Psalms 43; Psalms 44; Psalms 45; Psalms 49; Psalms 84; Psalms 85; Psalms 87

1 Clear my name, God; stick up for me against these loveless, immoral people. Get me out of here, away from these lying degenerates.

2 I counted on you, God. Why did you walk out on me? Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands over these outrageous people?

3 Give me your lantern and compass, give me a map, So I can find my way to the sacred mountain, to the place of your presence,

4 To enter the place of worship, meet my exuberant God, Sing my thanks with a harp, magnificent God, my God.

5 Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God - soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God.

1 We've been hearing about this, God, all our lives. Our fathers told us the stories their fathers told them,

2 How single-handedly you weeded out the godless from the fields and planted us, How you sent those people packing but gave us a fresh start.

3 We didn't fight for this land; we didn't work for it - it was a gift! You gave it, smiling as you gave it, delighting as you gave it.

4 You're my King, O God - command victories for Jacob!

5 With your help we'll wipe out our enemies, in your name we'll stomp them to dust.

6 I don't trust in weapons; my sword won't save me -

7 But it's you, you who saved us from the enemy; you made those who hate us lose face.

8 All day we parade God's praise - we thank you by name over and over.

9 But now you've walked off and left us, you've disgraced us and won't fight for us.

10 You made us turn tail and run; those who hate us have cleaned us out.

11 You delivered us as sheep to the butcher, you scattered us to the four winds.

12 You sold your people at a discount - you made nothing on the sale.

13 You made people on the street, urchins, poke fun and call us names.

14 You made us a joke among the godless, a cheap joke among the rabble.

15 Every day I'm up against it, my nose rubbed in my shame -

16 Gossip and ridicule fill the air, people out to get me crowd the street.

17 All this came down on us, and we've done nothing to deserve it.

18 our hearts were never false, our feet never left your path.

19 Do we deserve torture in a den of jackals? or lockup in a black hole?

20 If we had forgotten to pray to our God or made fools of ourselves with store-bought gods,

21 Wouldn't God have figured this out? We can't hide things from him.

22 No, you decided to make us martyrs, lambs assigned for sacrifice each day.

23 Get up, God! Are you going to sleep all day? Wake up! Don't you care what happens to us?

24 Why do you bury your face in the pillow? Why pretend things are just fine with us?

25 And here we are - flat on our faces in the dirt, held down with a boot on our necks.

26 Get up and come to our rescue. If you love us so much, Help us!

1 My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness. I pour it out in a poem to the king, shaping the river into words:

2 "You're the handsomest of men; every word from your lips is sheer grace, and God has blessed you, blessed you so much.

3 Strap your sword to your side, warrior! Accept praise! Accept due honor! Ride majestically! Ride triumphantly!

4 Ride on the side of truth! Ride for the righteous meek! "Your instructions are glow-in-the-dark;

5 you shoot sharp arrows Into enemy hearts; the king's foes lie down in the dust, beaten.

6 "Your throne is God's throne, ever and always; The scepter of your royal rule measures right living.

7 You love the right and hate the wrong. And that is why God, your very own God, poured fragrant oil on your head, Marking you out as king from among your dear companions.

8 "Your ozone-drenched garments are fragrant with mountain breeze. Chamber music - from the throne room - makes you want to dance.

9 Kings' daughters are maids in your court, the Bride glittering with golden jewelry.

10 "Now listen, daughter, don't miss a word: forget your country, put your home behind you.

11 Be here - the king is wild for you. Since he's your lord, adore him.

12 Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre; rich guests shower you with presents."

13 (Her wedding dress is dazzling, lined with gold by the weavers;

14 All her dresses and robes are woven with gold. She is led to the king, followed by her virgin companions.

15 A procession of joy and laughter! a grand entrance to the king's palace!)

16 "Set your mind now on sons - don't dote on father and grandfather. You'll set your sons up as princes all over the earth.

17 I'll make you famous for generations; you'll be the talk of the town for a long, long time."

1 Listen, everyone, listen - earth-dwellers, don't miss this.

2 All you haves and have-nots, All together now: listen.

3 I set plainspoken wisdom before you, my heart-seasoned understandings of life.

4 I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise, I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.

5 So why should I fear in bad times, hemmed in by enemy malice,

6 Shoved around by bullies, demeaned by the arrogant rich?

7 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

8 The cost of rescue is beyond our means, and even then it doesn't guarantee

9 Life forever, or insurance against the Black Hole.

10 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die, wiped out right along with fools and dunces.

11 They leave all their prowess behind, move into their new home, The Coffin, The cemetery their permanent address. And to think they named counties after themselves!

12 We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

13 This is what happens to those who live for the moment, who only look out for themselves:

14 Death herds them like sheep straight to hell; they disappear down the gullet of the grave; They waste away to nothing - nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.

15 But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death, he reaches down and grabs me.

16 So don't be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune.

17 They can't take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind.

18 Just when they think they've arrived and folks praise them because they've made good,

19 They enter the family burial plot where they'll never see sunshine again.

20 We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

1 What a beautiful home, God of the Angel Armies! I've always longed to live in a place like this,

2 Always dreamed of a room in your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive!

3 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship. God of the Angel Armies! King! God!

4 How blessed they are to live and sing there!

5 And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel;

6 They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!

7 God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn - Zion! God in full view!

8 God of the Angel Armies, listen: O God of Jacob, open your ears - I'm praying!

9 Look at our shields, glistening in the sun, our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

10 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.

11 All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory. He doesn't scrimp with his traveling companions.

12 It's smooth sailing all the way with God of the Angel Armies.

1 God, you smiled on your good earth! You brought good times back to Jacob!

2 You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people, you put their sins far out of sight.

3 You took back your sin-provoked threats, you cooled your hot, righteous anger.

4 Help us again, God of our help; don't hold a grudge against us forever.

5 You aren't going to keep this up, are you? scowling and angry, year after year?

6 Why not help us make a fresh start - a resurrection life? Then your people will laugh and sing!

7 Show us how much you love us, God! Give us the salvation we need!

8 I can't wait to hear what he'll say. God's about to pronounce his people well, The holy people he loves so much, so they'll never again live like fools.

9 See how close his salvation is to those who fear him? Our country is home base for Glory!

10 Love and Truth meet in the street, Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!

11 Truth sprouts green from the ground, Right Living pours down from the skies!

12 Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty; our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.

13 Right Living strides out before him, and clears a path for his passage.

1 He founded Zion on the Holy Mountain -

2 and oh, how God loves his home! Loves it far better than all the homes of Jacob put together!

3 God's hometown - oh! everyone there is talking about you!

4 I name them off, those among whom I'm famous: Egypt and Babylon, also Philistia, even Tyre, along with Cush. Word's getting around; they point them out: "This one was born again here!"

5 The word's getting out on Zion: "Men and women, right and left, get born again in her!"

6 God registers their names in his book: "This one, this one, and this one - born again, right here."

7 Singers and dancers give credit to Zion: "All my springs are in you!"