Psalms 31:21

31:21 The Lord deserves praise ¹ 

for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies. ² 

Psalms 41:13

41:13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise ³ 

in the future and forevermore! ⁴ 

We agree! We agree! ⁵ 

Psalms 68:19

68:19 The Lord deserves praise! ⁶ 

Day after day ⁷  he carries our burden,

the God who delivers us. (Selah)

Psalms 144:1

Psalm 144 ⁸ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ⁹  deserves praise ¹⁰  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ¹¹ 

and my fingers for war,

[31:21]  ¹ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

[31:21]  ² tn Heb “for he caused his faithfulness to be amazing to me in a besieged city.” The psalmist probably speaks figuratively here. He compares his crisis to being trapped in a besieged city, but the Lord answered his prayer for help. Verses 19-24 were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18.

[41:13]  ³ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[41:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” See 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5; Pss 90:2; 106:48.

[41:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.

[68:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

[68:19]  ⁶ tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes (“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with what follows.

[144:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

[144:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[144:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ¹⁰ sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.