Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle:
Parallel Translations
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Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle:
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Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
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A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who traineth my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Psalms 144:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 18:34 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
- 2 Samuel 22:35 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
- Psalms 18:2 Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
- Psalms 44:3-4 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. You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob!
- Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
- Deuteronomy 32:30-31 How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and Yahweh had delivered them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves concede.
- Isaiah 45:24 They will say of me, ‘There is righteousness and strength only in Yahweh.’ ” Even to him will men come. All those who raged against him will be disappointed.
- Psalms 60:12 Through God we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.
- Psalms 18:31 For who is God, except Yahweh? Who is a rock, besides our God,
- Psalms 71:3 Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
- Psalms 95:1 Oh come, let’s sing to Yahweh. Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!
- Isaiah 26:4 Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength “Ou, mon rocher.”…
1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength “Ou, mon rocher.” — Fr. marg. “Or, my rock.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Who of a poor shepherd hath made me a…
Who of a poor shepherd hath made me a valiant warrior and mighty conqueror.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 144:1 « [A Psalm] of David. » Blessed…
Psa 144:1 « [A Psalm] of David. » Blessed [be] the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, [and] my fingers to fight:
A Psalm of David] The Greek addeth, against Goliath; and the Chaldee, for the hurtful sword, Psa 144:10, hath Goliath’s sword.
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Ver. 1. Blessed be the Lord my strength] See Psa 18:1, and observe how this psalm suiteth with that.
Which teacheth my hands] Used to the hook and harp, and not to the sword and spear; but God hath apted and abled them to feats of arms, and warlike exploits. It is God that giveth skill and success, saith Solomon, Pro 8:1-36, wisdom and ability, saith Daniel, Dan 2:19-23 And as in the spiritual warfare, so here, our weapons are mighty through God, 2Co 10:4, who promiseth that no weapon formed against his people shall prosper, Isa 54:17.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Who has given me that skill in military conduct,…
Who has given me that skill in military conduct, and that dexterity in the management of my weapons, which was wholly unsuitable to and much above my education and former course of life.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here, I. David acknowledges his dependence upon God and…
Here, I. David acknowledges his dependence upon God and his obligations to him, Psa 144:1, Psa 144:2. A prayer for further mercy is fitly begun with a thanksgiving for former mercy; and when we are waiting upon God to bless us we should stir up ourselves to bless him. He gives to God the glory of two things: -
1. What he was to him: Blessed be the Lord my rock (Psa 144:1), my goodness, my fortress, Psa 144:2. He has in the covenant engaged himself to be so, and encouraged us, accordingly, to depend upon him; all the saints, who by faith have made him theirs, have found him not only to answer but to out do their expectations. David speaks of it here as the matter of his trust, and that which made him easy, as the matter of his triumph, and that which made him glad, and in which he gloried. See how he multiplies words to express the satisfaction he had in God and his interest in him. (1.) "He is my strength, on whom I stay, and from whom I have power both for my work and for my warfare, my rock to build on, to take shelter in." Even when we are weak we may be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. (2.) "My goodness, not only good to me, but my chief good, in whose favour I place my felicity, and who is the author of all the goodness that is in me, and from whom comes every good and perfect gift." (3.) "My fortress, and my high tower, in whom I think myself as safe as ever any prince thought himself in a castle or strong-hold." David had formerly sheltered himself in strong-holds at En-gedi (Sa1 23:29), which perhaps were natural fastnesses. He had lately made himself master of the strong-hold of Zion, which was fortified by art, and he dwelt in the fort (Sa2 5:7, Sa2 5:9), but he depends not on these. "Lord," says he, "thou art my fortress and my high tower." The divine attributes and promises are fortifications to a believer, far exceeding those either of nature or art. (4.) My deliverer, and, as it is in the original, very emphatically, my deliverer to me, "not only a deliverer I have interest in, but who is always nigh unto me and makes all my deliverances turn to my real benefit." (5.) "My shield, to guard me against all the malignant darts that my enemies let fly at me, not only my fortress at home, but my shield abroad in the field of battle." Wherever a believer goes he carries his protection along with him. Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield.
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2. What he had done for him. He was bred a shepherd, and seems not to have been designed by his parents, or himself for any thing more. But, (1.) God had made him a soldier. His hands had been used to the crook and his fingers to the harp, but God taught his hands to war and his fingers to fight, because he designed him for Israel's champion; and what God calls men to he either finds them or makes them fit for. Let the men of war give God the glory of all their military skill; the same that teaches the meanest husbandman his art teaches the greatest general his. It is a pity that any whose fingers God has taught to fight should fight against him or his kingdom among men. Those have special reason to acknowledge God with thankfulness who prove to be qualified for services which they themselves never thought of. (2.) God had made him a sovereign prince, had taught him to wield the sceptre as well as the sword, to rule as well as fight, the harder and nobler art of the two: He subdueth my people under me. The providence of God is to be acknowledged in making people subject to their prince, and so preserving the order and benefit of societies. There was a special hand of God inclining the people of Israel to be subject to David, pursuant to the promise God had made him; and it was typical of that great act of divine grace, the bringing of souls into subjection to the Lord Jesus and making them willing in the day of his power.
