Psalm 143–145

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 generations. ^j

The Lord is faithful in all His words

and gracious in all His actions. ^kl

¹⁴The Lord helps all who fall;

He raises up all who are oppressed. ^mn

¹⁵All eyes look to You,

and You give them their food at the proper time. ^o

¹⁶You open Your hand

and satisfy the desire of every living thing. ^p

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all His ways

and gracious in all His acts. ^q

¹⁸The Lord is near all who call out to Him,

all who call out to Him with integrity. ^r

¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;

He hears their cry for help and saves them. ^s

²⁰The Lord guards all those who love Him,

but He destroys all the wicked. ^t

²¹My mouth will declare Yahweh’s praise;

let every living thing

praise His holy name forever and ever. ^u