Psalm 138–145
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
1 aI will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the bgods.
2 I will bow down atoward Your holy temple
And bgive thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your 1truth;
For You have cmagnified Your 2word 3according to all Your name.
3 On the day I acalled, You answered me;
You made me bold with bstrength in my soul.
4 aAll the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will asing of the ways of the Lord,
For bgreat is the glory of the Lord.
6 For athough the Lord is exalted,
Yet He bregards the lowly,
But the chaughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I awalk in the midst of trouble, You will 1brevive me;
You will cstretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will dsave me.
8 The Lord will aaccomplish what concerns me;
Your blovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
cDo not forsake the dworks of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, You have asearched me and known me.
2 You aknow 1when I sit down and 2when I rise up;
You bunderstand my thought from afar.
3 You 1ascrutinize my 2path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 1Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You aknow it all.
5 You have aenclosed me behind and before,
And blaid Your hand upon me.
6 Such aknowledge is btoo wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 aWhere can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 aIf I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in 1Sheol, behold, bYou are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will alead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the adarkness will 1overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the adarkness is not dark 1to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
bDarkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You aformed my 1inward parts;
You bwove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for 1I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
aWonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My 1aframe was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the bdepths of the earth;
16 Your aeyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in bYour book were all written
The cdays that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your athoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would aoutnumber the sand.
When bI awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would aslay the wicked, O God;
bDepart from me, therefore, cmen of bloodshed.
20 For they aspeak 1against You wickedly,
And Your enemies 2btake Your name in vain.
21 Do I not ahate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not bloathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
23 aSearch me, O God, and know my heart;
bTry me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any 1ahurtful way in me,
And blead me in the ceverlasting way.
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
1 aRescue me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from bviolent men
2 Who adevise evil things in their hearts;
They bcontinually stir up wars.
3 They asharpen their tongues as a serpent;
bPoison of a viper is under their lips.
1Selah.
4 aKeep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
bPreserve me from violent men
Who have 1purposed to 2ctrip up my feet.
5 The proud have ahidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a bnet by the 1wayside;
They have set csnares for me.
Selah.
6 I asaid to the Lord, “You are my God;
bGive ear, O Lord, to the cvoice of my supplications.
7 “O 1God the Lord, athe strength of my salvation,
You have bcovered my head in the day of 2battle.
8 “Do not grant, O Lord, the adesires of the wicked;
Do not promote bhis evil device, that they not be exalted.
Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the amischief of their lips cover them.
10 “May aburning coals fall upon them;
May they be bcast into the fire,
Into 1deep pits from which they ccannot rise.
11 “May a 1slanderer not be established in the earth;
aMay evil hunt the violent man 2speedily.”
12 I know that the Lord will amaintain the cause of the afflicted
And bjustice for the poor.
13 Surely the arighteous will give thanks to Your name;
The bupright will dwell in Your presence.
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, I call upon You; ahasten to me!
bGive ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be 1counted as aincense before You;
The blifting up of my hands as the cevening offering.
3 Set a aguard, O Lord, 1over my mouth;
Keep watch over the bdoor of my lips.
4 aDo not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds 1of wickedness
With men who bdo iniquity;
And cdo not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the arighteous smite me 1in kindness and reprove me;
It is boil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
2For still my prayer cis 3against their wicked deeds.
6 Their judges are athrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one aplows and breaks open the earth,
Our bbones have been scattered at the cmouth of 1Sheol.
8 For my aeyes are toward You, O 1God, the Lord;
In You I btake refuge; cdo not 2leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the 1ajaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the bsnares of those who do iniquity.
10 Let the wicked afall into their own nets,
†Maskil of David, when he was •in the cave. A Prayer.
1 I acry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I bmake supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I apour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my btrouble before Him.
3 When amy spirit 1was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have bhidden a trap for me.
For there is ano one who regards me;
cNo one cares for my soul.
I said, “You are amy refuge,
My bportion in the cland of the living.
6 “aGive heed to my cry,
For I am bbrought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too cstrong for me.
7 “aBring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will bdeal bountifully with me.”
Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
aGive ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your bfaithfulness, in Your crighteousness!
2 And ado not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight bno man living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life ato the ground;
He bhas made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore amy spirit 1is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is 2bappalled within me.
5 I aremember the days of old;
I bmeditate on all Your doings;
I cmuse on the work of Your hands.
6 I astretch out my hands to You;
My bsoul longs for You, as a 1parched land.
2Selah.
7 aAnswer me quickly, O Lord, my bspirit fails;
cDo not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like dthose who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your alovingkindness bin the morning;
For I trust cin You;
Teach me the dway in which I should walk;
For to You I elift up my soul.
9 aDeliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
1I take refuge in You.
10 aTeach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let bYour good Spirit clead me on level 1ground.
11 aFor the sake of Your name, O Lord, brevive me.
cIn Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, 1acut off my enemies
And bdestroy all those who afflict my soul,
For cI am Your servant.
Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.
A Psalm of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, amy rock,
Who btrains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2 My lovingkindness and amy fortress,
My bstronghold and my deliverer,
My cshield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who dsubdues 1my people under me.
3 O Lord, awhat is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 aMan is like a mere breath;
His bdays are like a passing shadow.
5 aBow Your heavens, O Lord, and bcome down;
cTouch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth alightning and scatter them;
Send out Your barrows and confuse them.
7 Stretch forth Your hand afrom on high;
Rescue me and bdeliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of caliens
8 Whose mouths aspeak deceit,
And whose bright hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a anew song to You, O God;
Upon a bharp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who agives salvation to kings,
Who brescues David His servant from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me out of the hand of aaliens,
Whose mouth bspeaks deceit
And whose cright hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 Let our sons in their youth be as agrown-up plants,
And our daughters as bcorner pillars 1fashioned as for a palace;
13 Let our agarners be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our 1fields;
Without 2bmishap and without 3closs,
Let there be no doutcry in our streets!
15 How blessed are the people who are so situated;
How ablessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.
A Psalm of Praise, of David.
1 I will aextol You, bmy God, O King,
And I will cbless Your name forever and ever.
And I will apraise Your name forever and ever.
3 aGreat is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His bgreatness is unsearchable.
4 One ageneration shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 On the aglorious 1splendor of Your majesty
And b…