Psalm 138–145

Psalm 138

A Psalm of David.

¹I will praise You with my whole heart;

^aBefore the gods I will sing praises to You.

^2bI will worship ^ctoward Your holy temple,

And praise Your name

For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have ^dmagnified Your word above all Your name.

³In the day when I cried out, You answered me,

And made me bold with strength in my soul.

^4eAll the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,

When they hear the words of Your mouth.

⁵Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

For great is the glory of the Lord.

^6fThough the Lord is on high,

Yet ^gHe regards the lowly;

But the proud He knows from afar.

^7hThough I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;

You will stretch out Your hand

Against the wrath of my enemies,

And Your right hand will save me.

⁸ⁱThe Lord will ¹perfect that which concerns me;

Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;

^jDo not forsake the works of Your hands.

Psalm 139

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, ^aYou have searched me and known me.

^2bYou know my sitting down and my rising up;

You ^cunderstand my thought afar off.

^3dYou ¹comprehend my path and my lying down,

And are acquainted with all my ways.

⁴For there is not a word on my tongue,

But behold, O Lord, ^eYou know it altogether.

⁵You have ²hedged me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

^6fSuch knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain it.

^7gWhere can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

^8hIf I ascend into heaven, You are there;

ⁱIf I make my bed in ³hell, behold, You are there.

⁹If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

¹⁰Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall ⁴fall on me,”

Even the night shall be light about me;

¹²Indeed, ^jthe darkness ⁵shall not hide from You,

But the night shines as the day;

The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

¹³For You formed my inward parts;

You ⁶covered me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I will praise You, for ⁷I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

^15kMy ⁸frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

¹⁶Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

^17lHow precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹Oh, that You would ^mslay the wicked, O God!

ⁿDepart from me, therefore, you ⁹bloodthirsty men.

²⁰For they ^ospeak against You wickedly;

¹Your enemies take Your name in vain.

^21pDo I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

²²I hate them with ²perfect hatred;

I count them my enemies.

^23qSearch me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

²⁴And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And ^rlead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 140

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

Preserve me from violent men,

²Who plan evil things in their hearts;

^aThey continually gather together for war.

³They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;

The ^bpoison of asps is under their lips.

Selah

^4cKeep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

Preserve me from violent men,

Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.

⁵The proud have hidden a ^dsnare for me, and cords;

They have spread a net by the wayside;

They have set traps for me.

Selah

⁶I said to the Lord: “You are my God;

Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

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

You have ¹covered my head in the day of battle.

⁸Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

Do not further his wicked scheme,

^eLest they be exalted.

Selah

⁹“As for the head of those who surround me,

Let the evil of their lips cover them;

^10fLet burning coals fall upon them;

Let them be cast into the fire,

Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.

¹¹Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;

Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

¹²I know that the Lord will ^gmaintain

The cause of the afflicted,

And justice for the poor.

¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;

The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.

¹Lord, I cry out to You;

Make haste to me!

Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.

²Let my prayer be set before You ^aas incense,

^bThe lifting up of my hands as ^cthe evening sacrifice.

³Set a guard, O Lord, over my ^dmouth;

Keep watch over the door of my lips.

⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,

To practice wicked works

With men who work iniquity;

^eAnd do not let me eat of their delicacies.

^5fLet the righteous strike me;

It shall be a kindness.

And let him rebuke me;

It shall be as excellent oil;

Let my head not refuse it.

For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.

⁶Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the ¹cliff,

And they hear my words, for they are sweet.

⁷Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,

As when one plows and breaks up the earth.

⁸But ^gmy eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;

In You I take refuge;

²Do not leave my soul destitute.

⁹Keep me from ^hthe snares they have laid for me,

And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.

¹⁰ⁱLet the wicked fall into their own nets,

While I escape safely.

Psalm 142

A Contemplation Of David. A Prayer When He Was in the Cave.

¹I cry out to the Lord with my voice;

With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.

²I pour out my complaint before Him;

I declare before Him my trouble.

³When my spirit ²was ^coverwhelmed within me,

Then You knew my path.

In the way in which I walk

They have secretly ^dset a snare for me.

⁴Look on my right hand and see,

For there is no one who acknowledges me;

Refuge has failed me;

No one cares for my soul.

⁵I cried out to You, O Lord:

I said, “You are my refuge,

My portion in the land of the living.

⁶³Attend to my cry,

For I am brought very low;

Deliver me from my persecutors,

For they are stronger than I.

⁷Bring my soul out of prison,

That I may ^epraise Your name;

The righteous shall surround me,

For You shall deal bountifully with me.”

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David.

¹Hear my prayer, O Lord,

Give ear to my supplications!

In Your faithfulness answer me,

And in Your righteousness.

²Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,

^aFor in Your sight no one living is righteous.

³For the enemy has persecuted my soul;

He has crushed my life to the ground;

He has made me dwell in ¹darkness,

Like those who have long been dead.

^4bTherefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;

My heart within me is distressed.

^5cI remember the days of old;

I meditate on all Your works;

I ²muse on the work of Your hands.

⁶I spread out my hands to You;

^dMy soul longs for You like a thirsty land.

Selah

⁷Answer me speedily, O Lord;

My spirit fails!

Do not hide Your face from me,

^eLest I ³be like those who ⁴go down into the pit.

⁸Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness ^fin the morning,

For in You do I trust;

^gCause me to know the way in which I should walk,

For ^hI lift up my soul to You.

⁹Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;

⁵In You I take shelter.

¹⁰ⁱTeach me to do Your will,

For You are my God;

^jYour Spirit is good.

Lead me in ^kthe land of uprightness.

^11lRevive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!

For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

¹²In Your mercy ^mcut ⁶off my enemies,

And destroy all those who afflict my soul;

For I am Your servant.

Psalm 144

A Psalm of David.

¹Blessed be the Lord my Rock, ^aWho trains my hands for war,

And my fingers for battle—

²My lovingkindness and my fortress,

My high tower and my deliverer,

My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,

Who subdues ¹my people under me.

^3bLord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?

Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?

^4cMan is like a breath;

^dHis days are like a passing shadow.

^5eBow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;

^fTouch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

^6gFlash forth lightning and scatter them;

Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.

⁷Stretch out Your hand from above;

Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,

From the hand of foreigners,

⁸Whose mouth ^hspeaks ²lying words,

And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will ⁱsing a new song to You, O God;

On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,

¹⁰The One who gives ³salvation to kings,

^jWho delivers David His servant

From the deadly sword.

¹¹Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,

Whose mouth speaks lying words,

And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—

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

That our daughters may be as ⁴pillars,

Sculptured in palace style;

¹³That our barns may be full,

Supplying all kinds of produce;

That our sheep may bring forth thousands

And ten thousands in our fields;

¹⁴That our oxen may be well laden;

That there be no ⁵breaking in or going out;

That there be no outcry in our streets.

^15lHappy are the people who are in such a state;

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

Psalm 145

A Praise of David.

¹I will ¹extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

²Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

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

And ^cHis greatness is ²unsearchable.

^4dOne generation shall praise Your works to another,

And shall declare Your mighty acts.

⁵³I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,

And ⁴on Your wondrous works.

⁶Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,

And I will declare Your greatness.

⁷They shall ⁵utter the memory of Your great goodness,

And shall sing of Your righteousness.

^8eThe Lord is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger and great in mercy.

^9fThe Lord is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works.

^10gAll Your works shall praise You, O Lord,

And Your saints shall bless You.

¹¹They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,

And talk of Your power,

¹²To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,

And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.

^13hYour kingdom is an everlasting…