The Next Testament

Psalms: Thirst, Refuge, and the Covenant Lawsuit (Psalms 42–50)

Scripture: Berean Standard Bible

Psalm 42

For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul longs after you, O God.My soul thirsts for God, the living God.When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?My tears have been my foodboth day and night,while men ask me all day long,“Where is your God?”These things come to mind as I pour out my soul:how I walked with the multitude,leading the procession to the house of Godwith shouts of joy and praise.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?Why the unease within me?Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise himfor the salvation of his presence.
O my God, my soul despairs within me.Therefore I remember youfrom the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—even from Mount Mizar.Deep calls to deepin the roar of your waterfalls;all your breakers and waveshave rolled over me.The LORD decrees his loving devotion by day,and at night his song is with meas a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God my Rock,“Why have you forgotten me?Why must I walk in sorrowbecause of the enemy’s oppression?”Like the crushing of my bones,my enemies taunt me,while they say to me all day long,“Where is your God?”
Why are you downcast, O my soul?Why the unease within me?Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, O God, and plead my caseagainst an ungodly nation;deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.For you are the God of my refuge.Why have you rejected me?Why must I walk in sorrowbecause of the enemy’s oppression?
Send out your light and your truth;let them lead me.Let them bring me to your holy mountain,and to the place where you dwell.Then I will go to the altar of God,to God, my greatest joy.I will praise you with the harp,O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?Why the unease within me?Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.
Psalm 44

For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

We have heard with our ears, O God;our fathers have told usthe work you did in their days,in the days of old.With your hand you drove out the nationsand planted our fathers there;you crushed the peoplesand cast them out.For it was not by their sword that they took the land;their arm did not bring them victory.It was by your right hand,your arm, and the light of your face,because you favored them.
You are my King, O God,who ordains victories for Jacob.Through you we repel our foes;through your name we trample our enemies.For I do not trust in my bow,nor does my sword save me.For you save us from our enemies;you put those who hate us to shame.In God we have boasted all day long,and your name we will praise forever.SelahBut you have rejected and humbled us;you no longer go forth with our armies.You have made us retreat from the foe,and those who hate us have plundered us.You have given us up as sheep to be devoured;you have scattered us among the nations.You sell your people for nothing;no profit do you gain from their sale.
You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,a mockery and derision to those around us.You have made us a byword among the nations,a laughingstock among the peoples.All day long my disgrace is before me,and shame has covered my face,at the voice of the scorner and reviler,because of the enemy, bent on revenge.
All this has come upon us,though we have not forgotten youor betrayed your covenant.Our hearts have not turned back;our steps have not strayed from your path.But you have crushed us in the lair of jackals;you have covered us with deepest darkness.
If we had forgotten the name of our Godor spread out our hands to a foreign god,would not God have discovered,since he knows the secrets of the heart?Yet for your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Wake up, O Lord! Why are you sleeping?Arise! Do not reject us forever.Why do you hide your faceand forget our affliction and oppression?For our soul has sunk to the dust;our bodies cling to the earth.Rise up; be our help!Redeem us on account of your loving devotion.
Psalm 45

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies.” A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.

My heart is stirred by a noble themeas I recite my verses to the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.You are the most handsome of men;grace has anointed your lips,since God has blessed you forever.Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior;appear in your majesty and splendor.In your splendor ride forth in victoryon behalf of truth and humility and justice;may your right hand show your awesome deeds.Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes;the nations fall beneath your feet.
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,and justice is the scepter of your kingdom.You have loved righteousnessand hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed youabove your companions with the oil of joy.
All your garments are fragrantwith myrrh and aloes and cassia;from palaces of ivory the harps make you glad.The daughters of kings are among your honored women;the queen stands at your right hand,adorned with the gold of Ophir.
Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear:Forget your people and your father’s house,and the king will desire your beauty;bow to him, for he is your lord.The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;men of wealth will seek your favor.
All glorious is the princess in her chamber;her gown is embroidered with gold.In colorful garments she is led to the king;her virgin companions are brought before you.They are led in with joy and gladness;they enter the palace of the king.
Your sons will succeed your fathers;you will make them princes throughout the land.I will commemorate your name through all generations;therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever.
Psalm 46

For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song.

