Psalm 138–145

Psalm 138

A Thankful Heart

Davidic.

¹I will give You thanks with all my heart; ⁱ

I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings. ^jk

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. ^l

³On the day I called, You answered me;

You increased strength within me. ^mn

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

when they hear what You have promised. ^op

⁵They will sing of the Lord’s ways,

for the Lord’s glory is great. ^q

⁶Though the Lord is exalted,

He takes note of the humble;

but He knows the haughty from a distance. ^r

⁷If I walk into the thick of danger,

You will preserve my life

from the anger of my enemies. ^s

You will extend Your hand;

Your right hand will save me. ^t

⁸The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. ^u

Lord, Your love is eternal;

do not abandon the work of Your hands. ^v

Psalm 139

The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

¹Lord, You have searched me and known me. ^w

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

You understand my thoughts from far away. ^x

³You observe my travels and my rest;

You are aware of all my ways. ^y

⁴Before a word is on my tongue,

You know all about it, Lord. ^z

⁵You have encircled me;

You have placed Your hand on me. ^a

⁶This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.

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

⁷Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence? ^c

⁸If I go up to heaven, You are there; ^d

if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. ^e

⁹If I live at the eastern horizon

or settle at the western limits, ^f

¹⁰even there Your hand will lead me;

Your right hand will hold on to me. ^g

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

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

¹²even the darkness is not dark to You.

The night shines like the day;

darkness and light are alike to You. ⁱ

¹³For it was You who created my inward parts; ^j

You knit me together in my mother’s womb. ^k

¹⁴I will praise You

because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. ^lm

Your works are wonderful,

and I know this very well. ⁿ

¹⁵My bones were not hidden from You

when I was made in secret,

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

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. ^p

¹⁷God, how difficult ^qYour thoughts are

for me to comprehend;

how vast their sum is!

¹⁸If I counted them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand; ^r

when I wake up, ^sI am still with You. ^t

¹⁹God, if only You would kill the wicked—

you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me ^u—

²⁰who invoke You deceitfully.

Your enemies swear by You falsely. ^v

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. ^w

²³Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my concerns. ^x

²⁴See if there is any offensive ^yway in me;

lead me in the everlasting way. ^z

Psalm 140

Prayer for Rescue

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

¹Rescue me, Lord, from evil men.

Keep me safe from violent men ^a

²who plan evil in their hearts.

They stir up wars all day long. ^b

³They make their tongues

as sharp as a snake’s bite;

viper’s venom is under their lips. ^cSelah

⁴Protect me, Lord,

from the clutches of the wicked. ^d

Keep me safe from violent men

who plan to make me stumble. ^ef

⁵The proud hide a trap with ropes for me;

they spread a net along the path

and set snares for me. ^gSelah

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Listen, Lord, to my cry for help. ^h

⁷Lord God, my strong Savior,

You shield my head on the day of battle. ⁱ

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

do not let them achieve their goals.

Otherwise, they will become proud. ^jSelah

⁹When those who surround me rise up, ^k

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 ⁿhunt down a violent man. ^o

¹²I ^pknow that the Lord upholds

the just cause of the poor,

justice for the needy. ^q

¹³Surely the righteous will praise Your name;

the upright will live in Your presence. ^r

Psalm 141

Protection from Sin and Sinners

A Davidic psalm.

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

Listen to my voice when I call on You. ^s

²May my prayer be set before You as incense, ^t

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

³Lord, set up a guard for my mouth;

keep watch at the door of my lips. ^v

⁴Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing

or perform wicked acts

with men who commit sin.

Do not let me feast on their delicacies. ^w

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 ^xnot refuse it. ^y

Even now my prayer is against

the evil acts of the wicked. ^za

⁶When their rulers ^bwill be thrown off

the sides of a cliff,

the people ^cwill listen to my words,

for they are pleasing. ^d

⁷As when one plows and breaks up the soil,

turning up rocks,

so our ^ebones have been scattered

at the mouth of Sheol. ^f

⁸But my eyes look to You, Lord God.

I seek refuge in You; do not let me die. ^gh

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

and from the snares of evildoers. ^j

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I pass by safely. ^k

Psalm 142

A Cry of Distress

A Davidic Maskil. When he was in the cave. ^lA prayer.

