Psalms Chapter 143

Benedictus Dominus.

The prophet praiseth God, and prayeth to be delivered from his enemies. No worldly happiness is to be compared with that of serving God.

A psalm of David against Goliath.

143:1. Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war.

143:2. My mercy, and my refuge: my support, and my deliverer: My protector, and I have hoped in him: who subdueth my people under me.

143:3. Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him? or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?

143:4. Man is like to vanity: his days pass away like a shadow.

143:5. Lord, bow down thy heavens and descend: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

143:6. Send forth lightning, and thou shalt scatter them: shoot out thy arrows, and thou shalt trouble them.

143:7. Put forth thy hand from on high, take me out, and deliver me from many waters: from the hand of strange children:

143:8. Whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.

143:9. To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee.

143:10. Who givest salvation to kings: who hast redeemed thy servant David from the malicious sword:

143:11. Deliver me, And rescue me out of the hand of strange children; whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity:

143:12. Whose sons are as new plants in their youth: Their daughters decked out, adorned round about after the similitude of a temple:

143:13. Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings forth:

143:14. Their oxen fat. There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor crying out in their streets.

143:15. They have called the people happy, that hath these things: but happy is that people whose God is the Lord.