Psalm 144

A Prayer for Victory

Of David.

144Praise the Lord, my Rock,

who trains me for war,

who trains me for battle.

²He protects me like a strong, walled city, and he loves me.

He is my defender and my Savior,

my shield and my protection.

He helps me keep my people under control.

³Lord, why are people important to you?

Why do you even think about human beings?

⁴People are like a breath;

their lives are like passing shadows.

⁵Lord, tear open the sky and come down.

Touch the mountains so they will smoke.

⁶Send the lightning and scatter my enemies.

Shoot your arrows and force them away.

⁷Reach down from above.

Save me and rescue me out of this sea of enemies,

from these foreigners.

⁸They are liars;

they are dishonest.

⁹God, I will sing a new song to you;

I will play to you on the ten-stringed harp.

¹⁰You give victory to kings.

You save your servant David from cruel swords.

¹¹Save me, rescue me from these foreigners.

They are liars; they are dishonest.

¹²Let our sons in their youth

grow like plants.

Let our daughters be

like the decorated stones in the Temple.

¹³Let our barns be filled

with crops of all kinds.

Let our sheep in the fields have

thousands and tens of thousands of lambs.

¹⁴Let our cattle be strong.

Let no one break in.

Let there be no war,

no screams in our streets.

¹⁵Happy are those who are like this;

happy are the people whose God is the Lord.