For the music director; By David, a psalm.
40:1 I relied completely on the Lord,
and he turned toward me
and heard my cry for help.
40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit,
out of the slimy mud.
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing.
40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song,
praising our God.
May many see what God has done,
so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord!
40:4 How blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord
and does not seek help from the proud or from liars!
40:5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;
you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us.
No one can thwart you!
I want to declare them and talk about them,
but they are too numerous to recount!
40:6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern.
You make that quite clear to me!
You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
40:7 Then I say,
“Look! I come!
What is written in the scroll pertains to me.
40:8 I want to do what pleases you, my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.”
40:9 I have told the great assembly about your justice.
Look! I spare no words!
O Lord, you know this is true.
40:10 I have not failed to tell about your justice;
I spoke about your reliability and deliverance;
I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness.
40:11 O Lord, you do not withhold your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me!
40:12 For innumerable dangers surround me.
My sins overtake me
so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head
so my strength fails me.
40:13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!
O Lord, hurry and help me!
40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life
be totally embarrassed and ashamed!
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed!
40:15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be humiliated and disgraced!
40:16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!
May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually,
“May the Lord be praised!”
40:17 I am oppressed and needy!
May the Lord pay attention to me!
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O my God, do not delay!
For the music director; a psalm of David.
41:1 How blessed is the one who treats the poor properly!
When trouble comes, the Lord delivers him.
41:2 May the Lord protect him and save his life!
May he be blessed in the land!
Do not turn him over to his enemies!
41:3 The Lord supports him on his sickbed;
you completely heal him from his illness.
41:4 As for me, I said:
“O Lord, have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you!
41:5 My enemies ask this cruel question about me,
‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’
41:6 When someone comes to visit, he pretends to be friendly;
he thinks of ways to defame me,
and when he leaves he slanders me.
41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another;
they plan ways to harm me.
41:8 They say,
‘An awful disease overwhelms him,
and now that he is bed-ridden he will never recover.’
41:9 Even my close friend whom I trusted,
he who shared meals with me, has turned against me.
41:10 As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up,
so I can pay them back!”
41:11 By this I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
41:12 As for me, you uphold me because of my integrity;
you allow me permanent access to your presence.
41:13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise
in the future and forevermore!
We agree! We agree!
Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)
For the music director; a well-written song by the Korahites.
42:1 As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God!
42:2 I thirst for God,
for the living God.
I say, “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”
42:3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night;
all day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
42:4 I will remember and weep!
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.
42:5 Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Why are you upset?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.
42:6 I am depressed,
so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan,
from Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
42:7 One deep stream calls out to another at the sound of your waterfalls;
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.
42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,
and by night he gives me a song,
a prayer to the living God.
42:9 I will pray to God, my high ridge:
“Why do you ignore me?
Why must I walk around mourning
because my enemies oppress me?”
42:10 My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone,
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
42:11 Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Why are you upset?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.