Psalm 44

Former Deliverances and Present Troubles.

For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1 O God, we have heard with our ears,
Our fathers have told us
The work that You did in their days,
In the days of old.

2 You with Your own hand drove out the nations;
Then You planted them;
You afflicted the peoples,
Then You spread them abroad.

3 For by their own sword they did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
For You favored them.

4 You are my King, O God;
Command victories for Jacob.

5 Through You we will push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.

6 For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.

7 But You have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have put to shame those who hate us.

8 In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.

9 Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And do not go out with our armies.

10 You cause us to turn back from the adversary;
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

11 You give us as sheep to be eaten
And have scattered us among the nations.

12 You sell Your people cheaply,
And have not tprofited by their sale.

13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scoffing and a derision to those around us.

14 You make us a byword among the nations,
A laughingstock among the peoples.

15 All day long my dishonor is before me
And my humiliation has overwhelmed me,

16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You,
And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back,
And our steps have not deviated from Your way,

19 Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
And covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,

21 Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.

22 But for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord?
Awake, do not reject us forever.

24 Why do You hide Your face
And forget our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our soul has sunk down into the dust;
Our body cleaves to the earth.

26 Rise up, be our help,
And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

Psalm 45

A Song Celebrating the King's Marriage.

For the choir director; according to the Shoshannim. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.

1 My heart toverflows with a good theme;
I address my verses to the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

2 You are fairer than the sons of men;
Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.

3 Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One,
In Your splendor and Your majesty!

4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,
For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
Let Your right hand teach You awesome things.

5 Your arrows are sharp;
The peoples fall under You;
Your arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies.

6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your fellows.

8 All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad.

9 Kings' daughters are among Your noble ladies;
At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.

10 Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:
Forget your people and your father's house;

11 Then the King will desire your beauty.
Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.

12 The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
The rich among the people will seek your favor.

13 The King's daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is interwoven with gold.

14 She will be led to the King in embroidered work;
The virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.

15 They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King's palace.

16 In place of your fathers will be your sons;
You shall make them princes in all the earth.

17 I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations;
Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.

Psalm 46

God the Refuge of His People.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
tA very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

3 Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.

10 "Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.