¹I cry aloud to the Lord; ^m

I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy. ⁿ

²I pour out my complaint before Him;

I reveal my trouble to Him. ^o

³Although my spirit is weak within me,

You know my way. ^p

Along this path I travel

they have hidden a trap for me. ^q

⁴Look to the right and see: ^r

no one stands up for me;

there is no refuge for me;

no one cares about me. ^s

⁵I cry to You, Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

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

⁶Listen to my cry,

for I am very weak. ^u

Rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me. ^v

⁷Free me from prison

so that I can praise Your name.

The righteous will gather around me

because You deal generously with me. ^w

Psalm 143

A Cry for Help

A Davidic psalm.

¹Lord, hear my prayer.

In Your faithfulness listen to my plea,

and in Your righteousness answer me. ^x

²Do not bring Your servant into judgment, ^y

for no one alive is righteous in Your sight. ^z

³For the enemy has pursued me,

crushing me to the ground,

making me live in darkness

like those long dead. ^a

⁴My spirit is weak within me;

my heart is overcome with dismay. ^b

⁵I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all You have done;

I reflect on the work of Your hands. ^c

⁶I spread out my hands to You;

I am like parched land before You. ^dSelah

⁷Answer me quickly, Lord;

my spirit fails. ^e

Don’t hide Your face from me,

or I will be like those

going down to the Pit. ^f

⁸Let me experience

Your faithful love in the morning,

for I trust in You. ^g

Reveal to me the way I should go

because I long for You. ^h

⁹Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;

I come to You for protection. ^ij

¹⁰Teach me to do Your will,

for You are my God. ^k

May Your gracious Spirit

lead me on level ground. ^l

¹¹Because of Your name, Yahweh,

let me live.

In Your righteousness deliver me from trouble, ^m

¹²and in Your faithful love destroy my enemies.

Wipe out all those who attack me,

for I am Your servant. ⁿ

Psalm 144

A King’s Prayer

Davidic.

¹May the Lord, my rock, be praised, ^o

who trains my hands for battle

and my fingers for warfare. ^p

²He is my faithful love and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer.

He is my shield, ^qand I take refuge in Him; ^r

He subdues my people ^sunder me. ^t

³Lord, what is man, that You care for him,

the son of man, that You think of him? ^u

⁴Man is like a breath;

his days are like a passing shadow. ^v

⁵Lord, part Your heavens and come down. ^w

Touch the mountains, and they will smoke. ^x

⁶Flash Your lightning and scatter the foe; ^y

shoot Your arrows and rout them. ^z

⁷Reach down ^afrom heaven; ^b

rescue me from deep water, and set me free

from the grasp of foreigners ^c

⁸whose mouths speak lies,

whose right hands are deceptive. ^d

⁹God, I will sing a new song to You;

I will play on a ten-stringed harp for You ^e—

¹⁰the One who gives victory to kings,

who frees His servant David

from the deadly sword. ^f

¹¹Set me free and rescue me

from the grasp of foreigners ^g

whose mouths speak lies,

whose right hands are deceptive. ^h

¹²Then our sons will be like plants

nurtured in their youth,

our daughters, like corner pillars

that are carved in the palace style. ⁱ

¹³Our storehouses will be full,

supplying all kinds of produce; ^j

our flocks will increase by thousands

and tens of thousands in our open fields. ^k

¹⁴Our cattle will be well fed. ^l

There will be no breach in the walls,

no going into captivity, ^m

and no cry of lament in our public squares. ⁿ

¹⁵Happy are the people with such blessings.

Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh. ^o

Psalm 145

Praising God’s Greatness

A Davidic hymn.

¹I ^pexalt You, my God the King,

and praise Your name forever and ever. ^q

²I will praise You every day;

I will honor Your name forever and ever. ^r

³Yahweh is great and is highly praised; ^s

His greatness is unsearchable. ^t

⁴One generation will declare Your works to the next

and will proclaim Your mighty acts. ^u

⁵I ^vwill speak of Your splendor and glorious majesty

and ^wYour wonderful works. ^x

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

and I will declare Your greatness. ^yz

⁷They will give a testimony of Your great goodness

and will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. ^a

⁸The Lord is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and great in faithful love. ^b

⁹The Lord is good to everyone; ^c

His compassion rests on all He has made. ^d

¹⁰All You have made will thank You, Lord;

the ^egodly will praise You. ^f

¹¹They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom

and will declare Your might, ^g

¹²informing all people of Your mighty acts

and of the glorious splendor of Your ^hkingdom. ⁱ

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;

Your rule is for all…