Psalm 143
My Soul Thirsts for You
A PSALM OF DAVID.
*A prayer for deliverance from enemies and for divine leading. This is the seventh and final penitential psalm (see introduction to Psalm 6). In the first half the psalmist makes his appeal and describes his situation; in the second half he presents his prayer.
Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me,
in your righteousness!
Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.
-143:1-2
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
-143:5-6
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.
Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge!
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!
For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
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.
-143:8-12
Psalm 144
My Rock and My Fortress
OF DAVID.
*A royal prayer for victory over treacherous enemies. Verses 1-10 show much affinity with Psalm 18; this section begins and ends like that psalm, and verses 5-7 all appear to be variations on corresponding lines found there. The remaining lines of this section contain similar echoes of other psalms, and the author may have drawn directly on them.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
he is my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
-144:1-2
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
-144:4
Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
-144:15
Psalm 145
Great Is the Lord
A SONG OF PRAISE. OF DAVID.
*A hymn to the Lord, the Great King, for his mighty acts and benevolent virtues, which are the glory of his kingly rule. It exploits to the full the traditional language of praise and, as an alphabetic acrostic, reflects the care of studied composition.
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame
of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding
in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man
your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures
throughout all generations.
[The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.]
The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name
forever and ever.
-Psalm 145
Psalm 146
Put Not Your Trust in Princes
*An exhortation to trust in the Lord, Zion’s King. The first of five Hallelujah psalms with which the Psalter closes, its date is probably postexilic. This and the remaining four psalms are all framed with Hallelujahs, which may have been added by the final editors (see Psalm 105; 106; 111; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 117).
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes,
in son of man, in whom there is now salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watched over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
-Psalm 146
Psalm 147
He Heals the Brokenhearted
*Praise of God, the Creator, for his special mercies to Israel–possibly composed for the Levitical choirs on the joyous occasion of the dedication of the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 12:27-43).
Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
-147:1
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
-147:3-6
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
-147:7-11
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.
Praise the Lord!
-147:20
Psalm 148
Praise the Name of the Lord
*A call to all things in all creation to praise the Lord. Whatever its original liturgical purpose, its placement here serves to complete the scope of the calls to praise with which the Psalter concludes.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the Lord!
-Psalm 148
Psalm 149
Sing to the Lord a New Song
*Praise of God for high honor bestowed on his people. It is no doubt postexilic. Israel’s unique honor has two sides: She has been granted salvation (in fact and in promise), and she has been armed to execute God’s sentence of judgment on the world powers that have launched their attacks against the kingdom of God–she is the earthly contingent of the armies of the King of heaven. This next-to-last psalm clearly marks the Psalter as the prayer book (liturgical book of prayer and praise) of Old Testament Israel.
Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
-149:1
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
-149:4
Psalm 150
Let Everything Praise the Lord
*The final great Hallelujah–perhaps composed specifically to close the Psalter. See the conclusions to the first four books: Psalm 41:13; Psalm 72:18-19; Psalm 89:52; and Psalm 106:48. This final call to praise moves powerfully by stages from place to themes to orchestra to choir, framed with Hallelujahs.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
-150:1-2
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
-150:6