Psalms 139-143 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS

Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

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I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.

God bless,

John

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Psalm 139

L

ord, my enemies bear false witness against me. Yet you have examined me and know my innermost being. You know when I am sitting or standing. You are familiar with all my thoughts. You see where I am going, even when I cannot, and you know all my intentions. You even know what I am going to say before I do! You surround me with your protection. You made me, and your guiding hand leads me forward. I cannot begin to fathom such depth of knowledge of a human being. It leaves me speechless.

Where can I go that your Holy Spirit would not also be with me? To outer space? To the earth’s core? To the edge of the world? No, you would be there. I cannot escape from your love or protection. Could I hide in the dark? No, darkness is as bright as day to you. I realize now that you have loved me since you formed me in my mother’s womb. Thank you for creating me, Lord. What a marvelous thing my body is, but all your works are marvelous. My soul knows this, even if my mind does not understand it.

Before my body was even formed, you saw me. I was just a thought, but you had already recorded all my days in the book of life. How vast is the mind of God! To number your thoughts, Lord, would be like trying to count all the grains of sand on a beach! I could spend my whole life counting and never come to the end of it. Yet even after death, you would still be there beside me!

Lord, dispose of these wicked people who have lodged false complaints against me. You know how much I hate those who hate you. Your enemies become my enemies. Stay away from me, you bloodthirsty men! Tell them, Lord, that they are wasting their time, that their charges against me are baseless. Search my heart, O God, to see if I have broken your laws. Then lead me to everlasting life. Amen.

Psalm 140

(Jesus prays for his Church during his torture and death.)

" F

ather, rescue my Church from Satan and those who do his bidding. They have plotted against it, slandered it, and fought unceasingly to destroy it. Save it from the wicked beings who have devised traps to bring it down.

Father, you are our God. Hear my prayer. You have the power to deliver us and shield us in this battle. Do not let the enemy get the upper hand. Do not let them succeed with their schemes, for that would only make them more arrogant. Let them fall into their own traps. Punish them for their injustice and cast them into the pit. Let them not rise to hurt us again. 

Slanderers will not be tolerated among your people. Evil men will bring about their own undoing. I know, Father, that you will protect the lowly and give justice to those in need. The righteous will then praise your name with thanksgiving, and the godly will live under your watchful eye. Amen.”⁶⁷

Psalm 141

L

ord, hear my prayer. May it rise up before you like incense. I lift up my hands this evening to praise you and receive your blessings. Keep my lips from speaking evil words; my mind from evil thoughts; my intentions always pure; my actions always true to you. Let me not be drawn into sin by the ungodly and their pleasurable enticements.

Let the upright correct me with love and compassion. Let me not darken the doorstep of sinners. I pray intensely for those who have lost their way. Chastise the worst offenders — those who draw others into sin. Sinners may not understand the gravity of their offenses until they see their 

ringleaders severely punished. The road to hell is paved with the broken bones of ignorant sinners.

But I look to you, Lord, to keep me faithful. My hope is in you. Let my soul not perish. Protect me against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Let evildoers fall into their own trap while I escape unharmed. Amen.

Psalm 142

L

ord, help me out of my desperate situation. I am nearly exhausted. You know where my path is leading and have always been there to help me. But today I feel alone. The enemy has set a trap for me. There is no way I can escape without your intervention. No one will help me because they do not care.

So I call upon you, Lord. You are my only hope, the only one who can protect me. Answer my prayer, for I am without any other recourse. Rescue me from my pursuers who have more strength than I. Deliver me, Lord, from this living hell, and I will give you thanks before the righteous who will see how you have saved me. Amen.

Psalm 143

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ord, I beg you to hear my prayer. Answer me according to what is right and just. Do not hold all my sins against me, for no one is righteous in your eyes. The devil pursues my soul. He has humiliated me and deprived me of your grace, leaving me spiritually drained, my body a soulless husk.

I remember all the wonderful things you did for your people in the past. I beg you to fill my soul with your saving grace again. Come quickly, Lord, for I am barely clinging to life. If you reject me, I will lose my soul. Have mercy on me, for I trust in your faithfulness. Show me the way back into your graces. My soul is in your hands. Save me from the evil that surrounds me, for no one can help me but you.

You are God, and I want to do your will, not mine. Let your Holy Spirit show me the way to godliness. Because of who you are, save my soul. Because of your mercy and faithfulness, rescue your servant from the clutches of the devil. Cast Satan and all his evil spirits into hell. Amen. 

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Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
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⁶⁷The Psalms, New International Version, St. Joseph Catholic Edition. 

(New Jersey: Catholic Book Publishing Corp., 1996), 772.

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 

copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 

be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 

offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.