Psalm 142-144
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 142
Prayer for Deliverance from Persecutors
A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.
1 With my voice I cry to the Lord;
with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.(A)
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.(B)
3 When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
In the path where I walk,
they have hidden a trap for me.(C)
4 Look on my right hand and see:
there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.(D)
5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”(E)
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Save me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.(F)
7 Bring me out of prison,
so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.(G)
Psalm 143
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
answer me in your righteousness.(H)
2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.(I)
3 For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing my life to the ground,
making me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.(J)
5 I remember the days of old;
I think about all your deeds;
I meditate on the works of your hands.(K)
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah(L)
7 Answer me quickly, O Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.(M)
8 Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.(N)
9 Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.[a](O)
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path.(P)
11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.
In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.(Q)
12 In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
and destroy all my adversaries,
for I am your servant.(R)
Psalm 144
Prayer for National Deliverance and Security
Of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,(S)
2 my rock[b] and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoples[c] under me.(T)
3 O Lord, what are humans that you regard them,
or mortals that you think of them?(U)
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.(V)
5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.(W)
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them.(X)
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of foreigners,(Y)
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hands are false.(Z)
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,(AA)
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.(AB)
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.(AC)
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
cut for the building of a palace.(AD)
13 May our barns be filled
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls,[d] no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.(AE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.