Psalm verses of victory and war, grouped by before, after and about the battle, with the full text and a printable sheet.
Several psalms were written around real battles, according to their headings, and they do not hide it. They pray before the fight, celebrate after it, and describe God as mighty in battle. What stands out is where they put the credit. Again and again they refuse to thank the army, the horse or the sword. The victory is God's. And a few go further and picture God ending war altogether.
The first two sections are victory psalms after and before a battle. The third collects the verses that deny strength wins, and the last is for readers searching psalms about war itself. Tick the verses you want and print them as one sheet.
Songs that look back on a win, and most of them say out loud who won it.
Sing to the LORD a new song,for he has done marvelous things!His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation. The King James Version reads hath gotten him the victory, the only time it uses the word victory in the Psalms.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous.“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, sung in the tents of the righteous. The next verse repeats the line as a shout.
For he has delivered me out of all trouble.My eye has seen triumph over my enemies.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
He has delivered me out of all trouble, and my eye has seen triumph over my enemies. The heading ties it to the Ziphites telling Saul where David was hiding.
Be exalted, LORD, in your strength,so we will sing and praise your power.
Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
Be exalted in your strength, so we will sing. A psalm about a king's victory ends with the strength credited to God.
Prayers said before the outcome is known.
We will triumph in your salvation.In the name of our God, we will set up our banners.May the LORD grant all your requests.
We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
We will triumph in your salvation and set up our banners. The celebration is planned before the battle, and it is in God's name.
God, you are my King.Command victories for Jacob!
Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
God, you are my King. Command victories for Jacob. Victory is something God gives the order for.
Through God, we will do valiantly,for it is he who will tread down our enemies.
Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
Through God we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our enemies. Almost the same line closes Psalm 60.
The psalms that most clearly refuse to credit the army.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Some trust in chariots, some in horses. The verse names chariots and horses and sets them against a name.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an army.A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
No king is saved by a large army, and a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. The next verse adds that a horse is a vain thing for safety.
For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword,neither did their own arm save them;but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face,because you were favorable to them.
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
They did not take the land by their own sword. The psalm credits God's right hand, his arm and the light of his face.
What the psalms say about war itself.
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,who trains my hands to war,and my fingers to battle—
Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
Blessed be the LORD, who trains my hands to war. The heading attributes the psalm to David, and fighting is treated as a skill God teaches.
Who is the King of glory?The LORD strong and mighty,the LORD mighty in battle.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. The psalm gives this as the answer to who is the King of glory.
I am for peace,but when I speak, they are for war.
I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.
I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war. A short verse about living among people who want a fight.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear.He burns the chariots in the fire.
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth, and breaks the bow and the spear. Here God's victory is the end of war itself.
There he broke the flaming arrows of the bow,the shield, and the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.
There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
There he broke the flaming arrows, the shield, the sword and the weapons of war. The psalm places this at Salem and Zion.
The word itself is rare. In the World English Bible used here, Psalm 44:4 says command victories for Jacob, and Psalm 45:4 tells the king to ride on victoriously. In the King James Version the word victory appears in the Psalms once, at 98:1. Most victory psalms use other words instead: salvation, deliverance, triumph, and doing valiantly.
A psalm that celebrates a win and credits it to God. Psalm 18, Psalm 20, Psalm 21 and Psalm 118 are the clearest examples.
Psalm 144 opens with God training hands for war, and Psalm 46:9 speaks of God making wars cease to the end of the earth. Psalm 120:7 sets peace against war in a single line.
Psalm 108:13 says through God we will do valiantly, for he will tread down our enemies. Psalm 118:10 to 12 describes being surrounded and cutting the enemies off in the LORD's name.
No. Psalm 33:16 says no king is saved by a large army, and Psalm 147:10 says God does not delight in the strength of the horse.
Psalms for Spiritual WarfarePsalms for Enemies and People Who Are Against YouPsalms of Praise and WorshipPsalms About StrengthPsalms of DeliverancePsalms for Strength and Courage