Psalm 138–145

A Hymn of Thanksgiving

A psalm of David.

138Lord, I will thank you with all my heart;

I will sing to you before the gods.

²I will bow down facing your holy Temple,

and I will thank you for your love and loyalty.

You have made your name and your word

greater than anything.

³On the day I called to you, you answered me.

You made me strong and brave.

⁴Lord, let all the kings of the earth praise you

when they hear the words you speak.

⁵They will sing about what the Lord has done,

because the Lord’s glory is great.

⁶Though the Lord is supreme,

he takes care of those who are humble,

but he stays away from the proud.

⁷Lord, even when I have trouble all around me,

you will keep me alive.

When my enemies are angry,

you will reach down and save me by your power.

⁸Lord, you do everything for me.

Lord, your love continues forever.

Do not leave us, whom you made.

God Knows Everything

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

139Lord, you have examined me

and know all about me.

²You know when I sit down and when I get up.

You know my thoughts before I think them.

³You know where I go and where I lie down.

You know everything I do.

⁴Lord, even before I say a word,

you already know it.

⁵You are all around me—in front and in back—

and have put your hand on me.

⁶Your knowledge is amazing to me;

it is more than I can understand.

⁷Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?

Where can I run from you?

⁸If I go up to the heavens, you are there.

If I lie down in the grave, you are there.

⁹If I rise with the sun in the east

and settle in the west beyond the sea,

¹⁰even there you would guide me.

With your right hand you would hold me.

¹¹I could say, “The darkness will hide me.

Let the light around me turn into night.”

¹²But even the darkness is not dark to you.

The night is as light as the day;

darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³You made my whole being;

you formed me in my mother’s body.

¹⁴I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.

What you have done is wonderful.

I know this very well.

¹⁵You saw my bones being formed

as I took shape in my mother’s body.

When I was put together there,

¹⁶you saw my body as it was formed.

All the days planned for me

were written in your book

before I was one day old.

¹⁷God, your thoughts are precious to me.

They are so many!

¹⁸If I could count them,

they would be more than all the grains of sand.

When I wake up,

I am still with you.

¹⁹God, I wish you would kill the wicked!

Get away from me, you murderers!

²⁰They say evil things about you.

Your enemies use your name thoughtlessly.

²¹Lord, I hate those who hate you;

I hate those who rise up against you.

²²I feel only hate for them;

they are my enemies.

²³God, examine me and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴See if there is any bad thing in me.

Lead me on the road to everlasting life.

A Prayer for Protection

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

140Lord, rescue me from evil people;

protect me from cruel people

²who make evil plans,

who always start fights.

³They make their tongues sharp as a snake’s;

their words are like snake poison.

Selah

⁴Lord, guard me from the power of wicked people;

protect me from cruel people

who plan to trip me up.

⁵The proud hid a trap for me.

They spread out a net beside the road;

they set traps for me.

Selah

⁶I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Lord, listen to my prayer for help.

⁷Lord God, my mighty savior,

you protect me in battle.

⁸Lord, do not give the wicked what they want.

Don’t let their plans succeed,

or they will become proud.

Selah

⁹Those around me have planned trouble.

Now let it come to them.

¹⁰Let burning coals fall on them.

Throw them into the fire

or into pits from which they cannot escape.

¹¹Don’t let liars settle in the land.

Let evil quickly hunt down cruel people.

¹²I know the Lord will get justice for the poor

and will defend the needy in court.

¹³Good people will praise his name;

honest people will live in his presence.

A Prayer Not to Sin

A psalm of David.

141Lord, I call to you. Come quickly.

Listen to me when I call to you.

²Let my prayer be like incense placed before you,

and my praise like the evening sacrifice.

³Lord, help me control my tongue;

help me be careful about what I say.

⁴Take away my desire to do evil

or to join others in doing wrong.

Don’t let me eat tasty food

with those who do evil.

⁵If a good person punished me, that would be kind.

If he corrected me, that would be like perfumed oil on my head.

I shouldn’t refuse it.

But I pray against those who do evil.

⁶Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs.

Then people will know that I have spoken correctly:

⁷“The ground is plowed and broken up.

In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the grave.”

⁸God, I look to you for help.

I trust in you, Lord. Don’t let me die.

⁹Protect me from the traps they set for me

and from the net that evil people have spread.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

but let me pass by safely.

A Prayer for Safety

A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer.

142I cry out to the Lord;

I pray to the Lord for mercy.

²I pour out my problems to him;

I tell him my troubles.

