Psalm 138–145

A David Psalm

^1–3138Thank you! Everything in me says “Thank you!”

Angels listen as I sing my thanks.

I kneel in worship facing your holy temple

and say it again: “Thank you!”

Thank you for your love,

thank you for your faithfulness;

Most holy is your name,

most holy is your Word.

The moment I called out, you stepped in;

you made my life large with strength.

^4–6When they hear what you have to say, God,

all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.”

They’ll sing of what you’ve done:

“How great the glory of God!”

And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below;

no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

^7–8When I walk into the thick of trouble,

keep me alive in the angry turmoil.

With one hand

strike my foes,

With your other hand

save me.

Finish what you started in me, God.

Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.

A David Psalm

^1–6139God, investigate my life;

get all the facts firsthand.

I’m an open book to you;

even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.

You know when I leave and when I get back;

I’m never out of your sight.

You know everything I’m going to say

before I start the first sentence.

I look behind me and you’re there,

then up ahead and you’re there, too—

your reassuring presence, coming and going.

This is too much, too wonderful—

I can’t take it all in!

^7–12Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit?

to be out of your sight?

If I climb to the sky, you’re there!

If I go underground, you’re there!

If I flew on morning’s wings

to the far western horizon,

You’d find me in a minute—

you’re already there waiting!

Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!

At night I’m immersed in the light!”

It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;

night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

^13–16Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

you formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

before I’d even lived one day.

^17–22Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!

God, I’ll never comprehend them!

I couldn’t even begin to count them—

any more than I could count the sand of the sea.

Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!

And you murderers—out of here!—

all the men and women who belittle you, God,

infatuated with cheap god-imitations.

See how I hate those who hate you, God,

see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;

I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.

Your enemies are my enemies!

^23–24Investigate my life, O God,

find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

get a clear picture of what I’m about;

See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—

then guide me on the road to eternal life.

A David Psalm

^1–5140God, get me out of here, away from this evil;

protect me from these vicious people.

All they do is think up new ways to be bad;

they spend their days plotting war games.

They practice the sharp rhetoric of hate and hurt,

speak venomous words that maim and kill.

God, keep me out of the clutch of these wicked ones,

protect me from these vicious people;

Stuffed with self-importance, they plot ways to trip me up,

determined to bring me down.

These crooks invent traps to catch me

and do their best to incriminate me.

^6–8I prayed, “God, you’re my God!

Listen, God! Mercy!

God, my Lord, Strong Savior,

protect me when the fighting breaks out!

Don’t let the wicked have their way, God,

don’t give them an inch!”

^9–11These troublemakers all around me—

let them drown in their own verbal poison.

Let God pile hellfire on them,

let him bury them alive in crevasses!

These loudmouths—

don’t let them be taken seriously;

These savages—

let the Devil hunt them down!

^12–13I know that you, God, are on the side of victims,

that you care for the rights of the poor.

And I know that the righteous personally thank you,

that good people are secure in your presence.

A David Psalm

^1–2141God, come close. Come quickly!

Open your ears—it’s my voice you’re hearing!

Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising;

my raised hands are my evening prayers.

^3–7Post a guard at my mouth, God,

set a watch at the door of my lips.

Don’t let me so much as dream of evil

or thoughtlessly fall into bad company.

And these people who only do wrong—

don’t let them lure me with their sweet talk!

May the Just One set me straight,

may the Kind One correct me,

Don’t let sin anoint my head.

I’m praying hard against their evil ways!

Oh, let their leaders be pushed off a high rock cliff;

make them face the music.

Like a rock pulverized by a maul,

let their bones be scattered at the gates of hell.

^8–10But God, dear Lord,

I only have eyes for you.

Since I’ve run for dear life to you,

take good care of me.

Protect me from their evil scheming,

from all their demonic subterfuge.

Let the wicked fall flat on their faces,

while I walk off without a scratch.

A David Prayer—When He Was in the Cave

^1–2142I cry out loudly to God,

loudly I plead with God for mercy.

I spill out all my complaints before him,

and spell out my troubles in detail:

^3–7“As I sink in despair, my spirit ebbing away,

you know how I’m feeling,

Know the danger I’m in,

the traps hidden in my path.