II. He admires God's condescension to man and to himself in particular (Psa 144:3, Psa 144:4): "Lord, what is man, what a poor little thing is he, that thou takest knowledge of him, that thou makest account of him, that he falls so much under thy cognizance and care, and that thou hast such a tender regard to any of that mean and worthless race as thou hast had to me!" Considering the many disgraces which the human nature lies under, we have reason to admire the honours God has put upon mankind in general (the saints especially, some in a particular manner, as David) and upon the Messiah (to whom those words are applied, Heb 2:6), who was highly exalted because he humbled himself to be found in fashion as a man, and has authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of man. A question to this purport David asked (Psa 8:4), and he illustrated the wonder by the consideration of the great dignity God has placed man in (Psa 8:5), Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour. Here he illustrates it by the consideration of the meanness and mortality of man, notwithstanding the dignity put upon him (Psa 144:4): Man is like to vanity; so frail is he, so weak, so helpless, compassed about with so many infirmities, and his continuance here so very short and uncertain, that he is as like as may be to vanity itself. Nay, he is vanity, he is so at his best estate. His days have little substance in them, considering how many of the thoughts and cares of an immortal soul are employed about a poor dying body; they are as a shadow, dark and flitting, transitory and finishing with the sun, and, when that sets, resolving itself into all shadow. They are as a shadow that passeth away, and there is no loss of it. David puts himself into the number of those that are thus mean and despicable.
III. He begs of God to strengthen him and give him success against the enemies that invaded him, Psa 144:5-8. He does not specify who they were that he was in fear of, but says, Scatter them, destroy them. God knew whom he meant, though he did not name them. But afterwards he describes them (Psa 144:7, Psa 144:8): "They are strange children, Philistines, aliens, bad neighbours to Israel, heathens, whom we are bound to be strange to and not to make any leagues with, and who therefore carry it strangely towards us." Notwithstanding the advantages with which God had blessed David's arms against them, they were still vexatious and treacherous, and men that one could put no confidence in: "One cannot take their word, for their mouth speaketh vanity; nay, if they give their hand upon it, or offer their hand to help you, there is no trusting them; for their right hand is a right hand of falsehood." Against such as these we cannot defend ourselves, but we may depend on the God of truth and justice, who hates falsehood, to defend us from them. 1. David prays that God would appear, that he would do something extraordinary, for the conviction of those who preferred their dunghill-deities before the God of Israel (Psa 144:5): "Bow thy heavens, O Lord! and make it evident that they are indeed thine, and that thou art the Lord of them, Isa 66:1. Let thy providence threaten my enemies, and look black upon them, as the clouds do on the earth when they are thick, and hang very low, big with a storm. Fight against those that fight against us, so that it may visibly appear that thou art for us. Touch the mountains, our strong and stately enemies, and let them smoke. Show thyself by the ministry of thy angels, as thou didst upon Mount Sinai." 2. That he would appear against his enemies, that he would fight from heaven against them, as sometimes he had done, by lightnings, which are his arrows (his fiery darts, against which the hardest steel is no armour of proof, so penetrating is the force of lightning), that he himself would shoot these arrows, who, we are sure, never misses his mark, but hits where he aims. 3. That he would appear for him, Psa 144:7. He begs for their destruction, in order to his own deliverance and the repose of his people: "Send thy hand, thy power, from above, for that way we look for help; rid me and deliver me out of these great waters that are ready to overflow me." God's time to help his people is when they are sinking and all other helps fail.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Blessed be the Lord my strength,.... The author and…
Blessed be the Lord my strength,.... The author and giver of his natural strength of body, and of the fortitude of his mind, and of all the spiritual strength he had, to exercise grace, to bear up under afflictions and trials, to perform duty, and withstand enemies. It may be applied to Christ, the antitype of David, the man of God's right hand, he has made strong for himself. It may be rendered, "my rock" (c); to whom the psalmist fled for shelter, when in distress and overwhelmed; and on whom he built his faith, and hope of eternal salvation, as well as depended on him for all supplies of grace and strength, and for help and succour in all times of need. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "my God": and so the word "rock" is used for God, Deu 32:30;
which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight; he took him from being a shepherd, and made him a soldier; and from being the leader of a flock of sheep, to be a general of armies; and all his military skill in marshalling of troops, in leading them on to battle, and bringing them off as well as all his courage and success, were from the Lord: he whose hands and fingers had been used to the shepherd's crook, and to the handling of the harp and lyre, were taught how to handle the sword, the bow, the shield, and spear. God is a man of war himself; and he teaches the art of war, as he does husbandry and other things; see Exo 15:3; and so the Lord furnishes his people, who are here in a militant state, with spiritual armour, to fight against their spiritual enemies; he teaches them how to put it on, and directs them how to make use of every piece of it; as well as gives them boldness to face their enemies, and victory over them.
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(c) "rupes mea", Montanus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c. so Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain David blesses God for his mercies, ver. 1-4. Prays…
David blesses God for his mercies, ver. 1-4. Prays against his enemies, ver. 5-8. Promises to praise him, ver.9-11. The happiness of those who serve God, ver. 12-15. A psalm of David.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The psalmist praises God for his goodness, 1, 2.
PSALM CXLIV
The psalmist praises God for his goodness, 1, 2.
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Exclamations relative to the vanity of human life, 3, 4.