³When I am afraid,

you, Lord, know the way out.

In the path where I walk,

a trap is hidden for me.

⁴Look around me and see.

No one cares about me.

I have no place of safety;

no one cares if I live.

⁵Lord, I cry out to you.

I say, “You are my protection.

You are all I want in this life.”

⁶Listen to my cry,

because I am helpless.

Save me from those who are chasing me,

because they are too strong for me.

⁷Free me from my prison,

and then I will praise your name.

Then good people will surround me,

because you have taken care of me.

A Prayer Not to Be Killed

A psalm of David.

143Lord, hear my prayer;

listen to my cry for mercy.

Answer me

because you are loyal and good.

²Don’t judge me, your servant,

because no one alive is right before you.

³My enemies are chasing me;

they crushed me to the ground.

They made me live in darkness

like those long dead.

⁴I am afraid;

my courage is gone.

⁵I remember what happened long ago;

I consider everything you have done.

I think about all you have made.

⁶I lift my hands to you in prayer.

As a dry land needs rain, I thirst for you.

Selah

⁷Lord, answer me quickly,

because I am getting weak.

Don’t turn away from me,

or I will be like those who are dead.

⁸Tell me in the morning about your love,

because I trust you.

Show me what I should do,

because my prayers go up to you.

⁹Lord, save me from my enemies;

I hide in you.

¹⁰Teach me to do what you want,

because you are my God.

Let your good Spirit

lead me on level ground.

¹¹Lord, let me live

so people will praise you.

In your goodness

save me from my troubles.

¹²In your love defeat my enemies.

Destroy all those who trouble me,

because I am your servant.

A Prayer for Victory

Of David.

144Praise the Lord, my Rock,

who trains me for war,

who trains me for battle.

²He protects me like a strong, walled city, and he loves me.

He is my defender and my Savior,

my shield and my protection.

He helps me keep my people under control.

³Lord, why are people important to you?

Why do you even think about human beings?

⁴People are like a breath;

their lives are like passing shadows.

⁵Lord, tear open the sky and come down.

Touch the mountains so they will smoke.

⁶Send the lightning and scatter my enemies.

Shoot your arrows and force them away.

⁷Reach down from above.

Save me and rescue me out of this sea of enemies,

from these foreigners.

⁸They are liars;

they are dishonest.

⁹God, I will sing a new song to you;

I will play to you on the ten-stringed harp.

¹⁰You give victory to kings.

You save your servant David from cruel swords.

¹¹Save me, rescue me from these foreigners.

They are liars; they are dishonest.

¹²Let our sons in their youth

grow like plants.

Let our daughters be

like the decorated stones in the Temple.

¹³Let our barns be filled

with crops of all kinds.

Let our sheep in the fields have

thousands and tens of thousands of lambs.

¹⁴Let our cattle be strong.

Let no one break in.

Let there be no war,

no screams in our streets.

¹⁵Happy are those who are like this;

happy are the people whose God is the Lord.

Praise to God the King

A psalm of praise. Of David.

145I praise your greatness, my God the King;

I will praise you forever and ever.

²I will praise you every day;

I will praise you forever and ever.

³The Lord is great and worthy of our praise;

no one can understand how great he is.

⁴Parents will tell their children what you have done.

They will retell your mighty acts,

⁵wonderful majesty, and glory.

And I will think about your miracles.

⁶They will tell about the amazing things you do,

and I will tell how great you are.

⁷They will remember your great goodness

and will sing about your fairness.

⁸The Lord is kind and shows mercy.

He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.

⁹The Lord is good to everyone;

he is merciful to all he has made.

¹⁰Lord, everything you have made will praise you;

those who belong to you will bless you.

¹¹They will tell about the glory of your kingdom

and will speak about your power.

¹²Then everyone will know the mighty things you do

and the glory and majesty of your kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom will go on and on,

and you will rule forever.

The Lord will keep all his promises;

he is loyal to all he has made.

¹⁴The Lord helps those who have been defeated

and takes care of those who are in trouble.

¹⁵All living things look to you for food,

and you give it to them at the right time.

¹⁶You open your hand,

and you satisfy all living things.

¹⁷Everything the Lord does is right.

He is loyal to all he has made.

¹⁸The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,

to all who truly pray to him.

¹⁹He gives those who respect him what they want.

He listens when they cry, and he saves them.

²⁰The Lord protects everyone who loves him,

but he will destroy the wicked.

²¹I will praise the Lord.

Let everyone praise his holy name forever.