Psalm 45

The New Living Translation
A love song. 
1 My heart overflows with a beautiful thought! I will recite a lovely poem to the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet. 2 You are the most handsome of all. Gracious words stream from your lips. God himself has blessed you forever. 3 Put on your sword, O mighty warrior! You are so glorious, so majestic! 4 In your majesty, ride out to victory, defending truth, humility, and justice. Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds! 5 Your arrows are sharp, piercing your enemies' hearts. The nations fall before you, lying down beneath your feet. 6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal power is expressed in justice. 7 You love what is right and hate what is wrong. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else. 8 Your robes are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. In palaces decorated with ivory, you are entertained by the music of harps. 9 Kings' daughters are among your concubines. At your right side stands the queen, wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir! 10 Listen to me, O royal daughter; take to heart what I say. Forget your people and your homeland far away. 11 For your royal husband delights in your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. 12 The princes of Tyre will shower you with gifts. People of great wealth will entreat your favor. 13 The bride, a princess, waits within her chamber, dressed in a gown woven with gold. 14 In her beautiful robes, she is led to the king, accompanied by her bridesmaids. 15 What a joyful, enthusiastic procession as they enter the king's palace! 16 Your sons will become kings like their father. You will make them rulers over many lands. 17 I will bring honor to your name in every generation. Therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever.

Psalm 44

The New International Version

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 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 43

The New Living Translation
 1 O God, take up my cause! Defend me against these ungodly people. Rescue me from these unjust liars. 2 For you are God, my only safe haven. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I wander around in darkness, oppressed by my enemies? 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live. 4 There I will go to the altar of God, to God -- the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God! 5 Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again -- my Savior and my God!

Psalm 42

The New International Version

1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 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 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 11 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 41

The New King James Version

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he who considers the 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 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 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 devise my hurt. 8 "An 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 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.

Psalm 40

From The Holy Bible New Living Translation

1 For the choir director: A psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the LORD. 4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, who have no confidence in the proud, or in those who worship idols. 5 O LORD my God, you have done many miracles for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. 6 You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand -- you don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings. 7 Then I said, "Look, I have come. And this has been written about me in your scroll: 8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your law is written on my heart." 9 I have told all your people about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O LORD, well know. 10 I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness. 11 LORD, don't hold back your tender mercies from me. My only hope is in your unfailing love and faithfulness. 12 For troubles surround me -- too many to count! They pile up so high I can't see my way out. They are more numerous than the hairs on my head. I have lost all my courage. 13 Please, LORD, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me. 14 May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace. 15 Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, "Aha! We've got him now!" 16 But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, "The LORD is great!" 17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord is thinking about me right now. You are my helper and my savior. Do not delay, O my God.

Psalm 39

From The Message

1 I'm determined to watch steps and tongue so they won't land me in trouble. I decided to hold my tongue as long as Wicked is in the room. 2 "Mum's the word," I said, and kept quiet. But the longer I kept silence The worse it got - 3 my insides got hotter and hotter. My thoughts boiled over; I spilled my guts. 4 "Tell me, what's going on, God? How long do I have to live? Give me the bad news! 5 You've kept me on pretty short rations; my life is string too short to be saved. 6 Oh! we're all puffs of air. Oh! we're all shadows in a campfire. Oh! we're just spit in the wind. We make our pile, and then we leave it. 7 "What am I doing in the meantime, Lord? Hoping, that's what I'm doing - hoping 8 You'll save me from a rebel life, save me from the contempt of dunces. 9 I'll say no more, I'll shut my mouth, since you, Lord, are behind all this. 10 But I can't take it much longer. When you put us through the fire 11 to purge us from our sin, our dearest idols go up in smoke. Are we also nothing but smoke? 12 "Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my cry - open your ears. Don't be callous; just look at these tears of mine. I'm a stranger here. I don't know my way - a migrant like my whole family. 13 Give me a break, cut me some slack before it's too late and I'm out of here."