He prays against his enemies, 5-8;
and extols God's mercy for the temporal blessings enjoyed by
his people, 9-15.
NOTES ON PSALM CXLIV
The Hebrew, and all the Versions, attribute this Psalm to David. The Vulgate, Septuagint, AEthiopic, and Arabic, term it, A Psalm of David against Goliath. The Syriac says, "A Psalm of David when he slew Asaph, the brother of Goliath." Calmet thinks, and with much probability, that it was composed by David after the death of Absalom, and the restoration of the kingdom to peace and tranquillity. From a collation of this with Ps 18:1-50, of which it appears to be an abridgment, preserving the same ideas, and the same forms of expression, there can be no doubt of both having proceeded from the same pen, and that David was the author. There is scarcely an expression here of peculiar importance that is not found in the prototype; and for explanation I must refer generally to the above Psalm.
Verse 1. Teacheth my hands to war] To use sword, battle-axe, or spear.
And my fingers to fight] To use the bow and arrows, and the sling.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 144:1-2. Blessed be the Lord my strength —…
Psa 144:1-2. Blessed be the Lord my strength — On whom I rely, and from whom I have power to withstand and subdue my enemies, and to perform the duties of my place and station; who teacheth my hands to war, &c. — Who gives me that skill in military affairs, and that dexterity in the management of my weapons, which is much above my education and former course of life; my goodness — Or, my mercy, or the God of my mercy, as God is called, Psa 59:10; Psa 59:17. He who is exceedingly good or merciful to me, as goodness itself; who subdueth the people under me — Who disposes my people’s hearts to receive and obey me as their king. “What David here acknowledges, with regard to his victories, and that skill or might by which they were obtained, should be likewise acknowledged by all earthly kings and generals in the day of battle and conquest.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Blessed be the Lord my strength - Margin, as…
Blessed be the Lord my strength - Margin, as in Hebrew, “my rock.” See the notes at Psa 18:46, where the same expression occurs in the Hebrew.
Which teacheth my hands to war - Hebrew, “To the war.” See the notes at Psa 18:34. The Hebrew is not precisely alike, but the sense is the same.
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And my fingers to fight - Hebrew, my fingers to the fight. That is, he teaches my fingers so that I can skillfully use them in battle. Probably the immediate reference here is to the use of the bow - placing the arrow, and drawing the string.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Psalms 144
Psalms 144
A Psalm of David
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Blessed be the Lord my strength,
Which teacheth my hands to war,
And my fingers to fight:
2 My goodness, and my fortress;
My high tower, and my deliverer;
My shield, and he in whom I trust;
Who subdueth my people under me.
3 Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him!
Or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!
4 Man is like to vanity:
His days are as a shadow that passeth away.
5 Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down:
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them:
Shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
7 Send thine hand from above;
Rid me, and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of strange children;
8 Whose mouth speaketh vanity,
And their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God:
Upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
10 It is he that giveth salvation unto kings:
Who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children,
Whose mouth speaketh vanity,
And their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
12 That our sons may be as plants
Grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as corner stones,
Polished after the similitude of a palace:
13 That our garners may be full,
Affording all manner of store;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
And ten thousands in our streets:
14 That our oxen may be strong to labor;
That there be no breaking in, nor going out;
That there be no complaining in our streets.
15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case:
Yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.—The Psalmist, who evidently speaks as a king (see Psa_144:2), begins by praising God for help experienced personally in various ways in battle and in distress (Psa_144:1-2). The recollection of the comforting truth that God does indeed in love take notice of perishing man (Psa_144:3-4) leads him to utter the prayer that God would personally display from heaven His irresistible power to deliver him from great peril prepared for him by powerful and faithless strangers (Psa_144:5-8). With this he connects a promise of a new song referring to God’s manner of dealing with David His servant both generally and specially, and then turns back to the prayer by repeating, like a refrain, the description of his enemies (Psa_144:9-11). The Chald. Paraphrase explains the evil sword (Psa_144:10) as being that of Goliath, and some manuscripts of the Sept. have as an addition to the superscription: in reference to Goliath. This event of David’s life may perhaps have given occasion to the poem; but it is doubtful whether it should be assigned to David himself (Hengst.), especially as the portion just discussed consists entirely of fragments of other psalms, and is particularly rich in expressions found in Psalms 18. It is mere hypothesis to suppose that these verses were recorded in an ancient historical book and expressed the feelings with which David went into battle, being drawn from his declaration in 1Sa_17:27 (Del.). Theodoret already has referred it to the Maccabæan period, and Hitzig assigns it specially to Alexander Jannæus.—Attached to this first portion is a section (Psa_144:12-15) which is entirely dissimilar in thought, mode of expression, and linguistic character, and is connected with it loosely and perhaps violently by אשׁר, which is capable of so many meanings. This passage praises the prosperity of the people as a blessed result of their having Jehovah as their God. It appears to be a fragment of another Psalm whose origin is entirely unknown.
