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 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.

Ayin

121Don’t leave me to the mercy of my enemies,

for I have done what is just and right.

122Please guarantee a blessing for me.

Don’t let the arrogant oppress me!

123My eyes strain to see your rescue,

to see the truth of your promise fulfilled.

124I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love,

and teach me your decrees.

125Give discernment to me, your servant;

then I will understand your laws.

126Lord, it is time for you to act,

for these evil people have violated your instructions.

127Truly, I love your commands

more than gold, even the finest gold.

128Each of your commandments is right.

That is why I hate every false way.