Psalm 144

A psalm of David.

¹Praise the Lord, who is my rock.

He trains my hands for war

and gives my fingers skill for battle.

²He is my loving ally and my fortress,

my tower of safety, my rescuer.

He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.

He makes the nations^a submit to me.

³O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,

mere mortals that you should think about them?

⁴For they are like a breath of air;

their days are like a passing shadow.

⁵Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.

Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.

⁶Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies!

Shoot your arrows and confuse them!

⁷Reach down from heaven and rescue me;

rescue me from deep waters,

from the power of my enemies.

⁸Their mouths are full of lies;

they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

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

I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.

¹⁰For you grant victory to kings!

You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.

¹¹Save me!

Rescue me from the power of my enemies.

Their mouths are full of lies;

they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

¹²May our sons flourish in their youth

like well-nurtured plants.

May our daughters be like graceful pillars,

carved to beautify a palace.

¹³May our barns be filled

with crops of every kind.

May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands,

even tens of thousands,

¹⁴and may our oxen be loaded down with produce.

May there be no enemy breaking through our walls,

no going into captivity,

no cries of alarm in our town squares.

¹⁵Yes, joyful are those who live like this!

Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.