Psalm 48

(By the descendants of Korah)

How great is Jehovah and worthy of our praise,
In the city of our god, on his holy mountain.
Grand in elevation, a joy to all the earth,
On Mount Zion’s northern slope, lies the great king’s city.
The palaces of God are known as fortresses.
For, behold, when the kings of the earth assembled
And together approached the city, they saw it
And were dazzled and, in fright, beat a hasty retreat.
Panic seized them and pain, like a woman in labor. ---
You smashed them like the ships of Tarshish in an east wind.

As once we heard about it, so now have we seen
The city of Jehovah, the master of armies,
The city of our god, established forever.

Within your temple we contemplate
Upon your loving kindness, O God.
As your name merits, O God, your praise
Extends to the ends of the earth.
With your right hand you wield justice.
(Mount Zion and the towns of Judah
Rejoice because of your judgments).

Examine Zion and walk around it,
Counting the towers of Jerusalem.
Note its ramparts and survey its citadels,
That you may tell future generations.

For this is our god, forever and ever,
And he will guide us even beyond death.

Psalm 47

(By the descendants of Korah)

Come and clap your hands, all you people,
Shout out to God with songs of joy!
Fearsome is Jehovah the Most High,
The great king over all the world,
Conquering the peoples before us,
Crushing nations under our feet.
He chose for us an inheritance,
The pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
God has ascended with a roar,
Jehovah, with a shofar’s blast.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is King of all the world.
Sing praises to him in a psalm.

God reigns over the heathen realms,
Seated upon his holy throne.
The princes among them assemble
With the people of Abraham’s god,
Charge of their domains lie with God,
So greatly has he been exalted!

Psalm 46

(By the descendants of Korah)

God is our refuge and our strength,
A help to us in times of trouble.
Therefore, we will not be afraid
When the earth will quake and mountains
Tumble into the ocean depths,
When the waters will roar and foam
And mountains tremble and erupt.

There is a river whose streams make glad
The city of God, the holy place,
Tabernacles of the Most High.
God dwells within the midst of it.
It cannot be shaken or toppled:
From the break of day God will guard it.

Nations are in chaos, kingdoms fall.
God raises his voice and the earth melts.

Jehovah’s armies are with us;
The god of Jacob is our fortress.
Come, behold the work of Jehovah,
How he has made desolate the earth.

Throughout the world he brings an end to war;
He snaps the bow and cuts the spear asunder;
He sets aflame the chariots of war.
“Cease fighting, acknowledge that I am God.
I will be honored among the heathens,
Indeed I will be honored throughout the world.”

Jehovah’s armies are with us;
The god of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 45

(By the descendants of Korah)

My heart does overflow with glad tidings,
When I recite my verses to the king.
(My tongue is the pen of a skillful scribe).

You are the handsomest of men;
Words of grace proceed from your lips.
God has therefore blessed you forever.

Strap your sword to your side, O Mighty One!
Along with your splendor and your glory.
In your majesty ride forth to victory,
For truth, humility, and righteousness.
Let your right hand perform deeds of wonder.
Sharpen your arrows that impale the hearts
Of those who are enemies of the king,
So that their people will fall beneath your feet.

Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever;
The scepter of your kingdom is one of justice.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore, it is you above all others that God,
Your god, has anointed with the oil of gladness.
You robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
In palaces of ivory you are entertained.
The daughters of kings serve as your noble ladies;
At your right side stands the queen garbed in gold from Ophir.

Listen, O daughter, pay attention to what I say.
Forget your own people and the house of your father,
For the king will be enamored with your beauty.
Because he is your master, you must submit to him.
The princess of Tyre will come and bring a gift for you.
The rich among the people will seek your favor.
In the palace the princess is magnificent,
Bedecked in garments interwoven with threads of gold.
In this rich raiment she is presented to the king,
And the bridesmaids in her train, will all be brought to you.
They will be brought with jubilation and rejoicing.
As the procession enters the royal palace,
Your sons will assume the places of their fathers,
And you will make them princes, to rule throughout the land.