[Hengstenberg: “It is only the Psalms of David which form the ground-work of this. But that it is one of David’s peculiarities to derive from his earlier productions a foundation for new ones, is evident from a variety of facts, which, if any doubt might still be entertained on the subject, would obtain a firm ground to rest upon in this Psalm; for it can only be the work of David. Then the way and manner of the use made of such materials must be kept in view. This is always of a spirited and feeling nature; and no trace anywhere exists of a lifeless borrowing. That we cannot assume such borrowing here, that the appropriation of earlier materials did not proceed from spiritual impotence, but rests upon deeper grounds, is manifest if we consider the second part, where the dependence entirely ceases, and where the opponents of the Davidic authorship have not been able to overlook the strong poetical spirit of the time of David. They resort to the wretched expedient of affirming that the Psalmist had borrowed this portion from a much older poem now lost.”—Alexander: “The Davidic origin of the Psalm is as marked as that of any in the Psalter.” Noyes and Perowne are disinclined to follow the superscription. The rest of the English expositors, so far as I know, accept its authenticity.—J. F. M.]
Psa_144:1-6.—[Translate Psa_144:1 : Blessed be Jehovah, my Rock, &c. Comp. Psa_18:35; Psa_18:47.—J. F. M.]. My mercy [Psa_144:2, E. V.: my goodness], i.e. my merciful God (Ps. 59:11, 18, comp. Jon_2:9). Since it is not extension of power (Chald., Isaaki, Kimchi, Calvin) that is mentioned, but compulsion or really subjugation, there would be expected here, instead of עַמִּי, my people, the plural עַמִּימnations. This reading does occur in some manuscripts, but is only inserted as serving to facilitate the rendering. The Syr., Chald., and Jerome express it in their translations, and others in their interpretations. The difficulty disappears if it be remembered that it is not the despotic authority of the king that is meant, but the controlling power of God, to which those must submit who oppose the king chosen by God. Psa_18:48 does not decide for us, for the verbs in the two passages are different. If the writer had that passage in mind, he altered it intentionally, as we find that in other cases the imitation is not a mere copying or simple repetition. So Psa_144:3, in imitation of Psa_8:5, and Psa_144:4, partly from Psa_39:6; Psa_39:11, partly from Psa_102:12. [The connection between Psa_144:1-4 is shown by Calvin. “David remembers all that God has done for him, and then, like Jacob, thinks: Lord, I am too little for all thy loving-kindness, and so contrasts his own nothingness and that of mankind generally with the greatness of such a gracious God.” With Psa_144:5 comp. Psa_18:10; Psa_104:32. With Psa_144:6, Psa_18:15; 2Sa_22:15.—J. F. M.]
Psa_144:7-11—It is worthy of remark that פָּצָה, which in Psa_22:14; Psa_66:16, is used of the gaping of the mouth, has here in Psa_144:7 the meaning of snatching out [E. V.: rid], as in the Arabic and Aramaic. The right hand of falsehood [Psa_144:8] parallel to the tongue of falsehood (Psa_109:2) is the hand raised in taking a false oath. It alludes here to covenant-breaking. The designation Elohim, suddenly addressed to Jehovah in Psa_144:9, is unusual in the last two books of the Psalter. [It occurs besides in Psalms 108. The second member of the verse should be translated: Upon a lyre of ten (strings) will I make music to Thee.—J. F. M.] The expression also in Psa_144:10 : evil sword, is peculiar. It hardly means that the sword is employed in the service of an evil man (Delitzsch), but rather that it causes evil and misfortune. The mention of David in a Psalm ascribed to him follows the example of Ps. 18:51.
Psa_144:12.—Both the peculiar contents and the expression of the following sentences, and the connection with the preceding by אשׁר, create difficulty. Following the contents of the passage, it is first mentioned that the children are thriving at home, that the fruits of the field and the herds of large and small cattle are flourishing, and that the inhabitants of the city are prosperous, and finally the people so situated are felicitated. It is in the highest degree improbable that Israel, whose God is Jehovah, in contrast to a nation rich in earthly blessings, is, in the last line, pronounced happy, and that therefore there is presented a contrast between individual prosperity and spiritual blessings. If we look at the passages which promise a blessing to the people of God, Deu_7:13; Deu_28:4; Deu_28:8; Deu_28:51, and compare also the description of the blessing in Psa_92:13 f.; Psa_128:2 f., we cannot doubt that the prosperity of Israel under the blessing of God is described here also. The several peculiar words and phrases cannot alter this actual relation. Consequently the relative is not to be referred to enemies=whose sons (Sept., et al.). Nor can we supply לֵאמֹר, and referring to the words of falsehood, Psa_144:8; Psa_144:11, regard the passage as quoting the terms in which the children of the world boast of their possessions (Geier, Clericus). On account of the structure of the sentence, it would be a very forced construction to refer the relative to God, who causes our sons to be, &c. So also with the assumption that the new song promised in Psa_144:9 is given here (Venema, Köster). In this case we would have to strike out Psa_144:11 (Olsh.), which, however, would be better than to change אֹשר into אֲֹאַשֵּׁר, I will pronounce happy (Doederlein, Dathe). Some expositors pass over this connecting word. It must be taken, however, as a relative conjunction, but not as meaning: that, in order that they may be so (Hengst. and most), as a consequence of the deliverance mentioned in Psa_144:11, or as introducing a prayer, whether the word: grant, be supplied or not, but as meaning: because, since (Delitzsch, Hitzig), as supporting the prayer for deliverance. There is still, however, something harsh and forced in the transition to a passage so peculiar in contents and expression. It has therefore been conjectured that a later insertion has been made here (most of the moderns since Knapp), whether a gloss of a copyist (Hitzig), or an addition by the Psalmist himself (Maurer), or borrowed from some other composition, and here awkwardly attached by אֹשר (Hupfeld), or interpolated in some corruption of the text (Olsh., Kamphausen). [Hengstenberg gives the connection between this strophe and the preceding briefly, and in a manner satisfying to those who hold the Davidic authorship: “I thank Thee for the help which is assured to me through faith, Psa_144:9-10. Nay more, deliver Thou me from the hands of the sons of strangers, and let Thy blessing return to rest upon Thy people, Psa_144:11-14.”—J. F. M.]
