HarperCollins Study Bible
Page 232
10even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
12even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know 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 beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
17How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the enda—I am still with you.
19O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—
20those who speak of you maliciously,
and lift themselves up against you for evil!b
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 perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
24See if there is any wickedc way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.d
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a Or I awake
b Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Heb hurtful
d Or the ancient way. Compare Jer 6.16
139.1–24 A prayer for God’s help against certain enemies or persecutors by one who claims to be innocent and offers to be tested by God. To the leader. See note on 4.1–8.
139.1–6 Everything about the psalmist, even the innermost thoughts, are known to the Lord. Nothing the psalmist does or thinks has escaped the Lord. Such divine knowledge of the psalmist’s thoughts has to do especially with commitment to the ways of the Lord and comes from God’s searching and testing to discern the psalmist’s inclination of heart and mind (see vv. 23–24).
139.7–12 There is nowhere that one can hide or escape from the presence of God.
139.13–19 The beginning (vv. 13–16a) and end (vv. 16b–18) of the psalmist are known and determined by God.
139.19–22 A prayer for the defeat of those who are hostile to the psalmist because they are also opposed to God and God’s ways.
139.23–24 The psalmist submits to God’s testing, confident of being judged innocent or righteous and committed to following the Lord’s way.
PSALM 140
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers;
protect me from those who are violent,
2who plan evil things in their minds
and stir up wars continually.
3They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah
4Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent
who have planned my downfall.
5The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net,a
along the road they have set snares for me. Selah
6I say to the LORD, “You are my God;
give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”
7O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot.b Selah
9Those who surround me lift up their heads;c
let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
11Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil speedily hunt down the violent!
12I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy,
and executes justice for the poor.
13Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.
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a Or they have spread cords as a net
b Heb adds they are exalted
c Cn Compare Gk: Heb those who surround me are uplifted in head; Heb divides verses 8 and 9 differently
140.1–13 An individual prayer for help against those who have slandered and falsely accused the one who prays. To the leader. See note on 4.1–8.
140.1–3 Cry for help and description of the persecution.
140.3 Together with vv. 9, 11, this verse indicates that the distress of the petitioner is caused by lies and slander on the part of those who would cause violence (vv. 1, 4, 9, 11). Selah. See note on 3.2.
140.4–5 Another cry for help and description of the violence directed against the one who cries out. On the imagery of trap and net, cf., e.g., 9.15; 10.9; 25.15; 31.4; 35.7, 8; 57.6; 141.9; 142.3.
140.6–11 Further pleas for help against the wicked intermingled with expressions of trust and confidence (vv. 6–7).
140.9–11 Explicit calls for God’s judgment against the oppressors.
140.12–13 The confidence of the petitioner in God’s justice for the weak (v. 12) and a vow of praise (v. 13).
140.12 Cf. Ps 82.
PSALM 141
Prayer for Preservation from Evil
A Psalm of David.
1I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4Do not turn my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with those who work iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5Let the righteous strike me;
let the faithful correct me.
Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,a
for my prayer is continuallyb against their wicked deeds.
6When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.c
8But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
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a Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Cn: Heb for continually and my prayer
c Meaning of Heb of verses 5-7 is uncertain
141.1–10 An individual prayer for help against the danger of being drawn into association with the wicked.
141.1–2 Plea to God to hear and respond to the prayer.
141.2 Incense. Cf. Ex 30.8. Evening sacrifice. Cf. Ex 29.38–42; Num 28.3–8. Accounts are given of prayer offered at the time of the evening sacrifice and with incense in Ezra 9.4–5; Dan 9.20–21; Jdt 9.1.
141.3–7 Specific
petitions whose primary content is the prayer for God to keep the psalmist from harmful speech and from association with the wicked (cf. 1.1). Vv. 5–7 are difficult to interpret because of the condition of the Hebrew text.
141.4 Eat of their delicacies, i.e., enjoy their fancy hospitality.
141.7 Sheol. See note on 6.5.
141.8–10 Additional pleas for God’s help to keep the petitioner from being drawn in and caught up by those who do wrong. Trap. See note on 140.4–5.
141.10 The prayer for help against the enticement of the wicked is also a prayer for judgment of them; cf. 7.15–16; 9.15.
PSALM 142
Prayer for Deliverance from Persecutors
A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave.
