Psalm 138

The Lord Cares for the Humble

A psalm of David.

1I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;

I will sing your praises before the gods.

2I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.

I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;

for your promises are backed

by all the honor of your name.

3As soon as I pray, you answer me;

you encourage me by giving me strength.

4Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,

for all of them will hear your words.

5Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,

for the glory of the Lord is very great.

6Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,

but he keeps his distance from the proud.

7Though I am surrounded by troubles,

you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.

You reach out your hand,

and the power of your right hand saves me.

8The Lord will work out his plans for my life—

for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.

Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

Psalm 139

The Lord’s Intimate Presence

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

2You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

4You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

5You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

7I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!

8If I go up to heaven, you are there;

if I go down to the grave,*139:8 Hebrew to Sheol. you are there.

9If I ride the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

10even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me.

11I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night—

12but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

13You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

15You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

16You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

17How precious are your thoughts about me,*139:17 Or How precious to me are your thoughts. O God.

They cannot be numbered!

18I can’t even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,

you are still with me!

19O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!

Get out of my life, you murderers!

20They blaspheme you;

your enemies misuse your name.

21O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?

Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?

22Yes, I hate them with total hatred,

for your enemies are my enemies.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 140

A Plea for Rescue from Violence

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1O Lord, rescue me from evil people.

Protect me from those who are violent,

2those who plot evil in their hearts

and stir up trouble all day long.

3Their tongues sting like a snake;

the venom of a viper drips from their lips.

Interlude

4O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.

Protect me from those who are violent,

for they are plotting against me.

5The proud have set a trap to catch me;

they have stretched out a net;

they have placed traps all along the way.

Interlude

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

Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!

7O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me,

you protected me on the day of battle.

8Lord, do not let evil people have their way.

Do not let their evil schemes succeed,

or they will become proud.

Interlude

9Let my enemies be destroyed

by the very evil they have planned for me.

10Let burning coals fall down on their heads.

Let them be thrown into the fire

or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.

11Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.

Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.

12But I know the Lord will help those they persecute;

he will give justice to the poor.

13Surely righteous people are praising your name;

the godly will live in your presence.

Psalm 141

A Plea for Rescue from Temptation

A psalm of David.

1O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!

Listen when I cry to you for help!

2Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,

and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

3Take control of what I say, O Lord,

and guard my lips.

4Don’t let me drift toward evil

or take part in acts of wickedness.

Don’t let me share in the delicacies

of those who do wrong.

5Let the godly strike me!

It will be a kindness!

If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.

Don’t let me refuse it.

But I pray constantly

against the wicked and their deeds.

6When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff,

the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.

7Like rocks brought up by a plow,

the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial.*141:7 Hebrew our bones will be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

8I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord.

You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.

9Keep me from the traps they have set for me,

from the snares of those who do wrong.

10Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

but let me escape.

Psalm 142

A Plea of One Overwhelmed and Abandoned

A psalm*142: title Hebrew maskil. This may be a literary or musical term. of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer.

1I cry out to the Lord;

I plead for the Lord’s mercy.

2I pour out my complaints before him

and tell him all my troubles.

3When I am overwhelmed,

you alone know the way I should turn.

Wherever I go,

my enemies have set traps for me.

4I look for someone to come and help me,

but no one gives me a passing thought!

No one will help me;

no one cares a bit what happens to me.

5Then I pray to you, O Lord.

I say, “You are my place of refuge.

You are all I really want in life.

6Hear my cry,

for I am very low.

Rescue me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me.

7Bring me out of prison

so I can thank you.

The godly will crowd around me,

for you are good to me.”

Psalm 143

A Prayer for Guidance in Distress

A psalm of David.

1Hear my prayer, O Lord;

listen to my plea!

Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.

2Don’t put your servant on trial,

for no one is innocent before you.

3My enemy has chased me.

He has knocked me to the ground

and forces me to live in darkness like those in the grave.

4I am losing all hope;

I am paralyzed with fear.

5I remember the days of old.

I ponder all your great works

and think about what you have done.

6I lift my hands to you in prayer.

I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.

Interlude

7Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,

for my depression deepens.

Don’t turn away from me,

or I will die.

8Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,

for I am trusting you.

Show me where to walk,

for I give myself to you.

9Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;

I run to you to hide me.

10Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God.

May your gracious Spirit lead me forward

on a firm footing.

11For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.

Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.

12In your unfailing love, silence all my enemies

and destroy all my foes,

for I am your servant.

Psalm 144

A Prayer of a Warrior

A psalm of David.

1Praise the Lord, who is my rock.

He trains my hands for war

and gives my fingers skill for battle.

2He is my loving ally and my fortress,

my tower of safety, my rescuer.

He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.

He makes the nations*144:2 Some manuscripts read my people. submit to me.

3O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,

mere mortals that you should think about them?

4For they are like a breath of air;

their days are like a passing shadow.

5Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.

Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.

6Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies!

Shoot your arrows and confuse them!

7Reach down from heaven and rescue me;

rescue me from deep waters,

from the power of my enemies.

8Their mouths are full of lies;

they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

9I will sing a new song to you, O God!

I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.

10For you grant victory to kings!

You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.

11Save me!

Rescue me from the power of my enemies.

Their mouths are full of lies;

they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

12May our sons flourish in their youth

like well-nurtured plants.

May our daughters be like graceful pillars,

carved to beautify a palace.

13May our barns be filled

with crops of every kind.

May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands,

even tens of thousands,

14and may our oxen be loaded down with produce.

May there be no enemy breaking through our walls,

no going into captivity,

no cries of alarm in our town squares.

15Yes, joyful are those who live like this!

Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.

Psalm 145*145 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse (including 13b) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

The Lord Is Merciful and Compassionate

A psalm of praise of David.

1I will exalt you, my God and King,

and praise your name forever and ever.

2I will praise you every day;

yes, I will praise you forever.

3Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!

No one can measure his greatness.

4Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;

let them proclaim your power.

5I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor

and your wonderful miracles.

6Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;

I will proclaim your greatness.

7Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;

they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

8The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

9The Lord is good to everyone.

He showers compassion on all his creation.

10All of your works will thank you, Lord,

and your faithful followers will praise you.

11They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;

they will give examples of your power.

12They will tell about your mighty deeds

and about the majesty and glory of your reign.

13For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

You rule throughout all generations.

The Lord always keeps his promises;

he is gracious in all he does.*145:13 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek and Syriac versions; the Masoretic Text lacks the final two lines of this verse.

14The Lord helps the fallen

and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

15The eyes of all look to you in hope;

you give them their food as they need it.

16When you open your hand,

you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.

17The Lord is righteous in everything he does;

he is filled with kindness.

18The Lord is close to all who call on him,

yes, to all who call on him in truth.

19He grants the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cries for help and rescues them.

20The Lord protects all those who love him,

but he destroys the wicked.

21I will praise the Lord,

and may everyone on earth bless his holy name

forever and ever.