Beginning
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 (G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
7 [d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”
12 I know that the Lord will (Y)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And (Z)justice for the poor.
13 Certainly the (AA)righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The (AB)upright will dwell in Your presence.
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I call upon You; (AC)hurry to me!
(AD)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [h]counted as (AE)incense before You;
The (AF)raising of my hands as the (AG)evening offering.
3 Set a (AH)guard, Lord, [i]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (AI)door of my lips.
4 (AJ)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [j]of wickedness
With people who (AK)do wrong;
And (AL)may I not taste their delicacies.
5 May the (AM)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is (AN)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer (AO)is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (AP)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (AQ)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (AR)bones have been scattered at the (AS)mouth of [k]Sheol.
8 For my (AT)eyes are toward You, [l]God, the Lord;
In You I (AU)take refuge; (AV)do not [m]leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the [n](AW)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (AX)snares of those who do wrong.
10 May the wicked (AY)fall into their own nets,
While I pass by [o](AZ)safely.
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[p]Maskil of David, when he was [q]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (BA)cry out with my voice to the Lord;
With my voice I (BB)implore the Lord for compassion.
2 I (BC)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (BD)trouble before Him.
3 When (BE)my spirit felt weak within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (BF)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is (BG)no one who regards me favorably;
[r]There is no (BH)escape for me;
(BI)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, Lord;
I said, “You are (BJ)my refuge,
My (BK)portion in the (BL)land of the living.
6 (BM)Give Your attention to my cry,
For I have been (BN)brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are too (BO)strong for me.
7 (BP)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (BQ)look after me.”
Prayer for Help and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
(BR)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your (BS)faithfulness, in Your (BT)righteousness!
2 And (BU)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For (BV)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (BW)to the ground;
He (BX)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (BY)my spirit [s]feels weak within me;
My heart is [t](BZ)appalled within me.
5 I (CA)remember the days of old;
I (CB)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I (CC)reflect on the work of Your hands.
6 I (CD)spread out my hands to You;
My (CE)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah
7 (CF)Answer me quickly, Lord, my (CG)spirit fails;
(CH)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as (CI)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (CJ)faithfulness (CK)in the morning,
For I trust (CL)in You;
Teach me the (CM)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (CN)lift up my soul.
9 (CO)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
[u]I take refuge in You.
10 (CP)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (CQ)Your good Spirit (CR)lead me on level [v]ground.
11 (CS)For the sake of Your name, Lord, (CT)revive me.
(CU)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your faithfulness, [w](CV)destroy my enemies,
And (CW)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For (CX)I am Your servant.
Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, (CY)my rock,
Who (CZ)trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2 My faithfulness and (DA)my fortress,
My (DB)stronghold and my savior,
My (DC)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (DD)subdues [x]my people under me.
3 Lord, (DE)what is man, that You look after him?
Or a son of man, that You think of him?
4 (DF)Man is like the breath;
His (DG)days are like a passing shadow.
5 (DH)Bend down Your heavens, Lord, and (DI)come down;
(DJ)Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth (DK)lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your (DL)arrows and confuse them.
7 Reach out with Your hand (DM)from on high;
Rescue me and (DN)save me from great waters,
From the hand of (DO)foreigners
8 Whose mouths (DP)speak deceit,
And whose (DQ)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 God, I will sing a (DR)new song to You;
On a (DS)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (DT)gives salvation to kings,
Who (DU)rescues His servant David from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and save me from the hand of (DV)foreigners,
Whose mouth (DW)speaks deceit
And whose (DX)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons in their youth are like (DY)growing plants,
And our daughters like (DZ)corner pillars [y]fashioned for a palace,
13 Our (EA)granaries are full, providing every kind of produce,
And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our [z]fields;
14 May our (EB)cattle [aa]be bred
Without [ab](EC)mishap and without [ac](ED)loss,
May there be no (EE)outcry in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people who are so situated;
(EF)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Lord Exalted for His Goodness.
A Psalm of Praise, of David.
145 I will (EG)exalt You, (EH)my God, the King,
And I will (EI)bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will (EJ)praise Your name forever and ever.
3 (EK)Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;
And His (EL)greatness is unsearchable.
4 One (EM)generation will praise Your works to another,
And will declare Your mighty acts.
5 On the (EN)glorious [ad]splendor of Your majesty
And (EO)on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6 People will speak of the [ae]power of Your (EP)awesome acts,
And I will (EQ)tell of Your greatness.
7 They will burst forth [af]in speaking of Your (ER)abundant goodness,
And will (ES)shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
8 The Lord is (ET)gracious and compassionate;
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The Lord is (EU)good to all,
And His (EV)mercies are over all His works.
10 (EW)All Your works will give thanks to You, Lord,
And Your (EX)godly ones will bless You.
11 They will speak of the (EY)glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your might,
12 To (EZ)make known to the sons of mankind [ag]Your mighty acts,
And the (FA)glory of the majesty of [ah]Your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is [ai]an (FB)everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
[aj]The Lord is faithful in His words,
And holy in all His works.
14 The Lord (FC)supports all who fall,
And (FD)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all [ak]look to You,
And You (FE)give them their food in due time.
16 You (FF)open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is (FG)righteous in all His ways,
And kind in all His works.
18 The Lord is (FH)near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him (FI)in truth.
19 He will (FJ)fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also (FK)hear their cry for help and save them.
20 The Lord (FL)watches over all who love Him,
But He will destroy all the (FM)wicked.
21 My (FN)mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
And (FO)all flesh will (FP)bless His holy name forever and ever.
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