Psalm 144

1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands to war, and my fingers to battle—

2 my loving kindness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me.

3 LORD, what is man, that you care for him? Or the son of man, that you think of him?

4 Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away.

5 Part your heavens, LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.

6 Throw out lightning, and scatter them. Send out your arrows, and rout them.

7 Stretch out your hand from above, rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hands of foreigners,

8 whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

9 I will sing a new song to you, God. On a ten-stringed lyre, I will sing praises to you.

10 You are he who gives salvation to kings, who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly sword.

11 Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners, whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12 Then our sons will be like well-nurtured plants, our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace.

13 Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision. Our sheep produce thousands and ten thousands in our fields.

14 Our oxen will pull heavy loads. There is no breaking in, and no going away, and no outcry in our streets.

15 Happy are the people who are in such a situation. Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.

Around Psalm 144

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes