Psalm 138–145

Psalm 138

A Psalm of David.

¹I will give thee thanks with my whole heart:

Before the gods will I sing praises unto thee.

²I will worship toward thy holy temple,

And give thanks unto thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth:

For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

³In the day that I called thou answeredst me,

Thou didst encourage me with strength in my soul.

⁴All the kings of the earth shall give thee thanks, O Jehovah,

For they have heard the words of thy mouth.

⁵Yea, they shall sing of the ways of Jehovah;

For great is the glory of Jehovah.

⁶For though Jehovah is high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly;

But the haughty he knoweth from afar.

⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me;

Thou wilt stretch forth thy hand against the wrath of mine enemies,

And thy right hand will save me.

⁸Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth me:

Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, endureth for ever;

Forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Psalm 139

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹O Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known me.

²Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising;

Thou understandest my thought afar off.

³Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,

And art acquainted with all my ways.

⁴For there is not a word in my tongue,

But, lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether.

⁵Thou hast beset me behind and before,

And laid thy hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain unto it.

⁷Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

⁸If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.

⁹If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

¹⁰Even there shall thy hand lead me,

And thy right hand shall hold me.

¹¹If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me,

And the light about me shall be night;

¹²Even the darkness hideth not from thee,

But the night shineth as the day:

The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

¹³For thou didst form my inward parts:

Thou didst cover me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

Wonderful are thy works;

And that my soul knoweth right well.

¹⁵My frame was not hidden from thee,

When I was made in secret,

And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

¹⁶Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance;

And in thy book they were all written,

Even the days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand:

When I awake, I am still with thee.

¹⁹Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God:

Depart from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men.

²⁰For they speak against thee wickedly,

And thine enemies take thy name in vain.

²¹Do not I hate them, O Jehovah, that hate thee?

And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred:

They are become mine enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart:

Try me, and know my thoughts;

²⁴And see if there be any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 140

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹Deliver me, O Jehovah, from the evil man;

Preserve me from the violent man:

²Who devise mischiefs in their heart;

Continually do they gather themselves together for war.

³They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent;

Adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah

⁴Keep me, O Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked;

Preserve me from the violent man:

Who have purposed to thrust aside my steps.

⁵The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords;

They have spread a net by the wayside;

They have set gins for me. Selah

⁶I said unto Jehovah, Thou art my God:

Give ear unto the voice of my supplications, O Jehovah.

⁷O Jehovah the Lord, the strength of my salvation,

Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.

⁸Grant not, O Jehovah, the desires of the wicked;

Further not his evil device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah

⁹As for the head of those that compass me about,

Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.

¹⁰Let burning coals fall upon them:

Let them be cast into the fire,

Into deep pits, whence they shall not rise.

¹¹An evil speaker shall not be established in the earth:

Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.

¹²I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the afflicted,

And justice for the needy.

¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name:

The upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.

¹Jehovah, I have called upon thee; make haste unto me:

Give ear unto my voice, when I call unto thee.

²Let my prayer be set forth as incense before thee;

The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

³Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth;

Keep the door of my lips.

⁴Incline not my heart to any evil thing,

To practise deeds of wickedness

With men that work iniquity:

And let me not eat of their dainties.

⁵Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness;

And let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the head;

Let not my head refuse it:

For even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue.

⁶Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock;

And they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.

⁷As when one ploweth and cleaveth the earth,

Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

⁸For mine eyes are unto thee, O Jehovah the Lord:

In thee do I take refuge; leave not my soul destitute.

⁹Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me,

And from the gins of the workers of iniquity.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

Whilst that I withal escape.

Psalm 142

Maschil of David, when he was in the cave; a Prayer.

¹I cry with my voice unto Jehovah;

With my voice unto Jehovah do I make supplication.

²I pour out my complaint before him;

I show before him my trouble.

³When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,

Thou knewest my path.

In the way wherein I walk

Have they hidden a snare for me.

⁴Look on my right hand, and see;

For there is no man that knoweth me:

Refuge hath failed me;

No man careth for my soul.

⁵I cried unto thee, O Jehovah;

I said, Thou art my refuge,

My portion in the land of the living.

⁶Attend unto my cry;

For I am brought very low:

Deliver me from my persecutors;

For they are stronger than I.

⁷Bring my soul out of prison,

That I may give thanks unto thy name:

The righteous shall compass me about;

For thou wilt deal bountifully with me.

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David.

¹Hear my prayer, O Jehovah; give ear to my supplications:

In thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.

²And enter not into judgment with thy servant;

For in thy sight no man living is righteous.

³For the enemy hath persecuted my soul;

He hath smitten my life down to the ground:

He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead.

⁴Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me;

My heart within me is desolate.

⁵I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all thy doings;

I muse on the work of thy hands.

⁶I spread forth my hands unto thee:

My soul thirsteth after thee, as a weary land. Selah

⁷Make haste to answer me, O Jehovah; my spirit faileth:

Hide not thy face from me,

Lest I become like them that go down into the pit.

⁸Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;

For in thee do I trust:

Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;

For I lift up my soul unto thee.

⁹Deliver me, O Jehovah, from mine enemies:

I flee unto thee to hide me.

¹⁰Teach me to do thy will;

For thou art my God:

Thy Spirit is good;

Lead me in the land of uprightness.

¹¹Quicken me, O Jehovah, for thy name’s sake:

In thy righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

¹²And in thy lovingkindness cut off mine enemies,

And destroy all them that afflict my soul;

For I am thy servant.

Psalm 144

A Psalm of David.

¹Blessed be Jehovah my rock,

Who teacheth my hands to war,

And my fingers to fight:

²My lovingkindness, and my fortress,

My high tower, and my deliverer;

My shield, and he in whom I take refuge;

Who subdueth my people under me.

³Jehovah, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him?

Or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?

⁴Man is like to vanity:

His days are as a shadow that passeth away.

⁵Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and come down:

Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

⁶Cast forth lightning, and scatter them;

Send out thine arrows, and discomfit them.

⁷Stretch forth thy hand from above;

Rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters,

Out of the hand of aliens;

⁸Whose mouth speaketh deceit,

And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will sing a new song unto thee, O God:

Upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.

¹⁰Thou art he that giveth salvation unto kings;

Who rescueth David his servant from the hurtful sword.

¹¹Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hand of aliens,

Whose mouth speaketh deceit,

And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

¹²When our sons shall be as plants grown up in their youth,

And our daughters as corner-stones hewn after the fashion of a palace;

¹³When our garners are full, affording all manner of store,

And our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;

¹⁴When our oxen are well laden;

When there is no breaking in, and no going forth,

And no outcry in our streets:

¹⁵Happy is the people that is in such a case;

Yea, happy is the people whose God is Jehovah.

Psalm 145

A Psalm of praise; of David.

¹I will extol thee, my God, O King;

And I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

²Every day will I bless thee;

And I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

³Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised;

And his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴One generation shall laud thy works to another,

And shall declare thy mighty acts.

⁵Of the glorious majesty of thine honor,

And of thy wondrous works, will I meditate.

⁶And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts;

And I will declare thy greatness.

⁷They shall utter the memory of thy…