The phrase grown up, of trees (Isa_44:14) transferred to sons (Isa_1:2; Isa_23:4; Hos_9:12) represents the vigorous and well-proportioned growth to which the young men had attained. For youth is designated here by a word which excludes the idea of childhood. The rendering: projectures (Luther, Hengstenberg) instead of: corners (Zec_9:15) cannot be justified. So with: corner-pillars (Geier and most), which sense has been assumed through a supposed reference to Caryatides, especially because it was supposed that the following word must have the meaning: hewn out. But חטב is employed everywhere (according to Wetzstein in Delitzsch) only of the preparation of fuel. Yet through the Arabic it may have the sense: streaked, variegated (Pro_7:16). And, while the Syrian and Palestinian architecture, so far as known, exhibits no corner-pillars, corners with carved work of gay colors, are found at the present day in the reception-hall of every house of pretension in Damascus (Lane, Manners and Customs of the modern Egyptians, Psa_50:11). Wetzstein inclines to the opinion that an architectural ornament of this kind, formed with much taste and elaborate workmanship out of carved wood, glistening with gold and brilliant colors, and covering the upper portion of the corner, is employed here to illustrate the beauty, brilliant attire, and rich ornaments of the women; perhaps, also, because they are not only modest and chaste, but are also, like the children of the upper class, concealed from sight.
Psa_144:13-15. As many rare expressions occur here, it cannot appear surprising that in Psa_144:14 the oxen are not named אֲלָפִים as in Psa_8:8, but אַלּוּפִים, which in an older stage of the language, meant: princes. But it would be strange here to translate: our princes are set up (Maurer, Köster, Von Lengerke, Fürst) after Ezr_6:3, that is: are standing upright, as a sign of confidence and strength. The latter word means also strictly: burdened, not: strong for bearing burdens (Chald., Kimchi), or: laden with the abundance of produce (Hengstenberg), or: with fat and flesh, and therefore = fat and strong (Sept., Syr., Jerome, Geier, et al.) but laden with young, gravida (Bochart, J. H. Mich., and most of the recent expositors) The word therefore does not express capacity for work (Luther). In Psa_144:13 bזַן does not mean: store, or provision (Geier, Venema, et al.), but is an Aramaic term denoting: class, kind. From class to class, i.e., of all kinds. The expressions for breach and falling out are so general, that they are not to be referred specially to miscarrying, (Syr., Kimchi), or to breaches in the folds where the flocks might break out (Sept., Geier), or to breaches in the city wall (Aben Ezra, Calvin, Hupf.), and losses in war (De Wette), but to injury and deficiency, misfortune and loss generally.—[The author’s translation of Psa_144:13-14, accordingly is: Our garners full, supplying of all kinds, our sheep multiplying by thousands, by tens of thousands in our pastures; our cattle laden (with young); no breach and no falling off, and no cry of complaint in our streets.—J. F. M.] On the last line the combination of the shortened form שׁ of the relative with the qua-driliteral into one word is remarkable. There is no ground for taking the copula adversatively: but (Luther). The expression שֶׁכָּכָה is found also in Sol. Son_5:9.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
It is not an unessential matter to a people how its king stands with relation to God the Lord, nor to a king, whether he has religious and obedient subjects.—Even temporal blessings come from the living God of revelation; but for a man to have God Himself as his God, is the highest privilege and an eternal good.—To consider seriously what God is and what we are, begets humility, but also trust in God.
Starke: Pious soldiers learn best how to fight in the school of the Holy Spirit.—By protection and victory over our enemies, God’s glory is well-extended.—Christ wars and triumphs in His believers.—It is a great favor of God to have respect, fear, and obedience in subjects. When He is angry He poureth contempt upon princes.—To know our human nothingness rightly, gives us humility. Assiduous meditation upon God’s infinite pre-eminence is the best means of gaining this object. Where God takes from man as His own possession what a man possesses, nothing but a shadow remains; therefore the glory belongs to God in whatever a man is or has.—The help of the Christian must come from heaven, either through means or without them.—Every doctrine which has not in view God’s honor and man’s blessedness is false.—Thoughts, words, demeanor, works, all must accord in the praise of God, must sound forth nothing but Christ, and extol His victory and blessing.—The external prosperity of the true Church and of a country depends upon the continuance of pious kings and religious rulers.—A pious and grateful heart does not take into account the Divine benefits which have been experienced by itself alone, but also those which He has bestowed upon others, and thanks Him for both.—According as faith is in the heart, so is also the life directed.—The blessing of many children is a great gift of God, and an ornament to a house, especially if they follow after the fear of God and virtue.—Daughters that are trifling, vain, and decked out after the fashion of the world, are like fair palaces in which the world dwells, and not God.—He who seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, will receive from Him just as much as He knows will be profitable for him.—The prosperity of the ungodly is like glass; when it seems clearest it breaks; but the prosperity of the righteous will endure; for it rests on a good foundation.—The true happiness of men consists in their union and communion with God in Christ.
