BibleInTonguesWEB
Psalms 43
A short prayer asking God to act as judge against a deceitful nation and bring the speaker back to worship at the holy hill. It closes by repeating the refrain about a downcast soul almost word for word from Psalm 42, which is why many read 42 and 43 as a single poem. Watch how light and truth are pictured as guides who walk the speaker home to the altar, and notice that the despair is questioned, not denied.
- 1
Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.
- 2
For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? 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, to your tents.
- 4
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.
- 5
Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my God.
Two psalms, one refrain
Verse 5 turns the soul's restlessness into a question rather than a verdict: "Why are you in despair, my soul?" The same line ends both halves of Psalm 42, so its third appearance here ties the two together as one sustained argument with oneself.
Unusually for this part of the book, Psalm 43 carries no heading or title, another reason it is often treated as the lost final stanza of the psalm before it.
Context layers
Keep these closed by default and open them only when you want more context.
Share a small range via:
/en/web/psalms/43/16-18
Or use the Passage link builder.