Chronological
Psalm 131
Song of Quiet Trust
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.(A)
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.[a](B)
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.(C)
Psalm 138
Thanksgiving and Praise
Of David.
1 I give you thanks, O Lord,[a] with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;(A)
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.[b](B)
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength of soul.[c](C)
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.(D)
5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he perceives from far away.(E)
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.(F)
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.(G)
Psalm 139
The Inescapable God
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.(H)
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.(I)
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.(J)
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.(K)
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.(L)
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.(M)
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?(N)
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.(O)
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.(P)
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and night wraps itself around me,”[d](Q)
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.(R)
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.(T)
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.(U)
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.[e]
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!(V)
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end[f]—I am still with you.
19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—(W)
20 those who speak of you maliciously
and lift themselves up against you for evil
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?(Y)
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.(Z)
24 See if there is any wicked[h] way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.[i](AA)
Psalm 143
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
answer me in your righteousness.(A)
2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.(B)
3 For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.(C)
5 I remember the days of old;
I think about all your deeds;
I meditate on the works of your hands.(D)
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah(E)
7 Answer me quickly, O Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.(F)
8 Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.(G)
9 Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.[a](H)
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path.(I)
11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.
In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.(J)
12 In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
and destroy all my adversaries,
for I am your servant.(K)
Psalm 144
Prayer for National Deliverance and Security
Of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,(L)
2 my rock[b] and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoples[c] under me.(M)
3 O Lord, what are humans that you regard them,
or mortals that you think of them?(N)
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.(O)
5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.(P)
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them.(Q)
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of foreigners,(R)
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hands are false.(S)
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,(T)
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.(U)
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.(V)
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
cut for the building of a palace.(W)
13 May our barns be filled
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls,[d] no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.(X)
Psalm 145
The Greatness and the Goodness of God
Praise. Of David.
1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.(Y)
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.(Z)
4 One generation shall extol your works to another
and shall declare your mighty acts.(AA)
5 They will recount the glorious[e] splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works I will meditate.(AB)
6 They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.(AC)
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.(AD)
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.(AE)
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.(AF)
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.(AG)
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your[f] mighty deeds
and the glorious splendor of your[g] kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his deeds.[h](AH)
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.(AI)
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.(AJ)
16 You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways
and kind in all his doings.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.(AK)
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.(AL)
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.(AM)
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.