Frisch: God, thy friend, is great in counsel, and mighty in working.—Rieger: It is easy to say in dejection: Man is as nothing! But it is better to do so in humility; in humility which then does not hide itself away, but clings to the gracious hand of God in Christ, held out to the upright.—Diedrich: If God’s people are still in conflict with malignant enemies, they have still the victory and all blessings.—Taube: It is the depth of Divine condescension towards the son of the dust, which gives him to discover the glory of grace in its clearest light.
[Matt. Henry: Wherever a believer goes he carries his protection along with him.—Man’s days have little substance in them, considering how many of the thoughts and cares of an immortal soul are employed about a poor, dying body; they are as a shadow, dark and flitting, and finishing with the sun, and when that sets, resolving itself into all shadow.—Living plentifully, we should not live luxuriously, for then we abuse our plenty, but cheerfully and usefully, that, having abundance, we may be thankful to God, generous to our friends, and charitable to the poor. Otherwise what profit is it to have our garners full? Jam_5:3.—National piety commonly brings national prosperity, for nations, as such, are capable of rewards and punishments only in this life.—Happy is the people that have God’s favor, and love, and grace, according to the tenor of the covenant, though they have not abundance of this world’s goods. As all this and much more, cannot make us happy, unless the Lord be our God; so the want of this, the loss of this, nay, the reverse of this, cannot make us miserable if He be.—Bp. Horne: The righteous are distinguished from the wicked by the use which they make of the good things of this life when given, and by their meek resignation of them when taken away.—Whatever be the will of God concerning our having or wanting these outward comforts, we know that we have, as the faithful servants of God have had in every age before us, greater and more precious promises, a better and more enduring substance, pleasures that fade not, and riches that fly not away, reserved for us in a heavenly country, and a city which hath foundations.—Scott: Happy are they whom the Lord teaches to fight the good fight of faith, and to whom He gives that noblest victory and rule, the conquest and dominion over their own spirits!—The daughters of this land are indeed sufficiently polished, with exterior beauty and embellishment and every superficial accomplishment; but few of them have the polishing of a corner-stone, as qualifying them to be the ornament of families, the cement of society, and a blessing to the land and the next generation, by an attentive, judicious, and virtuous performance of the duties of domestic life, and still fewer are possessed of that adorning which the word of God almost exclusively recommends.—Hengstenberg: Humility is the mother of confidence (Psa_144:1-4).—J. F. M.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. My strength—Hebrew, My rock, but clearly in a…
1. My strength—Hebrew, My rock, but clearly in a broad and figurative sense.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. Blessed be Jehovah my rock] From Psa_18:46.
1. Blessed be Jehovah my rock] From Psa_18:46.
which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight] An expansion of Psa_18:34 a. Hands and fingers are a common parallelism, but possibly fingers may refer particularly to the use of the bow. Cp. Psa_18:34 b.
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1, 2. Praise of Jehovah the Giver of victory.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) Strength.—Rather, rock. Comp. Psa_18:2; Psa_18:46. LXX. and Vulg.,…
(1) Strength.—Rather, rock. Comp. Psa_18:2; Psa_18:46. LXX. and Vulg., “my God.”
Which teacheth.—See Psa_18:34. More literally,
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“Who traineth my hands for war,
My fingers for fight.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain A PSALM in which praise and prayer are commingled.…
A PSALM in which praise and prayer are commingled. Almost certainly Davidic:
1. From the title.
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2. From the style.
3. From the way in which David is mentioned in ver. 10. (comp. Psa_61:6 Psa_63:11; and especially Psa_18:50)
Blessed be the Lord my strength; or, "my rock". (comp. Psa_18:2, 46 31:3 62:7, etc.) Which teacheth my hands to war, dud my fingers to fight. (comp. Psa_18:34)
Vers. 1-15. National piety and prosperity.
The latter part of this psalm seems hardly to belong to the former; but looking at it in the light of the last verses, we regard it as an utterance which has in view, from first to last, the well-being of the nation. Thus considered, we have
I THE ONE TRUE SOURCE OF NATIONAL SECURITY. (Vers. 1, 2, 10) The writer is presumably David. He takes the position of a leader, of a warrior-king. And though we do not look upon war as the principal activity of nations, we must remember the times to which the psalm belongs, and must take into account the fact that national independence and prosperity were then determined by the sword. We need not be surprised or shocked that the psalmist thanks God for teaching him to be a successful soldier; that he calls God "iris Strength, his Goodness, his Fortress," etc., in this connection. We, too, may thank God heartily for the great soldiers who achieved or preserved our national independence; for the courage and the patriotism which made us secure from all assault from without, and from all attempts to infringe liberty within our borders. We pray for "peace in our time;" we work and strive (if needful) for the maintenance of peace; we may be prepared to make some sacrifices for peace; but we shall not shrink from asking God to "go forth with our armies" when they defend our liberty; nor will we fail to ascribe their victories to him who is our Strength and Fortress, as he was Israel"s under David anti Hezekiah.
