be holding me fast.
11If I say, “Surely darkness b-will conceal me,
night will provide me with cover,”-b
12darkness is not dark for You;
night is as light as day;
darkness and light are the same.
13It was You who created my conscience;c
You fashioned me in my mother’s womb.
14I praise You,
for I am awesomely, wondrously made;
Your work is wonderful;
I know it very well.
15My frame was not concealed from You
when I was shaped in a hidden place,
knit together in the recesses of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed limbs;
they were all recorded in Your book;
in due time they were formed,
a-to the very last one of them.-a
17How weighty Your thoughts seem to me, O God,
how great their number!
18I count them—they exceed the grains of sand;
I end—but am still with You.
19O God, if You would only slay the wicked—
you murderers, away from me!—
20a-who invoke You for intrigue,
Your enemies who swear by You falsely.-a
21O LORD, You know I hate those who hate You,
and loathe Your adversaries.
22I feel a perfect hatred toward them;
I count them my enemies.
23Examine me, O God, and know my mind;
probe me and know my thoughts.
24See if I have vexatious ways,
and guide me in ways everlasting.
140 For the leader. A psalm of David.
2Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men;
save me from the lawless,
3whose minds are full of evil schemes,
who plot war every day.
4They sharpen their tongues like serpents;
spiders’ poison is on their lips. Selah.
5O LORD, keep me out of the clutches of the wicked;
save me from lawless men
who scheme to a-make me fall.-a
6Arrogant men laid traps with ropes for me;
they spread out a net along the way;
they set snares for me. Selah.
7I said to the LORD: You are my God;
give ear, O LORD, to my pleas for mercy.
😯 GOD, my Lord, the strength of my deliverance,
You protected my head on the day of battle.b
9O LORD, do not grant the desires of the wicked;
do not let their plan succeed,
c-else they be exalted. Selah.
10May the heads of those who beset me
be covered with the mischief of their lips.-c
11may coals of fire drop down upon them,
and they be cast into pits, never to rise again.
12Let slanderers have no place in the land;
let the evil of the lawless man drive him into corrals.
13I know that the LORD will champion
the cause of the poor, the right of the needy.
14Righteous men shall surely praise Your name;
the upright shall dwell in Your presence.
141 A psalm of David.
I call You, O LORD, hasten to me;
give ear to my cry when I call You.
2Take my prayer as an offering of incense,
my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.
3O LORD, set a guard over my mouth,
a watch at the door of my lips;
4let my mind not turn to an evil thing,
to practice deeds of wickedness
with men who are evildoers;
let me not feast on their dainties.
5aLet the righteous man strike me in loyalty,
let him reprove me;
let my head not refuse such choice oil.
My prayers are still against theirb evil deeds.
6May their judges slip on the rock,
but let my words be heard, for they are sweet.
7As when the earth is cleft and broken up
our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8My eyes are fixed upon You, O GOD my Lord;
I seek refuge in You, do not put me in jeopardy.
9Keep me from the trap laid for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.
10Let the wicked fall into their nets
while I alone come through.
142 A maskil of David, while he was in the cave.a A prayer.
2I cry aloud to the LORD;
I appeal to the LORD loudly for mercy.
3I pour out my complaint before Him;
I lay my trouble before Him
4when my spirit fails within me.
You know my course;
they have laid a trap in the path I walk.
5Look at my right and see—
I have no friend;
there is nowhere I can flee,
no one cares about me.
6So I cry to You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
all I have in the land of the living.”
7Listen to my cry, for I have been brought very low;
save me from my pursuers,
for they are too strong for me.
8Free me from prison,
that I may praise Your name.
The righteous b-shall glory in me-b
for Your gracious dealings with me.
143 A psalm of David.
O LORD, hear my prayer;
give ear to my plea, as You are faithful;
answer me, as You are beneficent.
2Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
for before You no creature is in the right.
3My foe hounded me;
he crushed me to the ground;
he made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.
4My spirit failed within me;
my mind was numbed with horror.
5Then I thought of the days of old;
I rehearsed all Your deeds,
recounted the work of Your hands.
6I stretched out my hands to You,
longing for You like thirsty earth. Selah.
7Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit can endure no more.
Do not hide Your face from me,
or I shall become like those who descend into the Pit.
