Psalm 131; Psalms 138–139; Psalms 143–145

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Psalm 131

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of mAscents. Of David.

O Lord, my heart is not slifted up;

my eyes are not traised too high;

I do not uoccupy myself with things

too great and vtoo marvelous for me.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned wchild with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

xO Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.


Psalms 138–139

Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before cthe gods I sing your praise;

I bow down dtoward your eholy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.1

On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.2

fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

and they shall sing of gthe ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

iThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you jpreserve my life;

you kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your lright hand delivers me.

The Lord will mfulfill his purpose for me;

nyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake othe work of your hands.

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, you have psearched me and known me!

You qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;

you rdiscern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, syou know it altogether.

You them me in, behind and before,

and ulay your hand upon me.

vSuch knowledge is wtoo wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where yshall I flee from your presence?

zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!

aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10  even there your hand shall blead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11  If I say, cSurely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,

12  deven the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

13  For you eformed my inward parts;

you fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.3

gWonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15  hMy frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in ithe depths of the earth.

16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your jbook were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17  How precious to me are your kthoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18  lIf I would count them, they are more than mthe sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

19  Oh that you would nslay the wicked, O God!

O omen of blood, pdepart from me!

20  They qspeak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies rtake your name in vain.4

21  sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not tloathe those who urise up against you?

22  I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!

vTry me and know my thoughts!5

24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and wlead me in xthe way everlasting!6


Psalms 143–145

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your dfaithfulness answer me, in your drighteousness!

eEnter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous fbefore you.

For the enemy has pursued my soul;

ghe has crushed my life to the ground;

hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

Therefore my spirit ifaints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

jI remember the days of old;

kI meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

lI stretch out my hands to you;

mmy soul thirsts for you like na parched land. Selah

oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!

pMy spirit fails!

qHide not your face from me,

rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.

sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I ttrust.

uMake me know the way I should go,

vfor to you I lift up my soul.

wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.1

10  xTeach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

yLet your good Spirit zlead me

on alevel ground!

11  bFor your name’s sake, O Lord, cpreserve my life!

In your righteousness dbring my soul out of trouble!

12  And in your steadfast love you will ecut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your fservant.

My Rock and My Fortress

Of David.

Blessed be the Lord, my grock,

hwho trains my hands for war,

and my fingers for battle;

he is my isteadfast love and my jfortress,

my kstronghold and my deliverer,

my lshield and he in whom I take refuge,

who msubdues peoples2 under me.

O Lord, nwhat is man that you oregard him,

or the son of man that you think of him?

pMan is like a breath;

his days are like qa passing rshadow.

sBow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!

tTouch the mountains so that they smoke!

uFlash forth the lightning and scatter them;

usend out your arrows and rout them!

vStretch out your hand from on high;

wrescue me and deliver me from the many waters,

from the hand xof foreigners,

whose mouths speak ylies

and whose right hand is za right hand of falsehood.

I will sing aa new song to you, O God;

upon aa ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

10  who gives victory to kings,

who brescues David his servant from the cruel sword.

11  Rescue me and deliver me

from the hand xof foreigners,

whose mouths speak ylies

and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12  May our sons in their youth

be like cplants full grown,

our daughters like dcorner pillars

cut for the structure of a palace;

13  emay our granaries be full,

fproviding all kinds of produce;

may our sheep bring forth thousands

and ten thousands in our fields;

14  may our cattle be heavy with young,

suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;3

may there be no gcry of distress in our streets!

15  hBlessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

iBlessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Great Is the Lord

4 A Song of Praise. Of David.

jI will extol you, my God and kKing,

and bless your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless you

land praise your name forever and ever.

mGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his ngreatness is unsearchable.

oOne generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

On pthe glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

They shall speak of qthe might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

They shall pour forth the fame of your rabundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is sgracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is tgood to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10  uAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your vsaints shall bless you!

11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12  to wmake known to the children of man your5 xmighty deeds,

and ythe glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13  zYour 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.]6

14  The Lord aupholds all who are falling

and braises up all who are bowed down.

15  The eyes of all clook to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16  You dopen your hand;

you esatisfy the desire of every living thing.

17  The Lord is frighteous in all his ways

and gkind in all his works.

18  The Lord is hnear to all who call on him,

to all who call on him iin truth.

19  He jfulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also khears their cry and saves them.

20  The Lord lpreserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and mlet all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.