!
Prayer for God’s Mercy upon the Nation.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
85 Lord, You showed (W)favor to Your land;
You (X)restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You (Y)forgave the guilt of Your people;
You (Z)covered all their sin. Selah
3 You (AA)withdrew all Your fury;
You (AB)turned away from Your burning anger.
4 (AC)Restore us, God of our salvation,
And (AD)cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
5 Will (AE)You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to [g]all generations?
6 Will You not [h](AF)revive us again,
So that Your people may (AG)rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, Lord,
And (AH)grant us Your salvation.
8 [i]I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will (AI)speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
And may they not (AJ)turn back to [j]foolishness.
9 Certainly (AK)His salvation is near to those who [k]fear Him,
That (AL)glory may dwell in our land.
10 (AM)Graciousness and [l]truth have met together;
(AN)Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 [m]Truth (AO)sprouts from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 Indeed, (AP)the Lord will give what is good,
And our (AQ)land will yield its produce.
13 (AR)Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.
The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion.
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
87 His (A)foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord (B)loves the gates of Zion
More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
3 (C)Glorious things are spoken of you,
(D)City of God. Selah
4 “I shall mention [a](E)Rahab and Babylon [b]among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and (F)Tyre with [c](G)Cush:
‘This one was born there.’”
5 But of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;
And the Most High Himself will (H)establish her.
6 The Lord will count when He (I)registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah
7 Then those who (J)sing as well as those who [d](K)play the flutes will say,
“All my (L)springs of joy are in you.”
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