Psalm 138–145

Psalm 138

A Psalm of David.

¹I will praise thee with my whole heart:

^aBefore the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

²I will worship ^btoward ^cthy holy temple,

And praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth:

For thou hast ^dmagnified ^ethy word above all thy name.

³In the day when I cried thou answeredst me,

And ^fstrengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

^4gAll the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord,

When they hear the words of thy mouth.

⁵Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord:

For great is the glory of the Lord.

^6hThough the Lord be high, yet ^hihath he respect unto the lowly:

But ⁱthe proud he knoweth afar off.

^7kThough I walk in the midst of trouble, ^lthou wilt revive me:

Thou shalt ^mstretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies,

And thy right hand shall save me.

⁸The Lord will ⁿperfect that which concerneth me:

^oThy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever:

Forsake not ^pthe works of thine own hands.

Psalm 139

^*To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, ^athou hast searched me, and known me.

²Thou knowest ^bcmy downsitting and ^cdmine uprising,

^eThou understandest my ^fthought afar off.

^3eThou ^||compassest my path and my lying down,

And art ^gacquainted with all my ways.

⁴For there is not a word in my tongue,

But, lo, O Lord, ^hthou knowest it altogether.

⁵Thou hast ⁱbeset me behind and before,

And ^klaid thine hand upon me.

⁶Such ^lknowledge is ^mtoo wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain unto it.

⁷ⁿWhither shall I go from thy spirit?

Or whither ^oshall I flee from thy presence?

^8pIf I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:

^qIf I ^rmake my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

⁹If I take ^sthe wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

¹⁰Even there shall thy hand ^tlead me,

And thy right hand shall hold me.

¹¹If I say, ^uSurely the darkness shall cover me;

Even the night shall be light about me.

¹²Yea, ^uthe darkness ^†hideth not from thee;

But the night shineth as the day:

^†The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

¹³For thou hast ^vpossessed my reins:

Thou hast ^wcovered me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

^xMarvellous are thy works;

And that my soul knoweth ^†right well.

^15yMy ^||substance was not hid from thee,

When I was made in secret,

And ^zcuriously wrought in ^athe lowest parts of the earth.

^16yThine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect;

And in thy book ^†all my members were written,

^||Which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

^17bHow precious also are ^cthy thoughts unto me, O God!

How great is ^dthe sum of them!

¹⁸If I ^eshould count them, they are more in number than ^fthe sand:

When I awake, I am still with thee.

^19gSurely thou wilt ^hslay the wicked, O God:

ⁱDepart from me therefore, ^kye bloody men.

²⁰For they ^lspeak against thee wickedly,

And thine ^menemies take ⁿthy name in vain.

^21oDo not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?

And am not I ^pgrieved with ^qthose that rise up against thee?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred:

I count them mine enemies.

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

^rTry me, and know my ^sthoughts:

²⁴And see if there be any ^†wicked ^tway in me,

And ^ulead me in the ^tway ^xeverlasting.

Psalm 140

^*To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

^1aDeliver me, O Lord, ^bfrom the evil man:

^bPreserve me from the ^†violent man;

²Which imagine mischiefs in their heart;

Continually are they ^cgathered together for war.

^3dThey have sharpened their tongues like ^ea serpent;

^fAdders’ ^epoison is ^gunder their lips. Selah.

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

^bPreserve me from the violent man;

Who have purposed to ^hoverthrow my goings.

⁵The proud have ⁱhid ^ka snare for me, and ^lcords;

They have spread a ^mnet by the wayside;

They have set ⁿgins for me. Selah.

⁶I ⁿⁿsaid unto the Lord, Thou art my God:

Hear ^othe voice of my supplications, O Lord.

⁷O God the Lord, ^pthe strength of my salvation,

Thou hast ^qcovered my head in the day of ^rbattle.

⁸Grant not, O Lord, ^sthe desires of the wicked:

Further not his wicked device;

^||tLest they exalt themselves. Selah.

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

^uLet the mischief of their own lips cover them.

¹⁰Let burning coals ^wfall upon them:

Let them be cast into the fire;

Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.

¹¹Let not ^†||an evil speaker be established in the earth:

Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.

¹²I know that the Lord will ^xmaintain the cause of the afflicted,

And ^xythe right of the poor.

¹³Surely ^zthe righteous shall give thanks unto thy name:

The upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.

¹Lord, I cry unto thee: ^aMake haste unto me;

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

²Let ^bmy prayer be ^†set forth before thee as ^bincense;

And ^cthe lifting up of my hands as ^dthe evening sacrifice.

³Set ^ea watch, O Lord, before my mouth;

^eKeep the door of my lips.

^4fIncline not my heart to any evil thing,

To practise wicked works with men that ^gwork iniquity:

And ^hlet me not eat of their dainties.

^5i||Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness:

And let him reprove me; it shall be an ^kexcellent oil,

Which shall not break my head:

For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

⁶When ^ltheir judges are overthrown in stony places,

^lThey shall hear my words; for they are sweet.

