Jul 8 - Psalms 138-143
Psalms
1I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;2I bow down toward your holy 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.3On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.4All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth,5and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.6For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.8The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
1O LORD, you have searched me and known me!2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.3You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.4Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.5You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.7Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?8If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!9If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.11If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.13For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.16Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.17How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!18If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.19Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!20They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain!21Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?22I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.23Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!24And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
1Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,2who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.3They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah4Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.5The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah6I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!7O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.8Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot or they will be exalted! Selah9As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!10Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!11Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!12I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.13Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.
1O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!2Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!3Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!4Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!5Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.6When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.7As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.8But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!9Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!10Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.
1With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.2I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.3When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.4Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.5I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."6Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!7Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
1Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!2Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.3For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.4Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.5I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.6I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah7Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.8Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.9Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge!10Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!11For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!12And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.