Psalm 142-144

New Living Translation

¹ I cry out to the Lord;
    I plead for the Lord’s mercy.
² I pour out my complaints before him
    and tell him all my troubles.
³ When I am overwhelmed,
    you alone know the way I should turn.
Wherever I go,
    my enemies have set traps for me.
⁴ I 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.
⁵ Then I pray to you, O Lord.
    I say, “You are my place of refuge.
    You are all I really want in life.
⁶ Hear my cry,
    for I am very low.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
    for they are too strong for me.
⁷ Bring me out of prison
    so I can thank you.
The godly will crowd around me,
    for you are good to me.”

¹ Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    listen to my plea!
    Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.
² Don’t put your servant on trial,
    for no one is innocent before you.
³ My enemy has chased me.
    He has knocked me to the ground
    and forces me to live in darkness like those in the grave.
⁴ I am losing all hope;
    I am paralyzed with fear.
⁵ I remember the days of old.
    I ponder all your great works
    and think about what you have done.
⁶ I lift my hands to you in prayer.
    I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude

⁷ Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,
    for my depression deepens.
Don’t turn away from me,
    or I will die.
⁸ Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
    for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
    for I give myself to you.
⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
    I run to you to hide me.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward
    on a firm footing.
¹¹ For the glory of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.
    Because of your faithfulness, bring me out of this distress.
¹² In your unfailing love, silence all my enemies
    and destroy all my foes,
    for I am your servant.

¹ Praise the Lord, who is my rock.
    He trains my hands for war
    and gives my fingers skill for battle.
² He 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^[b] submit to me.

³ O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,
    mere mortals that you should think about them?
⁴ For they are like a breath of air;
    their days are like a passing shadow.

⁵ Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.
    Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.
⁶ Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies!
    Shoot your arrows and confuse them!
⁷ Reach down from heaven and rescue me;
    rescue me from deep waters,
    from the power of my enemies.
⁸ Their mouths are full of lies;
    they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

⁹ I will sing a new song to you, O God!
    I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
¹⁰ For you grant victory to kings!
    You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.
¹¹ Save 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.

¹² May our sons flourish in their youth
    like well-nurtured plants.
May our daughters be like graceful pillars,
    carved to beautify a palace.
¹³ May our barns be filled
    with crops of every kind.
May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands,
    even tens of thousands,
¹⁴     and 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.
¹⁵ Yes, joyful are those who live like this!
    Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.