^7mOur bones are scattered ⁿat the grave’s mouth,

As when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.

⁸But ^omine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord:

^pIn thee is my trust; ^†leave not my soul destitute.

⁹Keep me from ^qthe snares which they have laid for me,

And the ^rgins of ^gthe workers of iniquity.

¹⁰Let the wicked ^sfall into their own nets,

Whilst that I withal ^†escape.

Psalm 142

^||Maschil of David; A Prayer ^*when he was in the cave.

^1aI cried unto the Lord with my voice;

With my voice unto the Lord did I ^bmake my supplication.

²I ^cpoured out my ^dcomplaint before him;

I shewed before him my trouble.

³When ^emy spirit was overwhelmed within me,

Then thou knewest my path.

In the way wherein I walked

Have they ^fprivily laid a snare for me.

^4g||I looked on my ^hright hand, and beheld,

But there was no man that would ⁱknow me:

Refuge ^†failed me;

^†No man cared for my soul.

⁵I cried unto thee, O Lord:

^kI said, Thou art my ^lrefuge

And ^mmy portion ⁿin the land of the living.

^6oAttend unto my cry;

^pFor I am brought very low:

Deliver me from my persecutors;

^qFor they are stronger than I.

^7rBring my soul out of prison,

That I may praise thy name:

The righteous shall compass me about;

For thou shalt ^sdeal bountifully with me.

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David.

¹Hear my prayer, O Lord,

^aGive ear to my supplications:

^bIn thy faithfulness answer me, and ^bin thy righteousness.

²And ^center not into judgment with thy servant:

For ^din thy sight shall no man living be justified.

³For the enemy hath persecuted my soul;

He hath smitten my life down to the ground;

He hath made me to dwell ^ein darkness, as those that have been long dead.

⁴Therefore ^fis my spirit overwhelmed within me;

My heart within me ^gis desolate.

^5hI remember ⁱthe days of old;

I meditate on all thy ^jkworks;

I muse on ^kthe work of thy hands.

^6lI stretch forth my hands unto thee:

^mMy soul ⁿthirsteth after thee, ^oas a thirsty land. Selah.

^7pHear me speedily, O Lord: ^qmy spirit faileth:

^prHide not thy face from me,

^s||Lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

⁸Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness ^tin the morning;

For ^uin thee do I trust:

^wCause me to know the way wherein I should walk;

For ^xI lift up my soul unto thee.

^9yDeliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies:

I ^†flee unto thee to hide me.

^10zTeach me to do ^athy will; for thou art my God:

^bThy spirit is good; ^clead me into ^dthe land of uprightness.

^11eQuicken me, O Lord, ^ffor thy name’s sake:

For thy righteousness’ sake ^gbring my soul out of trouble.

¹²And of thy mercy ^hcut off mine enemies,

And destroy all them that afflict my soul:

For ⁱI am thy servant.

Psalm 144

A Psalm ^*of David.

¹Blessed be the Lord ^†my strength,

^aWhich teacheth my hands ^†to war,

And my fingers ^ato fight:

^2b||My goodness, and ^cmy fortress; ^dmy high tower, and my deliverer;

^bMy shield, and he in whom I trust;

Who ^esubdueth my people under me.

^3fLord, what is man, that thou ^gTakest knowledge of him!

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

^4hMan is like to vanity:

His days are as ⁱa shadow that passeth away.

^5kBow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down:

^lTouch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

⁶Cast forth ^mlightning, and scatter them:

^mShoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.

⁷ⁿSend thine ^†hand ^ofrom above;

^pRid me, and deliver me ⁿout of great waters,

From the hand of ^qstrange children;

⁸Whose mouth ^rspeaketh vanity,

And their right hand is ^sa right hand of falsehood.

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

Upon ^ua psaltery ^wand ^uan instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.

¹⁰It is he ^xthat giveth ^||salvation unto kings:

Who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.

^11yRid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children,

^zWhose mouth speaketh vanity,

And their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

¹²That our sons may be ^aas plants grown up in their youth;

That our daughters may be as ^bcorner stones, ^†polished after the similitude of a palace:

¹³That our garners may be full, ^caffording ^†all manner of store:

That our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our ^estreets:

¹⁴That our oxen may be ^†strong to labour;

That there be no ^fbreaking in, nor ^ggoing out;

That there be no ^hcomplaining in our streets.

¹⁵ⁱHappy is that people, that is in such a case:

Yea, ^khappy is that people, whose God is the Lord.

Psalm 145

David’s Psalm of ^*praise.

^1aI 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.

^3bGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

^†And his greatness is unsearchable.

^4cOne generation shall praise thy works to another,

And shall declare thy ⁿmighty acts.

⁵I will ^dspeak of ^ethe glorious honour of thy majesty,

And of thy wondrous ^†works.

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

And I…