Psalms  ◦   Chapter 144

1Praise the Lord, my Rock,
who gives me strength for daily battles
and the skill to be victorious in spiritual warfare;

2he is my source of healing love, my strength for right living,
my shelter from life’s storms and my remedy to sinfulness;
my shield — the one I trust —
who overcomes all my enemies.

3O Lord, why are humans so important to you,
or the Son of Man that you established a purpose for him?

4Humans are like a puff of wind;
their lives are short like a passing shadow.

5O Lord, tear open the veil separating heaven and earth and come down;
touch the mountains with your fiery presence enveloping them in smoke.

6Send forth your lightning of love to scatter the selfish;
send out your arrows of truth to destroy all who cling to lies.

7Send your Right Hand down from heaven;
rescue me from the sea of enemies —
from the power of those who reject your kingdom of love,

8those who speak only lies,
who embrace the power of deceit.

9I will sing my life renewed as a song to you, O God;
like a stringed instrument my life will make music celebrating you,

10the One who delivers kings,
who rescued his servant David from evil’s sword — the infection of selfishness.

11Save me! Rescue me
from the power of those who reject your kingdom of love:
they speak only lies
and embrace the power of deceit.

12Then our sons will be like well-tended plants
who begin bearing spiritual fruit in their youth,
and our daughters will grow in strength and beauty of character
like beautiful pillars carved for a palace.

13Then our treasure will be complete,
full of every good thing.
Our flocks will multiply by thousands —
even by tens of thousands — filling the pastures;

14our cattle will grow strong and healthy;
no one will break through our walls,
no one will be taken captive,
and no cry of distress will be heard in our streets.

15Happy and healthy are the people of whom this is true;
happy and healthy are the people whose God is the Lord.