Psalm 144

Psalm 144

By David. 

¹Thank the Lord, my rock, 

who trained my hands to fight 

and my fingers to do battle, 

²my merciful one, my fortress, 

my stronghold, and my savior, 

my shield, the one in whom I take refuge, 

and the one who brings people under my authority. 

³O Lord, what are humans that you should care about them? 

What are mere mortals that you should think about them? 

⁴Humans are like a breath of air. 

Their life span is like a fleeting shadow. 

⁵O Lord, bend your heaven low, and come down. 

Touch the mountains, and they will smoke. 

⁶Hurl bolts of lightning, and scatter them. 

Shoot your arrows, and throw them into confusion. 

⁷Stretch out your hands from above. 

Snatch me, and rescue me from raging waters 

and from foreigners’ hands. 

⁸Their mouths speak lies. 

Their right hands take false pledges. 

⁹O God, I will sing a new song to you. 

I will sing a psalm to you on a ten-stringed harp. 

¹⁰You are the one who gives victory to kings. 

You are the one who snatches your servant David 

away from a deadly sword. 

¹¹Snatch me, and rescue me from foreigners’ hands. 

Their mouths speak lies. 

Their right hands take false pledges. 

¹²May our sons be like full-grown, young plants. 

May our daughters be like stately columns 

that adorn the corners of a palace. 

¹³May our barns be filled with all kinds of crops. 

May our sheep give birth to thousands of lambs, 

tens of thousands in our fields. 

¹⁴May our cattle have many calves. 

May no one break in, and may no one be dragged out. 

May there be no cries of distress in our streets. 

¹⁵Blessed are the people who have these blessings! 

Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!