Psalm 138–145

Psalm 138

A THANKFUL HEART

Of David.

¹I will give you thanks with all my heart;^ab

I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.^Bac

²I will bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name

for your constant love and truth.

You have exalted your name

and your promise above everything else.^Aa

³On the day I called, you answered me;

you increased strength within me.^Bb

⁴All the kings on earth will give you thanks, Lord,

when they hear what you have promised.^Cc

⁵They will sing of the Lord’s ways,

for the Lord’s glory is great.^d

⁶Though the Lord is exalted,

he takes note of the humble;

but he knows the haughty from a distance.^e

⁷If I walk into the thick of danger,

you will preserve my life

from the anger of my enemies.^f

You will extend your hand;

your right hand will save me.^g

⁸The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.^h

Lord, your faithful love endures forever;

do not abandon the work of your hands.ⁱ

Psalm 139

THE ALL-KNOWING, EVER-PRESENT GOD

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

¹Lord, you have searched me and known me.^j

²You know when I sit down and when I stand up;

you understand my thoughts from far away.^k

³You observe my travels and my rest;

you are aware of all my ways.^l

⁴Before a word is on my tongue,

you know all about it, Lord.^m

⁵You have encircled me;

you have placed your hand on me.ⁿ

⁶This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.

It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.^o

⁷Where can I go to escape your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?^p

⁸If I go up to heaven, you are there;^q

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.^r

⁹If I live at the eastern horizon ^D

or settle at the western limits,

¹⁰even there your hand will lead me;

your right hand will hold on to me.^s

¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,

and the light around me will be night”^t—

¹²even the darkness is not dark to you.

The night shines like the day;

darkness and light are alike to you.^u

¹³For it was you who created my inward parts;^E

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.^v

¹⁴I will praise you

because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.^AB

Your works are wondrous,

and I know this very well.^w

¹⁵My bones were not hidden from you

when I was made in secret,

when I was formed in the depths of the earth.^x

¹⁶Your eyes saw me when I was formless;

all my days were written in your book and planned

before a single one of them began.^y

¹⁷God, how precious^C your thoughts are to me;

how vast their sum is!

¹⁸If I counted them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand;^z

when I wake up,^D I am still with you.^aa

¹⁹God, if only you would kill the wicked—

you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me^ab—

²⁰who invoke you deceitfully.

Your enemies swear by you falsely.^ac

²¹Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you,

and detest those who rebel against you?

²²I hate them with extreme hatred;

I consider them my enemies.^ad

²³Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my concerns.^a

²⁴See if there is any offensive^E way in me;

lead me in the everlasting way.^b

Psalm 140

PRAYER FOR RESCUE

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

¹Rescue me, Lord, from evil men.

Keep me safe from violent men^c

²who plan evil in their hearts.

They stir up wars all day long.^d

³They make their tongues

as sharp as a snake’s bite;

viper’s venom is under their lips.^e

Selah

⁴Protect me, Lord,

from the power of the wicked.^f

Keep me safe from violent men

who plan to make me stumble.^Fg

⁵The proud hide a trap with ropes for me;

they spread a net along the path

and set snares for me.^h

Selah

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Listen, Lord, to my cry for help.ⁱ

⁷Lord, my Lord, my strong Savior,

you shield my head on the day of battle.^j

⁸Lord, do not grant the desires of the wicked;

do not let them achieve their goals.

Otherwise, they will become proud.^k

Selah

⁹When those who surround me rise up,^A

may the trouble their lips cause overwhelm them.^l

¹⁰Let hot coals fall on them.

Let them be thrown into the fire,

into the abyss, never again to rise.^m

¹¹Do not let a slanderer stay in the land.

Let evil relentlessly^B hunt down a violent man.ⁿ

¹²I^C know that the Lord upholds

the just cause of the poor,

justice for the needy.^o

¹³Surely the righteous will praise your name;

the upright will live in your presence.^p

Psalm 141

PROTECTION FROM SIN AND SINNERS

A psalm of David.

¹Lord, I call on you; hurry to help me.

Listen to my voice when I call on you.^q

²May my prayer be set before you as incense,^r

the raising of my hands as the evening offering.^s

³Lord, set up a guard for my mouth;

keep watch at the door of my lips.^t

⁴Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing

or perform wicked acts with evildoers.

Do not let me feast on their delicacies.^u

⁵Let the righteous one strike me—

it is an act of faithful love;

let him rebuke me—

it is oil for my head;

let me^D not refuse it.^v

Even now my prayer is against

the evil acts of the wicked.^Ew

⁶When their rulers^F will be thrown off

the sides of a cliff,

the people^G will listen to my words,

for they are pleasing.^x

⁷As when one plows and breaks up the soil,

turning up rocks,

so our^H bones have been scattered

at the mouth of Sheol.^y

⁸But my eyes look to you, Lord, my Lord.