8Let me learn of Your faithfulness by daybreak,
for in You I trust;
let me know the road I must take,
for on You I have set my hope.
9Save me from my foes, O LORD;
a-to You I look for cover.-a
10Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God.
Let Your gracious spirit lead me
on level ground.
11For the sake of Your name, O LORD, preserve me;
as You are beneficent, free me from distress.
12As You are faithful, put an end to my foes;
destroy all my mortal enemies,
for I am Your servant.
144 Of David.
Blessed is the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle,
my fingers for warfare;
2my faithful one, my fortress,
my haven and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take shelter,
who makes peoplesa subject to me.
3O LORD, what is man that You should care about him,
mortal man, that You should think of him?
4Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
5O LORD, bend Your sky and come down;
touch the mountains and they will smoke.
6Make lightning flash and scatter them;
shoot Your arrows and rout them.
7Reach Your hand down from on high;
rescue me, save me from the mighty waters,
from the hands of foreigners,
8whose mouths speak lies,
and whose oathsb are false.
9O God, I will sing You a new song,
sing a hymn to You with a ten-stringed harp,
10to You who give victory to kings,
who rescue His servant David from the deadly sword.
11Rescue me, save me from the hands of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose oathsb are false.
12cFor our sons are like saplings,
well-tended in their youth;
our daughters are like cornerstones
trimmed to give shape to a palace.
13Our storehouses are full,
supplying produce of all kinds;
our flocks number thousands,
even myriads, in our fields;
14our cattle are well cared for.
There is no breaching and no sortie,
and no wailing in our streets.
15Happy the people who have it so;
happy the people whose God is the LORD.
145 A song of praise. Of David.
I will extol You, my God and king,
and bless Your name forever and ever.
2Every day will I bless You
and praise Your name forever and ever.
3Great is the LORD and much acclaimed;
His greatness cannot be fathomed.
4One generation shall laud Your works to another
and declare Your mighty acts.
5The glorious majesty of Your splendor
a-and Your wondrous acts-a will I recite.
6Men shall talk of the might of Your awesome deeds,
and I will recount Your greatness.
7They shall celebrate Your abundant goodness,
and sing joyously of Your beneficence.
8The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
9The LORD is good to all,
and His mercy is upon all His works.
10All Your works shall praise You, O LORD,
and Your faithful ones shall bless You.
11They shall talk of the majesty of Your kingship,
and speak of Your might,
12to make His mighty acts known among men
and the majestic glory of His kingship.
13Your kingship is an eternal kingship;
Your dominion is for all generations.
14The LORD supports all who stumble,
and makes all who are bent stand straight.
15The eyes of all look to You expectantly,
and You give them their food when it is due.
16You give it openhandedly,
feeding every creature to its heart’s content.
17The LORD is beneficent in all His ways
and faithful in all His works.
18The LORD is near to all who call Him,
to all who call Him with sincerity.
19He fulfills the wishes of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry and delivers them.
20The LORD watches over all who love Him,
but all the wicked He will destroy.
21My mouth shall utter the praise of the LORD,
and all creaturesb shall bless His holy name forever and ever.
146 Hallelujah.
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2I will praise the LORD all my life,
sing hymns to my God while I exist.
3Put not your trust in the great,
in mortal man who cannot save.
4His breath departs;
he returns to the dust;
on that day his plans come to nothing.
5Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
7who secures justice for those who are wronged,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free;
8The LORD restores sight to the blind;
the LORD makes those who are bent stand straight;
the LORD loves the righteous;
9The LORD watches over the stranger;
He gives courage to the orphan and widow,
but makes the path of the wicked tortuous.
10The LORD shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Hallelujah.
147 Hallelujah.
It is good to chant hymns to our God;
it is pleasant to sing glorious praise.
2The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
He gathers in the exiles of Israel.
3He heals their broken hearts,
and binds up their wounds.
4He reckoned the number of the stars;
to each He gave its name.
5Great is our LORD and full of power;
His wisdom is beyond reckoning.
6The LORD gives courage to the lowly,
and brings the wicked down to the dust.
7Sing to the LORD a song of praise,
chant a hymn with a lyre to our God,
8who covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
makes mountains put forth grass;
9who gives the beasts their food,
to the raven’s brood what they cry