Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 140

Prayer for Rescue

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

140:1 Rescue me, Lord, from evil men.
Keep me safe from violent men

2 who plan evil in their hearts.
They stir up wars all day long.

3 They make their tongues
as sharp as a snake’s bite;
viper’s venom is under their lips.Selah

4 Protect me, Lord,

from the power of the wicked.

Keep me safe from violent men

who plan to make me stumble.

5 The proud hide a trap with ropes for me;

they spread a net along the path

and set snares for me.Selah

6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

Listen, Lord, to my cry for help.

7 Lord, my Lord, my strong Savior,

you shield my head on the day of battle.

8 Lord, do not grant the desires of the wicked;

do not let them achieve their goals.

Otherwise, they will become proud.Selah

9 When those who surround me rise up,

may the trouble their lips cause overwhelm them.

10 Let hot coals fall on them.

Let them be thrown into the fire,

into the abyss, never again to rise.

11 Do not let a slanderer stay in the land.

Let evil relentlessly hunt down a violent man.

12 I know that the Lord upholds
the just cause of the poor,
justice for the needy.

13 Surely the righteous will praise your name;
the upright will live in your presence.

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Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 139

The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

139:1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.

3 You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.

5 You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.

6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

9 If I fly on the wings of the dawn

and settle down on the western horizon,

10 even there your hand will lead me;

your right hand will hold on to me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,

and the light around me will be night”—

12 even the darkness is not dark to you.

The night shines like the day;

darkness and light are alike to you.

13 For it was you who created my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise you

because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.

Your works are wondrous,

and I know this very well.

15 My bones were not hidden from you

when I was made in secret,

when I was formed in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;

all my days were written in your book and planned

before a single one of them began.

17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me;

how vast their sum is!

18 If I counted them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand;

when I wake up, I am still with you.

19 God, if only you would kill the wicked—

you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me—

20 who invoke you deceitfully.

Your enemies swear by you falsely.

21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you,

and detest those who rebel against you?

22 I hate them with extreme hatred;

I consider them my enemies.

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my concerns.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me;

lead me in the everlasting way.

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