I seek refuge in you; do not let me die.^Iz

⁹Protect me from the trap they have set for me,

and from the snares of evildoers.^aa

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I pass by safely.^ab

Psalm 142

A CRY OF DISTRESS

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave.^ac A prayer.

¹I cry aloud to the Lord;^ad

I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.^ae

²I pour out my complaint before him;

I reveal my trouble to him.^af

³Although my spirit is weak within me,

you know my way.^a

Along this path I travel

they have hidden a trap for me.^b

⁴Look to the right and see:^A

no one stands up for me;

there is no refuge for me;

no one cares about me.^c

⁵I cry to you, Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my portion in the land of the living.”^d

⁶Listen to my cry,

for I am very weak.^e

Rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me.^f

⁷Free me from prison

so that I can praise your name.

The righteous will gather around me

because you deal generously with me.^g

Psalm 143

A CRY FOR HELP

A psalm of David.

¹Lord, hear my prayer.

In your faithfulness listen to my plea,

and in your righteousness answer me.^h

²Do not bring your servant into judgment,ⁱ

for no one alive is righteous in your sight.^j

³For the enemy has pursued me,

crushing me to the ground,

making me live in darkness

like those long dead.^k

⁴My spirit is weak within me;

my heart is overcome with dismay.^l

⁵I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on the work of your hands.^m

⁶I spread out my hands to you;

I am like parched land before you.ⁿ

Selah

⁷Answer me quickly, Lord;

my spirit fails.^o

Don’t hide your face from me,

or I will be like those

going down to the Pit.^p

⁸Let me experience

your faithful love in the morning,

for I trust in you.^q

Reveal to me the way I should go

because I appeal to you.^r

⁹Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;

I come to you for protection.^Bs

¹⁰Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God.^t

May your gracious Spirit

lead me on level ground.^u

¹¹For your name’s sake, Lord,

let me live.

In your righteousness deliver me from trouble,^v

¹²and in your faithful love destroy my enemies.

Wipe out all those who attack me,

for I am your servant.^w

Psalm 144

A KING’S PRAYER

Of David.

¹Blessed be the Lord, my rock^x

who trains my hands for battle

and my fingers for warfare.^y

²He is my faithful love and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer.

He is my shield,^z and I take refuge in him;^aa

he subdues my people under me.^ab

³Lord, what is a human that you care for him,

a son of man^B that you think of him?^ac

⁴A human is like a breath;

his days are like a passing shadow.^ad

⁵Lord, part your heavens and come down.^ae

Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.^af

⁶Flash your lightning and scatter the foe;^C

shoot your arrows and rout them.^ag

⁷Reach down^D from on high;^ah

rescue me from deep water, and set me free

from the grasp of foreigners^ai

⁸whose mouths speak lies,

whose right hands are deceptive.^a

⁹God, I will sing a new song to you;

I will play on a ten-stringed harp for you^b—

¹⁰the one who gives victory to kings,

who frees his servant David

from the deadly sword.^c

¹¹Set me free and rescue me

from foreigners^d

whose mouths speak lies,

whose right hands are deceptive.^e

¹²Then our sons will be like plants

nurtured in their youth,

our daughters, like corner pillars

that are carved in the palace style.^f

¹³Our storehouses will be full,

supplying all kinds of produce;^g

our flocks will increase by thousands

and tens of thousands in our open fields.^h

¹⁴Our cattle will be well fed.^E

There will be no breach in the walls,

no going into captivity,^F

and no cry of lament in our public squares.ⁱ

¹⁵Happy are the people with such blessings.

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.^j

Psalm 145

PRAISING GOD’S GREATNESS

A hymn of David.

¹I^A exalt you, my God the King,

and bless your name forever and ever.^k

²I will bless you every day;

I will praise your name forever and ever.ⁱ

³The Lord is great and is highly praised;^m

his greatness is unsearchable.ⁿ

⁴One generation will declare your works to the next

and will proclaim your mighty acts.^o

⁵I^B will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty

and^C your wondrous works.^p

⁶They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts,

and I will declare your greatness.^Dq

⁷They will give a testimony of your great goodness

and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.^r

⁸The Lord is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and great in faithful love.^s

⁹The Lord is good to everyone;^t

his compassion rests on all he has made.^u

¹⁰All you have made will thank you, Lord;

the^E faithful will bless you.^v

¹¹They will speak of the glory of your kingdom

and will declare your might,^w

¹²informing all people of your mighty acts

and of the glorious splendor of your^F kingdom.^x

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;

your…