144
A psalm of David.
1 Praise the Lord—he is my rock. He trains me for battle, he gives me skill for war.
2 He is the one who faithfully loves me, protects me, and defends me. He is the one who rescues me, shields me from danger, and keeps me safe. He defeats nations and places them under my rule.
3 Lord, what are human beings that you should care about them? What are people that you should concern yourself with them?
4 Humanity is like a breath; their lives are like a passing shadow.
5 Part your heavens and come down.* Touch the mountains so that they give off smoke.
6 Scatter your enemies† with flashes of lightning! Let your arrows fly and send them running in confusion!
7 Stretch down your hand from heaven and set me free. Rescue me from raging waters, from the oppression of foreign enemies.
8 They are such liars, even telling lies under oath.‡
9 God, I will sing a new song to you, accompanied by a ten-stringed harp,
10 to you, the one who gives victory to kings. You saved your servant David from death by the sword.
11 Set me free. Rescue me from the oppression of foreign enemies. They are such liars, even telling lies under oath.
12 Then our sons will grow up like plants in their youth and become mature, and our daughters will be like beautiful pillars carved to support a palace.
13 Our storehouses will be full of all kinds of crops; our flocks of sheep will grow by thousands, increasing by tens of thousands in the pastures.
14 Our cattle will grow fat. No one will break down our city walls, there will be no exile, no cries of mourning in our town squares.
15 The people who live like this will be happy. Happy are those whose God is the Lord.
* 144:5 See Psalms 18:9. † 144:6 “You enemies”: implied. ‡ 144:8 Literally, “their right hand is a right hand of falsehood”—referring to the practice of raising the right hand when swearing an oath.