For the choir director: A psalm of David.

 1
    O LORD, you have examined my heart
       and know everything about me.

    2
    You know when I sit down or stand up.
       You know my every thought when far away.

    3
    You chart the path ahead of me
       and tell me where to stop and rest.
       Every moment you know where I am.

    4
    You know what I am going to say
       even before I say it, LORD.

    5
    You both precede and follow me.
       You place your hand of blessing on my head.

    6
    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
       too great for me to know!

    7
    I can never escape from your spirit!
       I can never get away from your presence!

    8
    If I go up to heaven, you are there;
       if I go down to the place of the dead,^[a] you are there.

    9
    If I ride the wings of the morning,
       if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

    10
    even there your hand will guide me,
       and your strength will support me.

    11
    I could ask the darkness to hide me
       and the light around me to become night--

   
    12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
    To you the night shines as bright as day.
       Darkness and light are both alike to you.

    13
    You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
       and knit me together in my mother's womb.

    14
    Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
       Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.

    15
    You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
       as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

    16
    You saw me before I was born.
       Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
    Every moment was laid out
       before a single day had passed.

    17
    How precious are your thoughts about me,^[b] O God!
       They are innumerable!

    18
    I can't even count them;
       they outnumber the grains of sand!
    And when I wake up in the morning,
       you are still with me!

    19
    O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
       Get out of my life, you murderers!

    20
    They blaspheme you;
       your enemies take your name in vain.

    21
    O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you?
       Shouldn't I despise those who resist you?

    22
    Yes, I hate them with complete hatred,
       for your enemies are my enemies.

    23
    Search me, O God, and know my heart;
       test me and know my thoughts.

    24
    Point out anything in me that offends you,
       and lead me along the path of everlasting life.