God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in times of trouble.Therefore we will not fear,though the earth is transformedand the mountains are toppledinto the depths of the seas,though their waters roar and foamand the mountains quake in the surge.SelahThere is a river whose streams delight the city of God,the holy place where the Most High dwells.God is within her; she will not be moved.God will help her when morning dawns.Nations rage, kingdoms crumble;the earth melts when he lifts his voice.The LORD of Hosts is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress.SelahCome, see the works of the LORD,who brings devastation upon the earth.He makes wars to cease throughout the earth;he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;he burns the shields in the fire.
“Be still and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted over the earth.”
The LORD of Hosts is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress.Selah
Psalm 47

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Clap your hands, all you peoples;shout unto God with a voice of triumph.
How awesome is the LORD Most High,the great King over all the earth!He subdues nations beneath us,and peoples under our feet.He chooses our inheritance for us,the pride of Jacob, whom he loves.SelahGod has ascended amid shouts of joy,the LORD with the sound of the horn.Sing praises to God, sing praises;sing praises to our King, sing praises!For God is King of all the earth;sing profound praises to him.
God reigns over the nations;God is seated on his holy throne.The nobles of the nations have assembledas the people of the God of Abraham;for the shields of the earth belong to God;he is highly exalted.
Psalm 48

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Great is the LORD,and greatly to be praisedin the city of our God,his holy mountain.Beautiful in loftiness,the joy of all the earth,like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion,the city of the great King.God is in her citadels;he has shown himself to be a fortress.
For behold, the kings assembled;they all advanced together.They saw and were astounded;they fled in terror.Trembling seized them there,anguish like a woman in labor.With a wind from the eastyou wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so we have seenin the city of the LORD of Hosts,in the city of our God:God will establish her forever.SelahWithin your temple, O God,we contemplate your loving devotion.Your name, O God, like your praise,reaches to the ends of the earth;your right hand is full of righteousness.Mount Zion is glad,the daughters of Judah rejoice,on account of your judgments.
March around Zion, encircle her,count her towers,consider her ramparts, tour her citadels,that you may tell the next generation.For this God is our God forever and ever;he will be our guide even till death.
Psalm 49

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Hear this, all you peoples;listen, all inhabitants of the world,both low and high,rich and poor alike.My mouth will impart wisdom,and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.I will incline my ear to a proverb;I will express my riddle with the harp:
Why should I fear in times of trouble,when wicked usurpers surround me?They trust in their wealthand boast in their great riches.No man can possibly redeem his brotheror pay his ransom to God.For the redemption of his soul is costly,and never can payment suffice,that he should live on foreverand not see decay.
For it is clear that wise men die,and the foolish and the senseless both perishand leave their wealth to others.Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure;he is like the beasts that perish.
This is the fate of the self-confidentand their followers who endorse their sayings.SelahLike sheep they are destined for Sheol.Death will be their shepherd.The upright will rule them in the morning,and their form will decay in Sheol,far from their lofty abode.But God will redeem my life from Sheol,for he will surely take me to himself.SelahDo not be amazed when a man grows rich,when the splendor of his house increases.For when he dies, he will carry nothing away;his abundance will not follow him down.Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—and men praise you when you prosper—he will join the generation of his fathers,who will never see the light of day.A man who has riches without understandingis like the beasts that perish.
Psalm 50

A Psalm of Asaph.

The Mighty One, God the LORD,speaks and summons the earthfrom where the sun rises to where it sets.From Zion, perfect in beauty,God shines forth.Our God approaches and will not be silent!Consuming fire precedes him,and a tempest rages around him.He summons the heavens above,and the earth, that he may judge his people:“Gather to me my saints,who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,for God himself is Judge.Selah“Hear, O my people, and I will speak,O Israel, and I will testify against you:I am God, your God.I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,and your burnt offerings are ever before me.I have no need for a bull from your stallor goats from your pens,for every beast of the forest is mine—the cattle on a thousand hills.I know every bird in the mountains,and the creatures of the field are mine.If I were hungry, I would not tell you,for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.Do I eat the flesh of bulls,or drink the blood of goats?Sacrifice a thank offering to God,and fulfill your vows to the Most High.Call upon me in the day of trouble;I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
To the wicked, however, God says,“What right have you to recite my statutesand to bear my covenant on your lips?For you hate my instructionand cast my words behind you.When you see a thief, you befriend him,and throw in your lot with adulterers.You unleash your mouth for eviland unharness your tongue for deceit.You sit and malign your brother;you slander your own mother’s son.You have done these things, and I kept silent;you thought I was just like you.But now I rebuke youand accuse you to your face.
Now consider this, you who forget God,lest I tear you to pieces,with no one to rescue you:He who sacrifices a thank offering honors me,and to him who rights his way,I will show the salvation of God.”