Psalm 141-145

New King James Version

³ Set a guard, O Lord, over my ^(D)mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴ Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
^(E)And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

^5 (F)Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.

For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
⁶ Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the ^[a]cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
⁷ Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.

⁸ But ^(G)my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
^[b]Do not leave my soul destitute.
⁹ Keep me from ^(H)the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
^10 (I)Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.

³ When my spirit ^[d]was ^(L)overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly ^(M)set a snare for me.
⁴ Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.

⁵ I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
^6 [e]Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
⁷ Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may ^(N)praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”

³ For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in ^[f]darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
^4 (P)Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.

^5 (Q)I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I ^[g]muse on the work of Your hands.
⁶ I spread out my hands to You;
^(R)My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

⁷ Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
^(S)Lest I ^[h]be like those who ^[i]go down into the pit.
⁸ Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness ^(T)in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
^(U)Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For ^(V)I lift up my soul to You.

⁹ Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
^[j]In You I take shelter.
^10 (W)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
^(X)Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in ^(Y)the land of uprightness.

^11 (Z)Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
¹² In Your mercy ^(AA)cut^[k] off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.

^3 (AC)Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
^4 (AD)Man is like a breath;
^(AE)His days are like a passing shadow.

^5 (AF)Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
^(AG)Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
^6 (AH)Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
⁷ Stretch out Your hand from above;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of foreigners,
⁸ Whose mouth ^(AI)speaks ^[m]lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹ I will ^(AJ)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 ^[n]salvation to kings,
^(AK)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 ^(AL)as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as ^[o]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 ^[p]breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.
^15 (AM)Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

^4 (AQ)One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
^5 [s]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And ^[t]on Your wondrous works.
⁶ Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
⁷ They shall ^[u]utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

^8 (AR)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
^9 (AS)The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.

^10 (AT)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 (AU)Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all ^[v]generations.

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

¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
^18 (AZ)The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him ^(BA)in truth.
¹⁹ He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
^20 (BB)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.