A Song to the Lord Who Preserves and Prospers His People

A Psalm of David.

144 Blessed be the Lord my Rock,
(A)Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle—
My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues [a]my people under me.

(B)Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
(C)Man is like a breath;
(D)His days are like a passing shadow.

(E)Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
(F)Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
(G)Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
Stretch out Your hand from above;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth (H)speaks [b]lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

I will (I)sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 The One who gives [c]salvation to kings,
(J)Who delivers David His servant
From the deadly sword.

11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—
12 That our sons may be (K)as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as [d]pillars,
Sculptured in palace style;
13 That our barns may be full,
Supplying all kinds of produce;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
And ten thousands in our fields;
14 That our oxen may be well laden;
That there be no [e]breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.
15 (L)Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

A Song of God’s Majesty and Love

(M)A Praise of David.

145 I will [f]extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
(N)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And (O)His greatness is [g]unsearchable.

(P)One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
[h]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And [i]on Your wondrous works.
Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
They shall [j]utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

(Q)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
(R)The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.

10 (S)All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 (T)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all [k]generations.

14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And (U)raises up all who are bowed down.
15 (V)The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And (W)You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand
(X)And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 (Y)The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him (Z)in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 (AA)The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord

146 Praise[l] the Lord!

(AB)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
(AC)While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

(AD)Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in [m]a son of man, in whom there is no [n]help.
(AE)His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day (AF)his plans perish.

(AG)Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
(AH)Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
(AI)Who executes justice for the oppressed,
(AJ)Who gives food to the hungry.
(AK)The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

(AL)The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
(AM)The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
(AN)The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
(AO)But the way of the wicked He [o]turns upside down.

10 (AP)The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

Praise to God for His Word and Providence

147 Praise[p] the Lord!
For (AQ)it is good to sing praises to our God;
(AR)For it is pleasant, and (AS)praise is beautiful.

The Lord (AT)builds up Jerusalem;
(AU)He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
(AV)He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their [q]wounds.
(AW)He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
(AX)Great is our Lord, and (AY)mighty in power;
(AZ)His understanding is infinite.
(BA)The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
(BB)Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
(BC)He gives to the beast its food,
And (BD)to the young ravens that cry.

10 (BE)He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.
14 (BF)He makes peace in your borders,
And (BG)fills you with [r]the finest wheat.

15 (BH)He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16 (BI)He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts out His hail like [s]morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?
18 (BJ)He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

19 (BK)He declares His word to Jacob,
(BL)His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 (BM)He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.

[t]Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 144:2 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Syr., Tg. the peoples (cf. 18:47)
  2. Psalm 144:8 empty or worthless
  3. Psalm 144:10 deliverance
  4. Psalm 144:12 corner pillars
  5. Psalm 144:14 Lit. breach
  6. Psalm 145:1 praise
  7. Psalm 145:3 Beyond our understanding
  8. Psalm 145:5 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. They
  9. Psalm 145:5 Lit. on the words of Your wondrous works
  10. Psalm 145:7 eagerly utter, lit. bubble forth
  11. Psalm 145:13 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. add The Lord is faithful in all His words, And holy in all His works
  12. Psalm 146:1 Heb. Hallelujah
  13. Psalm 146:3 A human being
  14. Psalm 146:3 salvation
  15. Psalm 146:9 Lit. makes crooked
  16. Psalm 147:1 Heb. Hallelujah
  17. Psalm 147:3 Lit. sorrows
  18. Psalm 147:14 Lit. fat of wheat
  19. Psalm 147:17 fragments of food
  20. Psalm 147:20 Heb. Hallelujah

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