Psalm 144

Of David.

Praise be to the Lord my Rock,(A)
    who trains my hands for war,
    my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,(B)
    my stronghold(C) and my deliverer,
my shield,(D) in whom I take refuge,
    who subdues peoples[a](E) under me.

Lord, what are human beings(F) that you care for them,
    mere mortals that you think of them?
They are like a breath;(G)
    their days are like a fleeting shadow.(H)

Part your heavens,(I) Lord, and come down;(J)
    touch the mountains, so that they smoke.(K)
Send forth lightning(L) and scatter(M) the enemy;
    shoot your arrows(N) and rout them.
Reach down your hand from on high;(O)
    deliver me and rescue me(P)
from the mighty waters,(Q)
    from the hands of foreigners(R)
whose mouths are full of lies,(S)
    whose right hands(T) are deceitful.(U)

I will sing a new song(V) to you, my God;
    on the ten-stringed lyre(W) I will make music to you,
10 to the One who gives victory to kings,(X)
    who delivers his servant David.(Y)

From the deadly sword(Z) 11 deliver me;
    rescue me(AA) from the hands of foreigners(AB)
whose mouths are full of lies,(AC)
    whose right hands are deceitful.(AD)

12 Then our sons in their youth
    will be like well-nurtured plants,(AE)
and our daughters will be like pillars(AF)
    carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filled(AG)
    with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
    by tens of thousands in our fields;
14     our oxen(AH) will draw heavy loads.[b]
There will be no breaching of walls,(AI)
    no going into captivity,
    no cry of distress in our streets.(AJ)
15 Blessed is the people(AK) of whom this is true;
    blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

Psalm 145[c]

A psalm of praise. Of David.

I will exalt you,(AL) my God the King;(AM)
    I will praise your name(AN) for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise(AO) you
    and extol your name(AP) for ever and ever.

Great(AQ) is the Lord and most worthy of praise;(AR)
    his greatness no one can fathom.(AS)
One generation(AT) commends your works to another;
    they tell(AU) of your mighty acts.(AV)
They speak of the glorious splendor(AW) of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[d](AX)
They tell(AY) of the power of your awesome works—(AZ)
    and I will proclaim(BA) your great deeds.(BB)
They celebrate your abundant goodness(BC)
    and joyfully sing(BD) of your righteousness.(BE)

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,(BF)
    slow to anger and rich in love.(BG)

The Lord is good(BH) to all;
    he has compassion(BI) on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you,(BJ) Lord;
    your faithful people extol(BK) you.(BL)
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom(BM)
    and speak of your might,(BN)
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts(BO)
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.(BP)
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,(BQ)
    and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy(BR) in all he promises(BS)
    and faithful in all he does.[e]
14 The Lord upholds(BT) all who fall
    and lifts up all(BU) who are bowed down.(BV)
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food(BW) at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
    and satisfy the desires(BX) of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous(BY) in all his ways
    and faithful in all he does.(BZ)
18 The Lord is near(CA) to all who call on him,(CB)
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires(CC) of those who fear him;(CD)
    he hears their cry(CE) and saves them.(CF)
20 The Lord watches over(CG) all who love him,(CH)
    but all the wicked he will destroy.(CI)

21 My mouth will speak(CJ) in praise of the Lord.
    Let every creature(CK) praise his holy name(CL)
    for ever and ever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 144:2 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Jerome and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text subdues my people
  2. Psalm 144:14 Or our chieftains will be firmly established
  3. Psalm 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which (including verse 13b) begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  4. Psalm 145:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text On the glorious splendor of your majesty / and on your wonderful works I will meditate
  5. Psalm 145:13 One manuscript of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text do not have the last two lines of verse 13.

144 Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.

Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!

Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.

Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;

Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.

10 It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.

11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

13 That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:

14 That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.

15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.

145 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.

11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

14 The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Psalm 88[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.

Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
    day and night I cry out(B) to you.
May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
    and my life draws near to death.(D)
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
    I am like one without strength.(F)
I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off(G) from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.(H)
Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
    my eyes(N) are dim with grief.

I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
    in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
    and hide your face(W) from me?

15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
    your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

Psalm 89[f]

A maskil[g] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing(AF) of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(AG)
    through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(AH)
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
    I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
    and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[h](AI)

The heavens(AJ) praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly(AK) of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(AL)
In the council(AM) of the holy ones(AN) God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.(AO)
Who is like you,(AP) Lord God Almighty?(AQ)
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.(AR)
10 You crushed Rahab(AS) like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered(AT) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(AU) and yours also the earth;(AV)
    you founded the world and all that is in it.(AW)
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor(AX) and Hermon(AY) sing for joy(AZ) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(BA)

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(BB)
    love and faithfulness go before you.(BC)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk(BD) in the light(BE) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(BF) all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(BG)
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[i](BH)
18 Indeed, our shield[j](BI) belongs to the Lord,
    our king(BJ) to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(BK) my servant;(BL)
    with my sacred oil(BM) I have anointed(BN) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.(BO)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(BP)
    the wicked will not oppress(BQ) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(BR)
    and strike down his adversaries.(BS)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(BT)
    and through my name his horn[k] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.(BU)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(BV)
    my God, the Rock(BW) my Savior.’(BX)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(BY)
    the most exalted(BZ) of the kings(CA) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.(CB)
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.(CC)

30 “If his sons forsake my law
    and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
    their iniquity with flogging;(CD)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(CE)
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.(CF)
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
    and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
    and his throne endure before me like the sun;(CG)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”(CH)

38 But you have rejected,(CI) you have spurned,
    you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
    and have defiled his crown in the dust.(CJ)
40 You have broken through all his walls(CK)
    and reduced his strongholds(CL) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(CM) him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(CN)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.(CO)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.(CP)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(CQ) the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(CR)

46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?(CS)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(CT)
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?(CU)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[l] been mocked,(CV)
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(CW)

52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(CX)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
  2. Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
  3. Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  4. Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
  5. Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon
  6. Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
  7. Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  8. Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
  9. Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
  10. Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
  11. Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  12. Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have

88 O lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:

Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;

For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:

Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.

Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.

Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.

Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.

11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?

12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

14 Lord, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.

16 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.

17 They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.

18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

89 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.

16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

41 All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

46 How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?

50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

52 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.