II THE CONSTITUENTS OF NATIONAL PROSPERITY. Some of these are mentioned here. Let it be assumed that there is perfect security; that there is no danger of any breach being made in the wall of the city, or any crossing the border of the country no "breaking in;" nor yet of any being led forth into captivity or exile no "going out." Then there will be, or should be:
1. Industrial activity, with its full reward (vers. 13, 14). Agricultural and pastoral pursuits are here mentioned; but, while including them, we naturally think of manufactures, of trade, of commerce, of mining of all those fields of labor and sources of wealth which are familiar to us. The wise king (ver. 10), the wise government, will give its first concern to the promotion of all kinds of activity, in which every one of its citizens may have his share.
2. The peaceful home. (Ver. 12) That country, whatever be its pastoral or mineral wealth, is poor indeed whose sons and daughters are not growing up in health, in wisdom, in virtue, in piety. However full the garners, or well stocked the fields, the great question is that of the home-life and the character of the young. We want our sons to be as plants or trees strong, living, fruit-bearing, with power of growth, obedient to the laws of Heaven; and our daughters to be as corner pillars fair with the beauty of holiness and kindliness, helping to sustain, useful in the house in which they dwell. Where the children and the young people are declining, there the country is on its downward course; but where they are pure and beautiful and strong, there the country is secure, and its future is assured.
3. True, acceptable worship. "Whose God is the Lord" (ver. 15). The service of God is not only the source of national prosperity; it is an integral and important part of it. Then are the activities of a people most worthily employed, and then is its happiness of the best and truest order when its citizens are engaged in worshipping the living God, in learning of the great Teacher, in communicating his holy will to the children in the home and in the school.
4. Happiness. (Ver. 15)
III THE WAY TO SECURE IT. (Vers. 1, 5) Praise and prayer. "Bless the Lord," etc. "Bow thy heavens and come down." As the king blesses God and prays for his presence, so also must the people. The recognition by all of the hand of God in past and present mercies, and the continual prayer for future blessing, this is the condition of Divine favor and the way to permanent enlargement.
IV OUR INSIGNIFICANCE NO BAR TO OUR PRAYER OR OUR HOPE. (Vers. 3, 4) "Will God in very deed dwell upon the earth?" Will he "bow the heavens and come down? Will he take note of us on this small earth? Will he care about one section, one nation, on its surface? Is not frail man, who passes away like a flitting shadow, beneath his regard? The answer to that natural and repeated question is in the historical fact of the manifestation at Sinai; it is also in the much less imposing but immeasurably more affecting and convincing fact of the birth at Bethlehem. Then God came to visit us, to dwell with us, to show us how much he cared for us, to fill our hearts with the truth that not only every nation, but every human soul, is dear to the Father in heaven.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-15. What the goodness of God does for me and in me.
This psalm is a string of quotations, mostly from Psalm 18, as any reference Bible will show; and as that psalm is almost undisputedly one of David"s composition, therefore this, which owes so much to it, may be called his likewise. It is also one of the war-psalms, breathing the fierce and sometimes the truculent spirit, the presence of which in these psalms has so often perplexed the Christian reader. In order to understand such psalms, we need ourselves to live in war-times; to be strenuously engaged in it, and against an enemy who has done us much wrong, and whom, therefore, our souls abhor. There have been many such times; and when they come, psalms like this one, and many more, are easily understood and readily adopted as utterances both natural and justifiable. But when all that is said, we still feel, and ought to feel, that such psalms and the spirit of Christ are far removed from one another. We may, however, gain much help from these psalms if we transfer their thoughts and words to the spiritual conflict those wars of the Lord in which we all have to engage. There its language is felt to be true, because in harmony both with Scripture and experience alike. Thus reading it, we may note what the psalmist tells of
I THE GREAT GOODNESS AND MERCY OF GOD. He praises and blesses God:
1. For what God is to him. (Ver. 1) "My Strength." Perpetual demand arose for strength. Fierce foes were all around, and as formidable as they were fierce. No mere weakling could possibly stand against them; strength was imperatively needed, and he found it in God. All this which was true of the psalmist is true of the spiritual warrior still. "My Goodness." Whatever good there was in him, it was all of God. In the rough hurly-burly of war, character and all moral excellence had but hard times; deterioration was apt to set in. Therefore, if there were any goodness in him, it was from God. And is it not true of ourselves? Will any one dare say that his goodness is self-derived, his own production, due to his own power alone? My Fortress". (cf. 1Sa_23:29 for local allusion) David knew well the value of such safe retreats. He had availed himself of them again and again. And for us all there is "the secret place of the Most High." "My high Tower." As in Central Europe, as you traverse its rivers, you see on the summits of the lofty hills, commanding the entrances and exits from the valleys beneath, the lofty towers and castles, mostly now in ruins, which warlike chieftains in bygone days erected, and within which they dwelt secure from attack, and from which they sallied forth to attack others. Such loftily placed towers were frequent in the hill-country of Palestine also, and were places of great strength. Now, of such advantage was the help of God to David, and so it is today to all who make the Lord their Refuge. From that high tower the movements of the enemy can be clearly discerned, guarded against, and aggression made upon them in a most successful way. "My Shield." That which wards off from me the stroke of sword, the thrust of spear, the point of dart and arrow. So is God to the soul. Well may he say of the Lord, "It is he in whom I trust.
