Psalm 138–145
1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before the “gods”h I will singi your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy templej
and will praise your namek
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,l
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.m
3 When I called,n you answered me;o
you greatly emboldenedp me.
4 May all the kings of the earthq praise you, Lord,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they singr of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lords is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;t
though lofty, he sees themu from afar.
7 Though I walkv in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.w
You stretch out your handx against the anger of my foes;y
with your right handz you save me.a
8 The Lord will vindicateb me;
your love, Lord, endures foreverc—
do not abandond the works of your hands.e
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me,f Lord,
and you knowg me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;h
you perceive my thoughtsi from afar.
3 You discern my going outj and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.k
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.l
5 You hem me inm behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,n
too loftyo for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I fleep from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,q you are there;
if I make my bedr in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,s
your right handt will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be darku to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;v
you knit me togetherw in my mother’s womb.x
14 I praise youy because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,z
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was madea in the secret place,
when I was woven togetherb in the depths of the earth.c
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordainedd for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,a e God!f
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,g
they would outnumber the grains of sandh—
when I awake,i I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!j
Away from me,k you who are bloodthirsty!l
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversariesm misuse your name.n
21 Do I not hate thoseo who hate you, Lord,
and abhorp those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.q
23 Search me,r God, and know my heart;s
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive wayt in me,
and lead meu in the way everlasting.
Psalm 140a
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Rescue me,v Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,w
2 who devise evil plansx in their hearts
and stir up wary every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp asz a serpent’s;
the poison of vipersa is on their lips.b
4 Keep me safe,b Lord, from the hands of the wicked;c
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a snared for me;
they have spread out the cords of their nete
and have set trapsf for me along my path.
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”g
Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.h
7 Sovereign Lord,i my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant the wickedj their desires, Lord;
do not let their plans succeed.
9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
may the mischief of their lips engulf them.k
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,l
into miry pits, never to rise.
11 May slanderers not be established in the land;
may disaster hunt down the violent.m
12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poorn
and upholds the causeo of the needy.p
13 Surely the righteous will praise your name,q
and the upright will liver in your presence.s
1 I call to you, Lord, come quicklyt to me;
hear meu when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;v
may the lifting up of my handsw be like the evening sacrifice.x
3 Set a guard over my mouth,y Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.z
4 Do not let my hearta be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deedsb
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.c
5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke med—that is oil on my head.e
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
6 Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,f
and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
7 They will say, “As one plowsg and breaks up the earth,h
so our bones have been scattered at the mouthi of the grave.”
8 But my eyes are fixedj on you, Sovereign Lord;
in you I take refugek—do not give me over to death.
9 Keep me safel from the traps set by evildoers,m
from the snaresn they have laid for me.
10 Let the wicked fallo into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.p
Psalm 142a
A maskilb of David. When he was in the cave.q A prayer.
1 I cry aloudr to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.s
2 I pour out before him my complaint;t
before him I tell my trouble.u
3 When my spirit grows faintv within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;w
no one caresx for my life.
I say, “You are my refuge,y
my portionz in the land of the living.”a
6 Listen to my cry,b
for I am in desperate need;c
rescue med from those who pursue me,
for they are too stronge for me.
7 Set me free from my prison,f
that I may praise your name.g
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.h
1 Lord, hear my prayer,i
listen to my cry for mercy;j
in your faithfulnessk and righteousnessl
come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteousm before you.
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darknessn
like those long dead.o
4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.p
5 I rememberq the days of long ago;
I meditater on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my handss to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.a
7 Answer me quickly,t Lord;
my spirit fails.u
Do not hide your facev from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,w
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the wayx I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.y
9 Rescue mez from my enemies,a Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach meb to do your will,
for you are my God;c
may your good Spirit
11 For your name’s sake,f Lord, preserve my life;g
in your righteousness,h bring me out of trouble.
12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;i
destroy all my foes,j
for I am your servant.k
1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock,l
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,m
my strongholdn and my deliverer,
my shield,o in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoplesa p under me.
3 Lord, what are human beingsq that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;r
their days are like a fleeting shadow.s
5 Part your heavens,t Lord, and come down;u
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.v
6 Send forth lightningw and scatterx the enemy;
shoot your arrowsy and rout them.
7 Reach down your hand from on high;z
deliver me and rescue mea
from the mighty waters,b
from the hands of foreignersc
8 whose mouths are full of lies,d
whose right handse are deceitful.f
9 I will sing a new songg to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyreh I will make music to you,
10 to the One who gives victory to kings,i
who delivers his servant David.j
From the deadly swordk 11 deliver me;
rescue mel from the hands of foreignersm
whose mouths are full of lies,n
whose right hands are deceitful.o
12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,p
and our daughters will be like pillarsq
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filledr
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
14 our oxens will draw heavy loads.b
There will be no breaching of walls,t
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.u
15 Blessed is the peoplev of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 145a
1 I will exalt you,w my God the King;x
I will praise your namey for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praisez you
and extol your namea for ever and ever.
3 Greatb is the Lord and most worthy of praise;c
his greatness no one can fathom.d
4 One generatione commends your works to another;
they tellf of your mighty acts.g
5 They speak of the glorious splendorh of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.b i
6 They tellj of the power of your awesome works—k
and I will proclaiml your great deeds.m
7 They celebrate your abundant goodnessn
and joyfully singo of your righteousness.p
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,q
slow to anger and rich in love.r
9 The Lord is goods to all;
he has compassiont on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you,u Lord;
your faithful people extolv you.w
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdomx
and speak of your might,y
12 so that all people may know of your mighty actsz
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.a