What's a Paladin?

What's a "paladin'?

Here are the top definitions from Google: 1. A paladin is a knight renowned for heroism and chivalry. 2. The paladin is a class of warrior that is fully devoted to kindness and ridding the universe of evil. They are very religious, and have an extremely strict honor code, as well as a soft spot for children and animals. In combat, a paladin with a cause is almost impossible to defeat. 3. Any determined advocate or defender of a noble cause.

Based on the above definitions, we may consider David son of Jesse of Bethlehem, the young shepherd who became a celebrated warrior and later King of all Israel, as the prime example of a paladin. He is described as a man after God's own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22 (the Bible) and famous for defeating the giant Goliath.

King David is one of the role models of the Paladins of Law. He wrote Psalm 144, from which we draw our inspiration:

1 Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. 2 He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.

3 O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? 4 For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow.

5 Open the heavens, Lord, and come down. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. 6 Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them! 7 Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies. 8 Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

9 I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp. 10 For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. 11 Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

12 May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace. 13 May our barns be filled with crops of every kind. May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands, 14 and may our oxen be loaded down with produce. May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares. 15 Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.