Psalm 138–145

A Prayer of Thanksgivingⁿ

138 I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;

I sing praise to you before the gods.

²I face your holy Temple,

bow down, and praise your name

because of your constant love and faithfulness,

because you have shown that your name and your commands are supreme.^o

³You answered me when I called to you;

with your strength you strengthened me.

⁴All the kings in the world will praise you, Lord,

because they have heard your promises.

⁵They will sing about what you have done

and about your great glory.

⁶Even though you are so high above,

you care for the lowly,

and the proud cannot hide from you.

⁷When I am surrounded by troubles,

you keep me safe.

You oppose my angry enemies

and save me by your power.

⁸You will do everything you have promised;

Complete the work that you have begun.

God’s Complete Knowledge and Care^p

139 Lord, you have examined me and you know me.

²You know everything I do;

from far away you understand all my thoughts.

³You see me, whether I am working or resting;

you know all my actions.

⁴Even before I speak,

you already know what I will say.

⁵You are all round me on every side;

you protect me with your power.

⁶Your knowledge of me is too deep;

it is beyond my understanding.

⁷Where could I go to escape from you?

Where could I get away from your presence?

⁸If I went up to heaven, you would be there;

if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.

⁹If I flew away beyond the east

or lived in the farthest place in the west,

¹⁰you would be there to lead me,

you would be there to help me.

¹¹I could ask the darkness to hide me

or the light round me to turn into night,

¹²but even darkness is not dark for you,

and the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³You created every part of me;

you put me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I praise you because you are to be feared;

all you do is strange and wonderful.

I know it with all my heart.

¹⁵When my bones were being formed,

carefully put together in my mother’s womb,

when I was growing there in secret,

you knew that I was there-

¹⁶you saw me before I was born.

The days allotted to me

had all been recorded in your book,

before any of them ever began.

¹⁷O God, how difficult I find your thoughts;^q

how many of them there are!

¹⁸If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked!

How I wish violent people would leave me alone!

²⁰They say wicked things about you;

they speak evil things against your name.^r

²¹O Lord, how I hate those who hate you!

How I despise those who rebel against you!

²²I hate them with a total hatred;

I regard them as my enemies.

²³Examine me, O God, and know my mind;

test me, and discover my thoughts.

²⁴Find out if there is any evil in me

and guide me in the everlasting way.^s

A Prayer for Protection^t

140 Save me, Lord, from evildoers;

keep me safe from violent people.

²They are always plotting evil,

always stirring up quarrels.

^3*Their tongues are like deadly snakes;

their words are like a cobra’s poison.

⁴Protect me, Lord, from the power of the wicked;

keep me safe from violent people

who plot my downfall.

⁵The proud have set a trap for me;

they have laid their snares

and along the path they have set traps to catch me.

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Hear my cry for help, Lord!

⁷My Sovereign Lord, my strong defender,

you have protected me in battle.

⁸Lord, don’t give the wicked what they want;

don’t let their plots succeed.

⁹Don’t let my enemies be victorious;^u

make their threats against me fall back on them.

¹⁰May red-hot coals fall on them;

may they be thrown into a pit and never get out.

¹¹May those who accuse others falsely not succeed;

may evil overtake violent people and destroy them.

¹²Lord, I know that you defend the cause of the poor

and the rights of the needy.

¹³The righteous will praise you indeed;

they will live in your presence.

An Evening Prayer^v

141 I call to you, Lord; help me now!

Listen to me when I call to you.

^2*Receive my prayer as incense,

my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

³Lord, place a guard at my mouth,

a sentry at the door of my lips.

⁴Keep me from wanting to do wrong

and from joining evil people in their wickedness.

May I never take part in their feasts.

⁵Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness,

but I will never accept honour from evil people,

because I am always praying against their evil deeds.

⁶When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs,

the people will admit that my words were true.

⁷Like wood that is split and chopped into bits,

so their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.^w

⁸But I keep trusting in you, my Sovereign Lord.

I seek your protection;

don’t let me die!

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

from the snares of those evildoers.

¹⁰May the wicked fall into their own traps

while I go by unharmed.

A Prayer for Help^+x

142 I call to the Lord for help;

I plead with him.

²I bring him all my complaints;

I tell him all my troubles.

³When I am ready to give up,

he knows what I should do.

In the path where I walk,

my enemies have hidden a trap for me.