Look right, look left—

there’s not a soul who cares what happens!

I’m up against it, with no exit—

bereft, left alone.

I cry out, God, call out:

‘You’re my last chance, my only hope for life!’

Oh listen, please listen;

I’ve never been this low.

Rescue me from those who are hunting me down;

I’m no match for them.

Get me out of this dungeon

so I can thank you in public.

Your people will form a circle around me

and you’ll bring me showers of blessing!”

A David Psalm

^1–2143Listen to this prayer of mine, God;

pay attention to what I’m asking.

Answer me—you’re famous for your answers!

Do what’s right for me.

But don’t, please don’t, haul me into court;

not a person alive would be acquitted there.

^3–6The enemy hunted me down;

he kicked me and stomped me within an inch of my life.

He put me in a black hole,

buried me like a corpse in that dungeon.

I sat there in despair, my spirit draining away,

my heart heavy, like lead.

I remembered the old days,

went over all you’ve done, pondered the ways you’ve worked,

Stretched out my hands to you,

as thirsty for you as a desert thirsty for rain.

^7–10Hurry with your answer, God!

I’m nearly at the end of my rope.

Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me!

That would be certain death.

If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice,

I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.

Point out the road I must travel;

I’m all ears, all eyes before you.

Save me from my enemies, God—

you’re my only hope!

Teach me how to live to please you,

because you’re my God.

Lead me by your blessed Spirit

into cleared and level pastureland.

^11–12Keep up your reputation, God—give me life!

In your justice, get me out of this trouble!

In your great love, vanquish my enemies;

make a clean sweep of those who harass me.

And why? Because I’m your servant.

A David Psalm

^1–2144Blessed be God, my mountain,

who trains me to fight fair and well.

He’s the bedrock on which I stand,

the castle in which I live,

my rescuing knight,

The high crag where I run for dear life,

while he lays my enemies low.

^3–4I wonder why you care, God—

why do you bother with us at all?

All we are is a puff of air;

we’re like shadows in a campfire.

^5–8Step down out of heaven, God;

ignite volcanoes in the hearts of the mountains.

Hurl your lightnings in every direction;

shoot your arrows this way and that.

Reach all the way from sky to sea:

pull me out of the ocean of hate,

out of the grip of those barbarians

Who lie through their teeth,

who shake your hand

then knife you in the back.

^9–10O God, let me sing a new song to you,

let me play it on a twelve-string guitar—

A song to the God who saved the king,

the God who rescued David, his servant.

¹¹Rescue me from the enemy sword,

release me from the grip of those barbarians

Who lie through their teeth,

who shake your hand

then knife you in the back.

^12–14Make our sons in their prime

like sturdy oak trees,

Our daughters as shapely and bright

as fields of wildflowers.

Fill our barns with great harvest,

fill our fields with huge flocks;

Protect us from invasion and exile—

eliminate the crime in our streets.

¹⁵How blessed the people who have all this!

How blessed the people who have God for God!

David’s Praise

¹145I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King!

and I’ll bless your name into eternity.

²I’ll bless you every day,

and keep it up from now to eternity.

³God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough.

There are no boundaries to his greatness.

⁴Generation after generation stands in awe of your work;

each one tells stories of your mighty acts.

⁵Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking;

I compose songs on your wonders.

⁶Your marvelous doings are headline news;

I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.

⁷The fame of your goodness spreads across the country;

your righteousness is on everyone’s lips.

⁸God is all mercy and grace—

not quick to anger, is rich in love.

⁹God is good to one and all;

everything he does is suffused with grace.

^10–11Creation and creatures applaud you, God;

your holy people bless you.

They talk about the glories of your rule,

they exclaim over your splendor,

¹²Letting the world know of your power for good,

the lavish splendor of your kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal;

you never get voted out of office.

God always does what he says,

and is gracious in everything he does.

¹⁴God gives a hand to those down on their luck,

gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.

¹⁵All eyes are on you, expectant;

you give them their meals on time.

¹⁶Generous to a fault,

you lavish your favor on all creatures.

¹⁷Everything God does is right—

the trademark on all his works is love.

¹⁸God’s there, listening for all who pray,

for all who pray and mean it.

¹⁹He…