June 5 Psalms 39-43

Psalm 39
Prayer for Wisdom and ForgivenessTo the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1I said, ‘I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.’
2I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:


4‘Lord, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.
Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.


7‘And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
8Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows* of your hand.


11‘You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath.
Selah


12‘Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.
13Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.’
Psalm 40
Thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for HelpTo the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2He drew me up from the desolate pit,*
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.


4Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
5You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.


6Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.*
Burnt-offering and sin-offering
you have not required.
7Then I said, ‘Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.*
8I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.’


9I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.


11Do not, O Lord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe for ever.
12For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.


13Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14Let all those be put to shame and confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonour
who desire my hurt.
15Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, ‘Aha, Aha!’


16But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, ‘Great is the Lord!’
17As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.
Psalm 41
Assurance of God’s Help and a Plea for HealingTo the leader. A Psalm of David.
1Happy are those who consider the poor;*
the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
2The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
in their illness you heal all their infirmities.*


4As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.’
5My enemies wonder in malice
when I will die, and my name perish.
6And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
while their hearts gather mischief;
when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.


8They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
that I will not rise again from where I lie.
9Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
10But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them.


11By this I know that you are pleased with me;
because my enemy has not triumphed over me.
12But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in your presence for ever.


13Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.
BOOK II(Psalms 42-72)
Psalm 42
Longing for God and His Help in DistressTo the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites.
1As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
3My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
‘Where is your God?’


4These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,*
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
5Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help 6and my God.


My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
have gone over me.
8By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.


9I say to God, my rock,
‘Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?’
10As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
‘Where is your God?’


11Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Psalm 43
Prayer to God in Time of Trouble
1Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people;
from those who are deceitful and unjust
deliver me!
2For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy?


3O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
4Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.


5Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.