Praise God for teaching me

the skills of defence

A psalm of David.

Give praise to the Lord, my Rock.
He trains my hands for war.
He trains my fingers for battle.

² He is my loving God and is like a fort to me.
He is my place of safety and the God who saves me.
He is like a shield that keeps me safe.
He brings nations under my control.

³ Lord, what are human beings that you take care of them?
What are mere people that you think about them?

⁴ Their lives don’t last any longer than a breath.
Their days are like a shadow that quickly disappears.

⁵ Lord, open up your heavens and come down.
Touch the mountains, and they will pour out smoke.

⁶ Send flashes of lightning and scatter my enemies.
Shoot your arrows and chase them away.

⁷ My enemies are like a mighty flood.
Reach down from heaven and save me.
Save me from outsiders who attack me.

⁸ They tell all kinds of lies with their mouths.
Even when they make a promise by raising their right hands, they don’t mean it.

⁹ My God, I will sing a new song to you.
I will make music to you on a lyre that has ten strings.

¹⁰ You are the God who helps kings win battles.
You save your servant David.

11 From death by the sword save me.
Set me free from outsiders who attack me.
They tell all kinds of lies with their mouths.
Even when they make a promise by raising their right hands, they don’t mean it.

¹² While our sons are young,
they will be like healthy plants.
Our daughters will be like pillars
that have been made to decorate a palace.

¹³ Our storerooms will be filled
with every kind of food.
The sheep in our fields will increase by thousands.
They will increase by tens of thousands.

¹⁴     Our oxen will pull heavy loads.
None of our city walls will be broken down.
No one will be carried off as a prisoner.
No cries of pain will be heard in our streets.

¹⁵ Blessed is the nation about whom all these things are true.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.