Psalms 136-142

Psalm 136

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever.

²Give thanks to the God of gods. His loving devotion endures forever.

³Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His loving devotion endures forever.

⁴He alone does great wonders. His loving devotion endures forever.

⁵By His insight He made the heavens. His loving devotion endures forever.

⁶He spread out the earth upon the waters. His loving devotion endures forever.

⁷He made the great lights— His loving devotion endures forever.

⁸the sun to rule the day, His loving devotion endures forever.

⁹the moon and stars to govern the night. His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁰He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever.

¹¹and brought Israel out from among them His loving devotion endures forever.

¹²with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. His loving devotion endures forever.

¹³He divided the Red Sea in two His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁴and led Israel through the midst, His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁵but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁶He led His people through the wilderness. His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁷He struck down great kings His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁸and slaughtered mighty kings— His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁹Sihon king of the Amorites His loving devotion endures forever.

²⁰and Og king of Bashan— His loving devotion endures forever.

²¹and He gave their land as an inheritance, His loving devotion endures forever.

²²a heritage to His servant Israel. His loving devotion endures forever.

²³He remembered us in our low estate His loving devotion endures forever.

²⁴and freed us from our enemies. His loving devotion endures forever.

²⁵He gives food to every creature. His loving devotion endures forever.

²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven! His loving devotion endures forever.

Psalm 137

¹By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

²There on the willows we hung our harps,

³for there our captors requested a song; our tormentors demanded songs of joy: “Sing us a song of Zion.”

⁴How can we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.

⁶May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!

⁷Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”

⁸O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.

⁹Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

Psalm 138

¹Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises.

²I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.

³On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.

⁴All the kings of the earth will give You thanks, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth.

⁵They will sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.

⁶Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.

⁷If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.

⁸The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever— do not abandon the works of Your hands.

Psalm 139

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

²You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.

³You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.

⁴Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD.

⁵You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

⁷Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?

⁸If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.

⁹If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea,

¹⁰even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—

¹²even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

¹³For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.

¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.

¹⁷How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum!

¹⁸If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹O God, that You would slay the wicked— away from me, you bloodthirsty men—

²⁰who speak of You deceitfully; Your enemies take Your name in vain.

²¹Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them as my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.

²⁴See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 140

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence,

²who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long.

³They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah

⁴Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble.

⁵The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah

⁶I say to the LORD, “You are my God.” Hear, O LORD, my cry for help.

⁷O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle.

⁸Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not promote their evil plans, lest they be exalted. Selah

⁹May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.

¹⁰May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits, never to rise again.

¹¹May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.

¹²I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.

¹³Surely the righteous will praise Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence.

Psalm 141

¹A Psalm of David. I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to You.

²May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.

³Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.

⁴Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.

⁵Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked.

⁶When their rulers are thrown down from the cliffs, the people will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.

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

⁸But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.

⁹Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the lures of evildoers.

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

Psalm 142

¹A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.

²I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.

³Although my spirit grows faint within me, You know my way. Along the path I travel they have hidden a snare for me.

⁴Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.

⁵I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

⁶Listen to my cry, for I am brought quite low. Rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.

⁷Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because of Your goodness to me.