Day 114 - Psalm 43-45; Psalm 49; Psalm 84-85; Psalm 87

Psalm 43

¹^a]">[a] Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

² You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?

³ Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

⁴ Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.

⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Psalm 44

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. ^b]">[b]

¹ We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.

² With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our fathers;
you crushed the peoples
and made our fathers flourish.

³ It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.

⁴ You are my King and my God,
who decrees ^c]">[c] victories for Jacob.

⁵ Through you we push back our enemies;
through your name we trample our foes.

⁶ I do not trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;

⁷ but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.

⁸ In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever.
Selah

⁹ But now you have rejected and humbled us;
you no longer go out with our armies.

¹⁰ You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us.

¹¹ You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations.

¹² You sold your people for a pittance,
gaining nothing from their sale.

¹³ You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.

¹⁴ You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.

¹⁵ My disgrace is before me all day long,
and my face is covered with shame

¹⁶ at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

¹⁷ All this happened to us,
though we had not forgotten you
or been false to your covenant.

¹⁸ Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.

¹⁹ But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals
and covered us over with deep darkness.

²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

²¹ would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?

²² Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

²³ Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.

²⁴ Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?

²⁵ We are brought down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶ Rise up and help us;
redeem us because of your unfailing love.

Psalm 45

For the director of music. To the tune of "Lilies." Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song. ^d]">[d]

¹ My heart is stirred by a noble theme
as I recite my verses for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

² You are the most excellent of men
and your lips have been anointed with grace,
since God has blessed you forever.

³ Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one;
clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.

⁴ In your majesty ride forth victoriously
in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness;
let your right hand display awesome deeds.

⁵ Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies;
let the nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶ Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

⁷ You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.

⁸ All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.

⁹ Daughters of kings are among your honored women;
at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰ Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear:
Forget your people and your father's house.

¹¹ The king is enthralled by your beauty;
honor him, for he is your lord.

¹² The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift, ^e]">[e]
men of wealth will seek your favor.

¹³ All glorious is the princess within her chamber ;
her gown is interwoven with gold.

¹⁴ In embroidered garments she is led to the king;
her virgin companions follow her
and are brought to you.

¹⁵ They are led in with joy and gladness;
they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶ Your sons will take the place of your fathers;
you will make them princes throughout the land.

¹⁷ I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;
therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.
2. Psalm 44:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
3. Psalm 44:4 Septuagint, Aquila and Syriac; Hebrew King, O God; / command
4. Psalm 45:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
5. Psalm 45:12 Or A Tyrian robe is among the gifts

Psalm 49

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹ Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,

² both low and high,
rich and poor alike:

³ My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding.

⁴ I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:

⁵ Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me-

⁶ those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?

⁷ No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him-

⁸ the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough-

⁹ that he should live on forever
and not see decay.

¹⁰ For all can see that wise men die;
the foolish and the senseless alike perish
and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses ^a]">[a] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had ^b]">[b] named lands after themselves.

¹² But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is ^c]">[c] like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
Selah

¹⁴ Like sheep they are destined for the grave, ^d]">[d]
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave, ^e]">[e]
far from their princely mansions.

¹⁵ But God will redeem my life ^f]">[f] from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself.
Selah

¹⁶ Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;

¹⁷ for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.

¹⁸ Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—
and men praise you when you prosper-

¹⁹ he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .

²⁰ A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
2. Psalm 49:11 Or / for they have
3. Psalm 49:12 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac read verse 12 the same as verse 20.
4. Psalm 49:14 Hebrew Sheol ; also in verse 15
5. Psalm 49:14 Hebrew Sheol ; also in verse 15
6. Psalm 49:15 Or soul

Psalm 84

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. ^a]">[a]

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!

² My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.

³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Selah

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools. ^b]">[b]

⁷ They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah

⁹ Look upon our shield, ^c]">[c] O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Psalm 85

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹ You showed favor to your land, O LORD;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

² You forgave the iniquity of your people
and covered all their sins.
Selah

³ You set aside all your wrath
and turned from your fierce anger.

⁴ Restore us again, O God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.

⁵ Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger through all generations?

⁶ Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?

⁷ Show us your unfailing love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.

⁸ I will listen to what God the LORD will say;
he promises peace to his people, his saints—
but let them not return to folly.

⁹ Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰ Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

¹¹ Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

¹² The LORD will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.

¹³ Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 84:1 Title: Probably a musical term
2. Psalm 84:6 Or blessings
3. Psalm 84:9 Or sovereign

Psalm 87

Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.

¹ He has set his foundation on the holy mountain;

² the LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

³ Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God:
Selah

⁴ "I will record Rahab ^a]">[a] and Babylon
among those who acknowledge me—
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush^b]">[b]—
and will say, 'This ^c]">[c] one was born in Zion.' "

⁵ Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
"This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High himself will establish her."

⁶ The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:
"This one was born in Zion."
Selah

⁷ As they make music they will sing,
"All my fountains are in you."

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 87:4 A poetic name for Egypt
2. Psalm 87:4 That is, the upper Nile region
3. Psalm 87:4 Or "O Rahab and Babylon, / Philistia, Tyre and Cush, / I will record concerning those who acknowledge me: / 'This