Psalm 143-145

New King James Version

An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance

A Psalm of David.

143 Hear 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,
^(A)For 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 ^[a]darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
⁴^(B)Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.

⁵^(C)I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I ^[b]muse on the work of Your hands.
⁶I spread out my hands to You;
^(D)My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

⁷Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
^(E)Lest I ^[c]be like those who ^[d]go down into the pit.
⁸Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness ^(F)in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
^(G)Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For ^(H)I lift up my soul to You.

⁹Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
^[e]In You I take shelter.
¹⁰^(I)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
^(J)Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in ^(K)the land of uprightness.

¹¹^(L)Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
¹²In Your mercy ^(M)cut^[f] off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.

A Song to the Lord Who Preserves and Prospers His People

A Psalm of David.

144 Blessed be the Lord my Rock,
^(N)Who 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 ^[g]my people under me.

³^(O)Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
⁴^(P)Man is like a breath;
^(Q)His days are like a passing shadow.

⁵^(R)Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
^(S)Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
⁶^(T)Flash 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 ^(U)speaks ^[h]lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will ^(V)sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
¹⁰The One who gives ^[i]salvation to kings,
^(W)Who 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 ^(X)as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as ^[j]pillars,
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 ^[k]breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.
¹⁵^(Y)Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

A Song of God’s Majesty and Love

^(Z)A Praise of David.

145 I will ^[l]extol 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.
³^(AA)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And ^(AB)His greatness is ^[m]unsearchable.

⁴^(AC)One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
⁵^[n]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And ^[o]on Your wondrous works.
⁶Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
⁷They shall ^[p]utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

⁸^(AD)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
⁹^(AE)The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.

¹⁰^(AF)All 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.
¹³^(AG)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all ^[q]generations.

¹⁴The Lord upholds all who fall,
And ^(AH)raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵^(AI)The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And ^(AJ)You give them their food in due season.
¹⁶You open Your hand
^(AK)And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
¹⁸^(AL)The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him ^(AM)in truth.
¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
²⁰^(AN)The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
²¹My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

Footnotes

Psalm 143:3 dark places
Psalm 143:5 ponder
Psalm 143:7 become
Psalm 143:7 Die
Psalm 143:9 LXX, Vg. To You I flee
Psalm 143:12 put an end to
Psalm 144:2 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Syr., Tg. the peoples (cf. 18:47)
Psalm 144:8 empty or worthless
Psalm 144:10 deliverance
Psalm 144:12 corner pillars
Psalm 144:14 Lit. breach
Psalm 145:1 praise
Psalm 145:3 Beyond our understanding
Psalm 145:5 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. They
Psalm 145:5 Lit. on the words of Your wondrous works
Psalm 145:7 eagerly utter, lit. bubble forth
Psalm 145:13 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. add The Lord is faithful in all His words, And holy in all His works

1 Corinthians 14:21-40

New King James Version

²¹^(A)In the law it is written:

^(B)“With men of other tongues and other lips
I will speak to this people;
And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,”

says the Lord.

²²Therefore tongues are for a ^(C)sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. ²³Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, ^(D)will they not say that you are ^[a]out of your mind? ²⁴But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. ²⁵^[b]And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report ^(E)that God is truly among you.

Order in Church Meetings

²⁶How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, ^(F)has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. ^(G)Let all things be done for ^[c]edification. ²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. ²⁸But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Let two or three prophets speak, and ^(H)let the others judge. ³⁰But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, ^(I)let the first keep silent. ³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. ³²And ^(J)the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. ³³For God is not the author of ^[d]confusion but of peace, ^(K)as in all the churches of the saints.

³⁴^(L)Let ^[e]your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the ^(M)law also says. ³⁵And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

³⁶Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached? ³⁷^(N)If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. ³⁸But ^[f]if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.

³⁹Therefore, brethren, ^(O)desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. ⁴⁰^(P)Let all things be done decently and in order.

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