Psalm 41-43

Psalm 41-43 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

41 Blessed is he who considers the ^[a]poor;
The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
² The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth;
You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
³ The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will ^[b]sustain him on his sickbed.

⁴ I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
⁵ My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶ And if he comes to see me, he speaks ^[c]lies;
His heart gathers iniquity to itself;
When he goes out, he tells it.

⁷ All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they ^[d]devise my hurt.
⁸ “An^[e] evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”
⁹ Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has ^[f]lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰ But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
¹¹ By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
¹² As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And set me before Your face forever.

¹³ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

BOOK TWO

Psalms 42–72

Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses

To the Chief Musician. A ^[g]Contemplation of the sons of Korah.

42 As the deer ^[h]pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and ^[i]appear before God?
³ My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”

⁴ When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

⁵ Why are you ^[j]cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
^[k]For the help of His countenance.

^6 [l]O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From ^[m]the Hill Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
⁸ The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I will say to God my Rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰ As with a ^[n]breaking of my bones,
My enemies ^[o]reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The ^[p]help of my countenance and my God.

Prayer to God in Time of Trouble

43 Vindicate me, O God,
And plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
² For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

³ Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your ^[q]tabernacle.
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The ^[r]help of my countenance and my God.