Psalms 144:1-11

1 Blessed be God, my mountain, who trains me to fight fair and well.

2 He's the bedrock on which I stand, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight, The high crag where I run for dear life, while he lays my enemies low.

3 I wonder why you care, God - why do you bother with us at all?

4 All we are is a puff of air; we're like shadows in a campfire.

5 Step down out of heaven, God; ignite volcanoes in the hearts of the mountains.

6 Hurl your lightnings in every direction; shoot your arrows this way and that.

7 Reach all the way from sky to sea: pull me out of the ocean of hate, out of the grip of those barbarians

8 Who lie through their teeth, who shake your hand then knife you in the back.

9 O God, let me sing a new song to you, let me play it on a twelve-string guitar -

10 A song to the God who saved the king, the God who rescued David, his servant.

11 Rescue me from the enemy sword, release me from the grip of those barbarians Who lie through their teeth, who shake your hand then knife you in the back.

Psalms 144:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 144

\\<>\\. This psalm was written by David; not on account of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, by a spirit of prophecy, as Theodoret; but on his own account, after he was come to the throne, and was king over all Israel; and was delivered from the was between him and Israel, and from the war of the Philistines, as Kimchi observes, having gained two victories over them: or it was written between the two victories, and before he had conquered all his enemies; since he prays to be delivered from the hand of strange children, Ps 144:7,11. R. Obadiah thinks it was written on the account of his deliverance from Absalom and Sheba; but the former is best. Some copies of the Septuagint, and also the Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, have in their titles these words, ``against Goliath;'' and so Apollinarius; as if it was written on account of his combat with him, and victory over him; but this clause is not in the Hebrew Bibles; nor could Theodoret find it in the Septuagint in the Hexapla in his time. The Syriac inscription is still more foreign to the purpose, ``a psalm of David, when he slew Asaph the brother of Goliath.'' R. Saadiah Gaon interprets this psalm of the times of the Messiah; and there are several things in it which are applicable to him.