Psalm 138-145

English Standard Version

^4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
⁵ and they shall sing of ^(F)the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
^6 (G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

^7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you ^(I)preserve my life;
you ^(J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your ^(K)right hand delivers me.
⁸ The Lord will ^(L)fulfill his purpose for me;
    ^(M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake ^(N)the work of your hands.

^7 (W)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where ^(X)shall I flee from your presence?
^8 (Y)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    ^(Z)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall ^(AA)lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, ^(AB)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
^12 (AC)even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

¹³ For you ^(AD)formed my inward parts;
    you ^(AE)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[c]
(AF)Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
^15 (AG)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in ^(AH)the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your ^(AI)book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your ^(AJ)thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
^18 (AK)If I would count them, they are more than ^(AL)the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹ Oh that you would ^(AM)slay the wicked, O God!
    O ^(AN)men of blood, ^(AO)depart from me!
²⁰ They ^(AP)speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies ^(AQ)take your name in vain.^[d]
21 (AR)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not ^(AS)loathe those who ^(AT)rise up against you?
²² I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    ^(AU)Try me and know my thoughts!^[e]
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and ^(AV)lead me in ^(AW)the way everlasting!^[f]

⁴ Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from ^(BE)violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have ^(BF)hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread ^(BG)a net;^[g]
    beside the way they have set ^(BH)snares for me. Selah

^6 (BI)I say to the Lord, You are my God;
    give ear to ^(BJ)the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷ O Lord, my Lord, ^(BK)the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
^8 (BL)Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their^[h] evil plot, or ^(BM)they will be exalted! Selah

⁹ As for the head of those who surround me,
    let ^(BN)the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let ^(BO)burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹² I know that the Lord will ^(BP)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and ^(BQ)will execute justice for the needy.
¹³ Surely ^(BR)the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    ^(BS)the upright shall dwell in your presence.

^3 (BX)Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
    ^(BY)keep watch over the door of my lips!
^4 (BZ)Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who ^(CA)work iniquity,
    and ^(CB)let me not eat of their delicacies!

^5 (CC)Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
    let my head not refuse it.
Yet ^(CD)my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
⁶ When their judges are ^(CE)thrown over the cliff,^[i]
    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
    so shall our bones ^(CF)be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.^[j]

⁸ But ^(CG)my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
    ^(CH)in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!^[k]
9 Keep me from ^(CI)the trap that they have laid for me
    and from the snares of evildoers!
¹⁰ Let the wicked ^(CJ)fall into their own nets,
    while I pass by safely.

³ When my spirit ^(CO)faints within me,
    you know my way!
In the path where I walk
    they have ^(CP)hidden a trap for me.
^4 (CQ)Look to the ^(CR)right and see:
    ^(CS)there is none who takes notice of me;
^(CT)no refuge remains to me;
    no one cares for my soul.

⁵ I cry to you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my ^(CU)refuge,
    my ^(CV)portion in ^(CW)the land of the living.”
^6 (CX)Attend to my cry,
    for ^(CY)I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
    ^(CZ)for they are too strong for me!
^7 (DA)Bring me out of prison,
    that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
    for you will ^(DB)deal bountifully with me.

³ For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    ^(DH)he has crushed my life to the ground;
    ^(DI)he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit ^(DJ)faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.

^5 (DK)I remember the days of old;
    ^(DL)I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
^6 (DM)I stretch out my hands to you;
    ^(DN)my soul thirsts for you like ^(DO)a parched land. Selah

^7 (DP)Answer me quickly, O Lord!
    ^(DQ)My spirit fails!
^(DR)Hide not your face from me,
    ^(DS)lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
^8 (DT)Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I ^(DU)trust.
^(DV)Make me know the way I should go,
    ^(DW)for to you I lift up my soul.

^9 (DX)Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
    I have fled to you for refuge.^[m]
10 (DY)Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
^(DZ)Let your good Spirit ^(EA)lead me
    on ^(EB)level ground!

^11 (EC)For your name's sake, O Lord, ^(ED)preserve my life!
    In your righteousness ^(EE)bring my soul out of trouble!
¹² And in your steadfast love you will ^(EF)cut off my enemies,
    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
    for I am your ^(EG)servant.

³ O Lord, ^(EO)what is man that you ^(EP)regard him,
    or the son of man that you think of him?
^4 (EQ)Man is like a breath;
    his days are like ^(ER)a passing ^(ES)shadow.

^5 (ET)Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
    ^(EU)Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
^6 (EV)Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
    ^(EW)send out your arrows and rout them!
^7 (EX)Stretch out your hand from on high;
    ^(EY)rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
    from the hand ^(EZ)of foreigners,
⁸ whose mouths speak ^(FA)lies
    and whose right hand is ^(FB)a right hand of falsehood.

⁹ I will sing ^(FC)a new song to you, O God;
    upon ^(FD)a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
¹⁰ who gives victory to kings,
    who ^(FE)rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
¹¹ Rescue me and deliver me
    from the hand ^(FF)of foreigners,
whose mouths speak ^(FG)lies
    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

¹² May our sons in their youth
    be like ^(FH)plants full grown,
our daughters like ^(FI)corner pillars
    cut for the structure of a palace;
^13 (FJ)may our granaries be full,
    ^(FK)providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
    and ten thousands in our fields;
¹⁴ may our cattle be heavy with young,
    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;^[o]
may there be no ^(FL)cry of distress in our streets!
^15 (FM)Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
    ^(FN)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

^4 (FT)One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
⁵ On ^(FU)the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶ They shall speak of ^(FV)the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
⁷ They shall pour forth the fame of your ^(FW)abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is ^(FX)gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ The Lord is ^(FY)good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.

^10 (FZ)All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your ^(GA)saints shall bless you!
¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
¹² to ^(GB)make known to the children of man your^{[q] (GC)}mighty deeds,
    and ^(GD)the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
^13 (GE)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.]^[r]
14 The Lord ^(GF)upholds all who are falling
    and ^(GG)raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all ^(GH)look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
¹⁶ You ^(GI)open your hand;
    you ^(GJ)satisfy the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is ^(GK)righteous in all his ways
    and ^(GL)kind in all his works.
¹⁸ The Lord is ^(GM)near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him ^(GN)in truth.
¹⁹ He ^(GO)fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also ^(GP)hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord ^(GQ)preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and ^(GR)let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.