PSALMS 137-143

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How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?137:1

By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion. 2

On the willows there

we hung up our lyres. 3

For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4

How shall we sing the Lord’s song

in a foreign land? 5

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget its skill! 6

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy!
7

Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites

the day of Jerusalem,

how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,

down to its foundations!” 8

O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall he be who repays you

with what you have done to us! 9

Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

and dashes them against the rock! Give Thanks to the LordOf David.
138:1

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

before the gods I sing your praise; 2

I 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. 3

On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.
4

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

for they have heard the words of your mouth, 5

and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord. 6

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

but the haughty he knows from afar.
7

Though 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. 8

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands. Search Me, O God, and Know My HeartTo the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139:1

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2

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

you discern my thoughts from afar. 3

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways. 4

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5

You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me. 6

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.
7

Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me. 11

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,” 12

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.
13

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14

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

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well. 15

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16

Your 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 was none of them.
17

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them! 18

If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.
19

Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!

O men of blood, depart from me! 20

They speak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies take your name in vain. 21

Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22

I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.
23

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts! 24

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting! Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil MenTo the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
140:1

Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

preserve me from violent men, 2

who plan evil things in their heart

and stir up wars continually. 3

They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,

and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
4

Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

preserve me from violent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet. 5

The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread a net;

beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
6

I say to the Lord, You are my God;

give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord! 7

O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,

you have covered my head in the day of battle. 8

Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
9

As for the head of those who surround me,

let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them! 10

Let burning coals fall upon them!

Let them be cast into fire,

into miry pits, no more to rise! 11

Let not the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
12

I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,

and will execute justice for the needy. 13

Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

the upright shall dwell in your presence. Give Ear to My VoiceA Psalm of David.
141:1

O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!

Give ear to my voice when I call to you! 2

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
3

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

keep watch over the door of my lips! 4

Do 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!
5

Let 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. 6

When their judges are thrown over the cliff,

then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant. 7

As when one plows and breaks up the earth,

so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8

But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;

in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! 9

Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me

and from the snares of evildoers! 10

Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I pass by safely. You Are My RefugeA Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
142:1

With my voice I cry out to the Lord;

with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. 2

I pour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.
3

When my spirit faints within me,

you know my way!

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me. 4

Look to the right and see:

there is none who takes notice of me;

no refuge remains to me;

no one cares for my soul.
5

I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.” 6

Attend to my cry,

for I am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me! 7

Bring me out of prison,

that I may give thanks to your name!

The righteous will surround me,

for you will deal bountifully with me. My Soul Thirsts for YouA Psalm of David.
143:1

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

give ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 2

Enter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous before you.
3

For 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. 4

Therefore my spirit faints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.
5

I remember the days of old;

I meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands. 6

I stretch out my hands to you;

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7

Answer me quickly, O Lord!

My spirit fails!

Hide not your face from me,

lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8

Let 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.
9

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge. 10

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

Let your good Spirit lead me

on level ground!
11

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! 12

And 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.

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