I will make your name remembered
By generations that are to come.
And all the peoples will give you thanks
For ever and ever.

Psalm 44

O God, with our own ears we have heard
The things our fathers have told us,
All the deeds you did in their day
And what you wrought in olden times.

With your power you drove out the nations,
Harassing and scattering them abroad.
You settled our ancestors on their land.
But it was not by the sword they did conquer,
Nor with their own might achieve victory;
It was done through your power and your might.
With the light of your presence you favored them.

You are my sovereign, O my God!
Decree victories for Jacob!

By your power we repel our enemies;
In your name we tread our foes under foot.

In my bow I place not my trust;
My sword will not deliver me.
It is you who saves us from our foes,
And disgraces those who hate us.
To God we give praise all day long,
And extol your name forever.

But now you have forsaken us,
And have caused us to feel ashamed.
No longer do you lead our armies.
You make us retreat before our foes
And allow them to plunder our land.
You’ve made us sheep for the slaughter
And dispersed us among the nations.
Cheaply you have sold your people
And gained no profit from the sale.
You’ve disgraced us before our neighbors
And made us an object of derision
And scorn to those who live around us.
You have turned us into a byword
Among the nations; their people
Shake their heads at us with disdain.
I live in constant confusion,
And my face is covered with shame
When I hear the taunting reviler
And see the avenging enemy.

All this befell us, though we did not forget you,
Nor indeed did we violate your covenant.

Our hearts turned not away from you,
Nor have our steps strayed from your path.
But you have crushed us and left us
Where we are the prey of jackals,
Covered by the dark shadow of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our god
Or had worshiped some foreign deity,
Would not God have discovered such a thing,
Knowing as he does the secrets of our hearts?

Yet it is surely for your sake
We are being killed all day long,  
And treated like sheep to be slaughtered.
Wake up, O Master Jehovah!
Why is it that you are sleeping?
Rise up, reject us not forever!
Why do you turn away your face?
Why have you forgotten about
Our affliction and oppression?
Our bodies grovel in the dirt,
Our bellies are pressed to the ground.
Rise up, rescue us, redeem us
For the sake of your merciful love!

Psalm 43

Be my judge, O Jehovah, and plead my case
Against a godless nation; deliver me
From men who are deceitful and wicked.

You are the god of my refuge.
Why then have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
Persecuted by enemies.
Send forth to me the light of your truth.
Let it lead me and conduct me 
To your holy mount, your dwelling place.

Then will I go to the altar of God,
To God who is the source of my delight.
Upon the lyre will I sing your praise,
O God, my God!

Why are you, my soul, so depressed?
Why is there such unrest within me?
But I will put my hope in God
And praise again my Savior, my God.

Psalm 42

As the deer craves the running stream,
So my soul craves for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When shall I stand before his presence?
Day and night tears are my only food,
All day long people harass me,
And challenge me, “Where is your god?”

As I search my soul, these things I remember:
How I walked among the throng of worshipers
And led the procession to the house of God;
How I raised my voice in song of joy and praise,
Among the multitude at the festival.

Tell me, my soul, why am I so downcast,
Why is there such anxiety within me?
I must put my hopes in God and praise him,
That his presence may be my salvation.
I am deeply depressed, but remember
You, O my god, from the land of Jordan,
The peaks of Hermon, and the hills of Mizar.

The seas call out to each other
In the roar of your waterfalls.
Your breakers and waves roll over me.

By day Jehovah sends his love to me;
And through the night his song shall be with me;
It is my prayer to the life-bringing God.

I ask God, my fortress of stone,
“Why have you forgotten about me?
Why do I go about in grief,
While my enemies oppress me?”

The taunts of my enemies cut me to the quick.
“Where is your god?” they ask me all day long.
Tell me, my soul, why am I so downcast,
Why is there such anxiety within me?
I must put my hopes in God and praise him,
That his presence may be my salvation.