Psalm 138

Thanksgiving for the LORD'S Favor.

A Psalm of David.

1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.

2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.

3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.

5 And they will sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.

6 For though the LORD is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.

8 The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Psalm 139

God's Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.

3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.

5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.

6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,"

12 Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

13 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.

14 I will give thanks to You, for tI am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

19 O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.

20 For they speak against You wickedly,
And 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 the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 140

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men

2 Who devise evil things in their hearts;
They continually stir up wars.

3 They sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
Poison of a viper is under their lips. Selah.

4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men
Who have purposed to ttrip up my feet.

5 The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set snares for me. Selah.

6 I said to the LORD, "You are my God;
Give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.

7 "O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle.

8 "Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
Do not promote his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.

9 "As for the head of those who surround me,
May the mischief of their lips cover them.

10 "May burning coals fall upon them;
May they be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits from which they cannot rise.

11 "May a slanderer not be established in the earth;
May evil hunt the violent man tspeedily."

12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted
And justice for the poor.

13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The upright will dwell in Your presence.