Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 145

Praising God’s Greatness

A hymn of David.

145:1 I exalt you, my God the King,
and bless your name forever and ever.

2 I will bless you every day;
I will praise your name forever and ever.

3 The Lord is great and is highly praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation will declare your works to the next
and will proclaim your mighty acts.

5 I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty
and your wondrous works.

6 They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts,
and I will declare your greatness.

7 They will give a testimony of your great goodness
and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in faithful love.

9 The Lord is good to everyone;
his compassion rests on all he has made.

10 All you have made will thank you, Lord;
the faithful will bless you.

11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom
and will declare your might,

12 informing all people of your mighty acts
and of the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule is for all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his actions.

14 The Lord helps all who fall;
he raises up all who are oppressed.

15 All eyes look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all his acts.

18 The Lord is near all who call out to him,

all who call out to him with integrity.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry for help and saves them.

20 The Lord guards all those who love him,

but he destroys all the wicked.

21 My mouth will declare the Lord’s praise;

let every living thing

bless his holy name forever and ever.

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Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 144

A King’s Prayer

Of David.

144:1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.

2 He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield, and I take refuge in him;
he subdues my people under me.

3 Lord, what is a human that you care for him,
a son of man that you think of him?

4 A human is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.

5 Lord, part your heavens and come down.
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.

6 Flash your lightning and scatter the foe;
shoot your arrows and rout them.

7 Reach down from on high;
rescue me from deep water, and set me free
from the grasp of foreigners

8 whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.

9 God, I will sing a new song to you;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for you—

10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who frees his servant David
from the deadly sword.

11 Set me free and rescue me
from foreigners
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.

12 Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.

13 Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.

14 Our cattle will be well fed.
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,
and no cry of lament in our public squares.

15 Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.

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Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 143

A Cry for Help

A psalm of David.

143:1 Lord, hear my prayer.
In your faithfulness listen to my plea,
and in your righteousness answer me.

2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one alive is righteous in your sight.

3 For the enemy has pursued me,

crushing me to the ground,

making me live in darkness

like those long dead.

4 My spirit is weak within me;

my heart is overcome with dismay.

5 I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on the work of your hands.

6 I spread out my hands to you;

I am like parched land before you.Selah

7 Answer me quickly, Lord;

my spirit fails.

Don’t hide your face from me,

or I will be like those

going down to the Pit.

8 Let me experience

your faithful love in the morning,

for I trust in you.

Reveal to me the way I should go

because I appeal to you.

9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;

I come to you for protection.

10 Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God.

May your gracious Spirit

lead me on level ground.

11 For your name’s sake, Lord,

let me live.

In your righteousness deliver me from trouble,

12 and in your faithful love destroy my enemies.

Wipe out all those who attack me,

for I am your servant.

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Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 142

A Cry of Distress

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.

142:1 I cry aloud to the Lord;

I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.

2 I pour out my complaint before him;

I reveal my trouble to him.

3 Although my spirit is weak within me,

you know my way.
Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.

4 Look to the right and see:

no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me;
no one cares about me.

5 I cry to you, Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my portion in the land of the living.”

6 Listen to my cry,

for I am very weak.

Rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me.

7 Free me from prison

so that I can praise your name.

The righteous will gather around me

because you deal generously with me.

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Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 141

Protection from Sin and Sinners

A psalm of David.

141:1 Lord, I call on you; hurry to help me.
Listen to my voice when I call on you.

2 May my prayer be set before you as incense,
the raising of my hands as the evening offering.

3 Lord, set up a guard for my mouth;

keep watch at the door of my lips.

4 Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing

or perform wicked acts with evildoers.

Do not let me feast on their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous one strike me—

it is an act of faithful love;

let him rebuke me—

it is oil for my head;

let me not refuse it.

Even now my prayer is against

the evil acts of the wicked.

6 When their rulers will be thrown off

the sides of a cliff,

the people will listen to my words,

for they are pleasing.

7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil,
turning up rocks,
so our bones have been scattered
at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes look to you, Lord, my Lord.
I seek refuge in you; do not let me die.

9 Protect me from the trap they have set for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.

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

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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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Prayers, Songs, Praises: Psalm 138

A Thankful Heart

Of David.

138:1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.

2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.

3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.

4 All the kings on earth will give you thanks, Lord,
when they hear what you have promised.

5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.

6 Though the Lord is exalted,
he takes note of the humble;
but he knows the haughty from a distance.

7 If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.

8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.
Lord, your faithful love endures forever;
do not abandon the work of your hands.

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