The Psalms – In Verse
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Psalm 42
As pants the deer and seeks naught else
But watery streams in desert wastes,
So pants my soul for you, O God,
And to your presence hastes.
For God, the living God, my soul
Now longs, its burning thirst to slake,
And when at last I meet with him,
Full satisfaction take.
For day and night my food has been
The tears that on my cheeks abound,
While men, unceasing, say to me,
“Your God is nowhere found!”
And pouring out my smitten soul
These things within my memory stirred,
How once the festive multitudes
Together had concurred,
That I to Zion lead them well,
To God’s own temple and with joy,
To offer thanks midst all the throng
And songs of praise employ.
Then why are you downcast, my soul,
And why disturbed so deep within?
I hope in God and yet shall rise,
And praise once more begin.
My soul, in truth, is lowly cast,
And thus my Savior God do I
Remember you from Jordan’s land,
And from Mount Hermon high.
For deep to deep calls at the roar
As waters o’er your falls now sweep.
Your waves and breakers slacken not
As over me they leap.
By day his love comes forth, by night
His song abides within my heart,
And prayer to him, God of my life,
Shall ever be my part.
Still to my God, my Rock, I say,
“Why have you now forgotten me,
And why must I yet mourn, oppressed
By my strong enemy?”
In agony my bones endure,
For all my foes as one now taunt,
And ask, “Where is your God?” throughout
Each day and night as wont.
Then why are you downcast, my soul,
And why disturbed so deep within?
Affirm your hope in God and thus
High praise once more begin.
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About the Book
From Moses to David, from Solomon to the Exile and beyond, the psalms were used to sing praises to God. In them we encounter vivid memories men had of God’s dealings with Israel as well as with individuals who longed for God, trusted in God and prayed for the destruction of enemies. The psalms were used to confess sins and, in some degree, to express hope in a life after death with God.
The psalms were sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem for temple worship, and years later by early Christians as they gathered in humble homes for prayer and worship.
The importance of the Book of Psalms may be seen in a list of names of those who wrote commentaries on it: Origin, Eusebius, Basil, Chrysostom, Hilary, Ambrose, Athanasius, Theodoret, Augustine and Jerome among the early church Fathers, while among the Reformers are Luther, Mercer, Zwingli and Calvin.
But we become even more aware of the importance of the Book of Psalms when we are reminded of its place in the life of Jesus. He used it as his prayer book, as his hymn book in temple festivals, when he taught, when he refuted Satan during the temptation, when he sang from it at the Last Supper, and when he spoke his last words while on the cross.
It is understandable that the book we call The Psalms is the most read book of the Bible, the most memorized, the most recited in times of joy and sorrow, and the most often put to music to this day.
In this volume James Vasquez has returned to a classic, poetic rendition of the 150 psalms, set in elegant rhyming verse with close attention to rhythm.
About the Author
James Vasquez is the ninth of ten children. Raised in So. California, he has degrees from the Univ. of Redlands, Fuller Seminary and UCLA (PhD). A former missionary in Colombia, S.A., he retired from the University of Washington, Seattle where he taught for 27 years. He lives in Spokane, WA.