A Prayer.
1With my voice I cry to the LORD;
with my voice I make supplication to the LORD.
2I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4Look 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.
5I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Save me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
7Bring 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.
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142.1–7 An individual prayer for help against persecutors. Maskil. See note on 32.1–11. Cave. See note on 57.1–11.
142.1–3a Cry for help.
142.3b–4 Lament over the psalmist’s distress. Enemies are plotting and there is no one who will help or pay any attention to the suffering of the petitioner. Trap. See note on 140.4–5.
142.5–7 Further cries for help (vv. 5a, 6, 7a) intermingled with expressions of trust (vv. 5b, 7b).
142.7 Bring me out of prison, a metaphorical reference to the experience of distress, or an actual imprisonment or captivity of the one who cries out in the psalm; cf. 107.10–16. So that…your name is a vow of praise, which often concludes a prayer for help (cf. 7.17; 13.6; 35.28; 59.16–17; 61.8).
PSALM 143
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
A Psalm of David.
1Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
answer me in your righteousness.
2Do not enter into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.
3For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing my life to the ground,
making 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 think about all your deeds,
I meditate on the works of your hands.
6I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7Answer 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.
8Let 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.
9Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.a
10Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path.
11For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life.
In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
12In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
and destroy all my adversaries,
for I am your servant.
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a One Heb Ms Gk: MT to you I have hidden
143.1–12 An individual prayer for help. One of the penitential psalms (see note on 6.1–10).
143.1–2 Cry for help.
143.2 The implicit acknowledgment of inadequacy before God’s judgment has led to the inclusion of this psalm in the penitential psalms.
143.3–4 Description of the affliction from oppressive elements and the internal distress it has caused.
143.5–6 Recollection of God’s saving works in the past is the ground for the present plea. Selah. See note on 3.2.
143.7–12 Urgent pleas for help are followed by laments and expressions of confidence that are submitted as grounds for God’s attention.
143.7 Hide your face. See notes on 10.1; 27.9. Pit. See note on 16.10.
143.8b–10 In addition to the plea for help, these verses seek divine instruction in the proper way to go.
143.11–12 The plea for help is rooted in the character of God as the psalmist pleads for the Lord to act in accordance with God’s own nature.
PSALM 144
Prayer for National Deliverance and Security
Of David.
1Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
2my rocka and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoplesb under me.
3O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them,
or mortals that you think of them?
4They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.
5Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.
6Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them.
7Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of aliens,
8whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.
9I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.
11Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.
12May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
cut for the building of a palace.
13May our barns be filled,
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,
14and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls,c no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.
15Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
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a With 18.2 and 2 Sam 22.2: Heb my steadfast love
b Heb Mss Syr Aquila Jerome: MT my people
c Heb lacks in the walls
144.1–11 A royal prayer for God’s help. The psalm uses themes and traditions found in Ps 18 (2 Sam 22), a royal song of thanksgiving.
144.1–2 The king gives thanks and praise for God’s instruction, protection, and victory over other nations (cf. Pss 18.2; 34; 46–47).
144
.3–4 Reflection on human frailty in anticipation of the prayer that follows (cf. Job 7.17–18; Pss 8.4; 90.5–6; 103.15–16; 146.3–4).
144.5–8 Prayer for God’s help couched in the theophanic language of 18.7–19; see notes on 18.7–19; 18.14; 18.16.
144.7–8 Aliens, hostile nations or peoples. Whose right hands are false refers to violating oaths sworn by raising the right hand; the verse may refer to nations that have broken political alliances or treaties (cf. v. 11b).
144.9–11 Vow of praise and another plea for help (cf. vv. 7–8).
144.9–10 The basis for associating the psalm with a king and particularly with David, who was a musician and also experienced God’s deliverance from his enemies, is seen in these verses. David could refer to a member of the Davidic line (cf. Ezek 34.23; Hos 3.5).
144.12–15 A community prayer for God’s blessing of the nation in prosperity and security. The relation of these verses to the royal psalm in vv. 1–11 is unclear. They may have been a prayer uttered by the king, or they may have been originally a separate prayer later joined to the royal psalm.
144.15 Happy. See note on 1.1.
PSALM 145
The Greatness and the Goodness of God
Praise. Of David.
1I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever.
3Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall laud your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,