⁴When I look beside me,

I see that there is no one to help me,

no one to protect me.

No one cares for me.

⁵Lord, I cry to you for help;

you, Lord, are my protector;

you are all I want in this life.

⁶Listen to my cry for help,

for I am sunk in despair.

Save me from my enemies;

they are too strong for me.

⁷Set me free from my distress;^y

then in the assembly of your people I will praise you

because of your goodness to me.

A Prayer for Help^z

143 Lord, hear my prayer!

In your righteousness listen to my plea;

answer me in your faithfulness!

^2*Don’t put me, your servant, on trial;

no one is innocent in your sight.

³My enemies have hunted me down

and completely defeated me.

They have put me in a dark prison,

and I am like those who died long ago.

⁴So I am ready to give up;

I am in deep despair.

⁵I remember the days gone by;

I think about all that you have done,

I bring to mind all your deeds.

⁶I lift up my hands to you in prayer;

like dry ground my soul is thirsty for you.

⁷Answer me now, Lord!

I have lost all hope.

Don’t hide yourself from me,

or I will be among those who go down to the world of the dead.

⁸Remind me each morning of your constant love,

for I put my trust in you.

My prayers go up to you;

show me the way I should go.

⁹I go to you for protection, Lord;

rescue me from my enemies.

¹⁰You are my God;

teach me to do your will.

Be good to me, and guide me on a safe path.

¹¹Rescue me, Lord, as you have promised;

in your goodness save me from my troubles!

¹²Because of your love for me, kill my enemies

and destroy all my oppressors,

for I am your servant.

A King Thanks God for Victory^a

144 Praise the Lord, my protector!

He trains me for battle

and prepares me for war.

²He is my protector and defender,

my shelter and saviour,

in whom I trust for safety.

He subdues the nations under me.

^3*Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them;

mere mortals, that you pay attention to them?

⁴They are like a puff of wind;

their days are like a passing shadow.

⁵O Lord, tear the sky apart and come down;

touch the mountains, and they will pour out smoke.

⁶Send flashes of lightning and scatter your enemies;

shoot your arrows and send them running.

⁷Reach down from above,

pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me;

save me from the power of foreigners,

⁸who never tell the truth

and lie even under oath.

⁹I will sing you a new song, O God;

I will play the harp and sing to you.

¹⁰You give victory to kings

and rescue your servant David.

¹¹Save me from my cruel enemies;

rescue me from the power of foreigners,

who never tell the truth

and lie even under oath.

¹²May our sons in their youth

be like plants that grow up strong.

May our daughters be like stately pillars

which adorn the corners of a palace.

¹³May our barns be filled

with crops of every kind.

May the sheep in our fields

bear young by the tens of thousands.

¹⁴May our cattle reproduce plentifully

without miscarriage or loss.

May there be no cries of distress in our streets.

¹⁵Happy is the nation of whom this is true;

happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

A Hymn of Praise^b

145 I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king;

I will thank you for ever and ever.

²Every day I will thank you;

I will praise you for ever and ever.

³The Lord is great and is to be highly praised;

his greatness is beyond understanding.

⁴What you have done will be praised from one generation to the next;

they will proclaim your mighty acts.

⁵They will speak of your glory and majesty,

and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.

⁶People will speak of your mighty deeds,

and I will proclaim your greatness.

⁷They will tell about all your goodness

and sing about your kindness.

⁸The Lord is loving and merciful,

slow to become angry and full of constant love.

⁹He is good to everyone

and has compassion on all he made.

¹⁰All your creatures, Lord, will praise you,

and all your people will give you thanks.

¹¹They will speak of the glory of your royal power

and tell of your might,

¹²so that everyone will know your mighty deeds

and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.

¹³Your rule is eternal,

and you are king for ever.

The Lord is faithful to his promises,

and he is merciful in all his acts.

¹⁴He helps those who are in trouble;

he lifts those who have fallen.

¹⁵All living things look hopefully to you,

and you give them food when they need it.

¹⁶You give them enough

and satisfy the needs of all.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all he does,

merciful in all his acts.

¹⁸He is near to those who call to him,

who call to him with sincerity.

¹⁹He supplies the needs of those who honour him;

he hears their cries and saves them.

²⁰He protects everyone who loves him,

but he will destroy the wicked.

²¹I will always praise the Lord;

let all his creatures praise his holy name for ever.