Category: Psalms

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

[141:1] O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

[141:2] Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

[141:3] Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

[141:4] Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!

[141:5] 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 my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

[141:6] When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.

[141:7] As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

[141:8] But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!

[141:9] Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!

[141:10] Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.

A Psalm of David.

[142:1] With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.

[142:2] I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.

[142:3] When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.

[142:4] Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.

[142:5] I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

[142:6] Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!

[142:7] Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.

A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.

[143:1] Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

[143:2] Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

[143:3] For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

[143:4] Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

[143:5] I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

[143:6] I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

[143:7] Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.

[143:8] Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

[143:9] Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge.

[143:10] Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

[143:11] For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

[143:12] And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.

A Psalm of David.

[144:1] Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

[144:2] he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

[144:3] O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?

[144:4] Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

[144:5] Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke!

[144:6] Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them!

[144:7] Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners,

[144:8] whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

[144:9] I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

[144:10] who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.

[144:11] Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

[144:12] May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace;

[144:13] may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;

[144:14] may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets!

[144:15] Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Of David.

[145:1] I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.

[145:2] Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

[145:3] Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

[145:4] One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

[145:5] On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

[145:6] They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.

[145:7] They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

[145:8] The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

[145:9] The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

[145:10] All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you!

[145:11] They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,

[145:12] to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

[145:13] 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.]

[145:14] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.

[145:15] The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.

[145:16] You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

[145:17] The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

[145:18] The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

[145:19] He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

[145:20] The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

[145:21] My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

A Song of Praise. Of David.

[146:1] Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!

[146:2] I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

[146:3] Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

[146:4] When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

[146:5] Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,

[146:6] who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;

[146:7] who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;

[146:8] the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.

[146:9] The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

[146:10] The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

[147:1] Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

[147:2] The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

[147:3] He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

[147:4] He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.

[147:5] Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

[147:6] The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

[147:7] Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!

[147:8] He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.

[147:9] He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.

[147:10] His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

[147:11] but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

[147:12] Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

[147:13] For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.

[147:14] He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat.

[147:15] He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.

[147:16] He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes.

[147:17] He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold?

[147:18] He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

[147:19] He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel.

[147:20] He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the Lord!

[148:1] Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!

[148:2] Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!

[148:3] Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!

[148:4] Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

[148:5] Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created.

[148:6] And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

[148:7] Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps,

[148:8] fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!

[148:9] Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!

[148:10] Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!

[148:11] Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!

[148:12] Young men and maidens together, old men and children!

[148:13] Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.

[148:14] He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord!

[149:1] Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!

[149:2] Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!

[149:3] Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

[149:4] For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

[149:5] Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.

[149:6] Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,

[149:7] to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples,

[149:8] to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,

[149:9] to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!

[150:1] Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!

[150:2] Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

[150:3] Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!

[150:4] Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!

[150:5] Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

[150:6] Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!