2. For what God has done for him as his Teacher. (Ver. 1) "Which teacheth my hands to war, and," etc. Literally, this has been true again and again. See Gideon before the Midianites, David before Goliath, etc. And wherever there has been warlike skill and the wisdom which commands success, devout men have confessed that it was God from whom all the wisdom and skill came. And yet more is this true in the holy war the conflict we have to wage with the world, the flesh, the devil. Never was there a successful warrior there but owned at once and always that it was the Lord who taught him. "My Deliverer." So was he, so is he, so will he be. David could recall instances not a few; and what servant of God, in looking back over his spiritual life, does not own, as he thinks of one trial and another that has befallen him, "Yes, the Lord was my Deliverer"? "Who subdueth my people under me." This a yet greater mercy. Life might have been delivered, but enemies might have remained enemies still, ready to break out against him at the first chance that came. But over and above deliverance, there has been given the submission of the people. And God thus deals with his servants. Not only will he deliver them from their spiritual foes, but these foes he will subdue. The lawless passions, the evil propensities, the unhallowed temper, the uncontrolled craving, these God will subdue, so that the very desire for sin will cease. So great is God"s mercy, and so full his salvation.
3. For that God has done all this for the weak and unworthy. This seems to be the connection of vers. 3 and 4 with what precedes. It is not for the great and good, the worthy and the strong, but for such as man, who is like to vanity and whose days are as a shadow. Truly it is wonderful that God should take knowledge of such a one, or make account of him at all. It is of a piece with our Lord"s declarations, that he had come to call, not the righteous, but sinners; to seek and to save, not the ninety and nine safe in the fold, but the wandering sheep away and lost in the wilderness. "God so loved the world the mass of the unworthy.
II THE CONFIDENCE THAT GOD"S MERCY CREATES. (Vers. 5-8) The psalmist is encouraged by what God has done to ask for yet greater things. Hence he asks:
1. That God would manifestly appear on his behalf against his enemies. Reminiscences of the old Hebrew history float before his mind: the terror and discomfiture of Pharaoh; the awful display of God"s majesty at Sinai the thunder-roll, the lightning-blaze.
2. He feels that only God can give him victory, or deliver him out of the great waters of trouble by which he is well-nigh overwhelmed. (Ver. 7) The barbarous, cruel, and lying strangers who were against him were too many for him, and hence he turns to God (vers. 7, 8, 11). But what God has done for him encourages him thus to pray.
III THE GRATITUDE IT INSPIRES. (Vers. 9, 10)
IV THE BRIGHT HOPE WHICH IT FOSTERS AND SUSTAINS. (Vers. 11-15) Many regard these verses as belonging not to this psalm at all; but it seems better to look on them as declaring the motive both of its gratitude and its prayers. The hope which it expresses was cherished with longing desire, and underlaid the whole psalm. The verses point to the golden age of Hebrew history, and pray for its return.
1. It concerns their children that they might be vigorous, strong, goodly.
2. The prosperity of their land.
3. Freedom from invasion and capture. Then happy should they be, for God would be their Lord. S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Vers. 1, 2. War-figures of God"s relations.
"The psalmist recounts glorious victories in the past; complains that the nation is now beset by strange, i.e. barbarous, enemies, so false and treacherous that no covenant can be kept with them; prays for deliverance from them by an interposition great and glorious as had been vouchsafed of old; and anticipates the return of a golden age of peace and plenty" (Perowne). If it ever has been right, the manifest duty of the hour, for a man to engage in war, it must be right to associate God with that doing of duty. No man would venture to say that it never has been right to engage in war. Till human nature is wholly renewed and sanctified, war will probably continue to be one of the forces which help collective humanity to make right triumph over wrong. And God may be thought of as the Trainer of soldiers for the wars of righteousness.
I HE WHO TRAINS FOR WAR TRAINS ONLY FOR WARS OF WHICH HE CAN APPROVE. It is usual to say that defensive wars may be necessary, but offensive wars never are; but this is to take a very limited view of life, facts of history, and Divine dealings with men. God has commissioned nations to carry out his purposes of judgment and mercy by offensive wars. War as a scourge of organized societies, of nations, has been, and may still be, used by God in execution of his judgments, and even in the movement of the locations of men to different parts of the globe. Old Testament history distinctly associates God with aggressive war. Israel invaded Palestine for God. Assyria invaded Palestine as God"s servant. Mere dynastic wars are selfish wars, and wholly wrong. Wars that are really race-movements may be right. There is a good end in all war of which God approves.
II HE WHO TRAINS FOR WAR PUNISHES THOSE WHO USE TRAINED POWERS FOR THEIR OWN ENDS. And this is the thing to which nations, and rulers of nations, are continually tempted. It is illustrated by God"s dealing with Assyria, which was the rod to execute his anger against his people, but proceeded to serve its own ends, and so brought upon itself the judgments of God. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Albeit that this Psalm is in some measure very…
Albeit that this Psalm is in some measure very similar to Ps 18:1-50, yet it is a new song, and in its latter portion it is strikingly so. Let the reader accept it as a new psalm, and not as a mere variation of an old one, or as two compositions roughly joined together. It is true that it would be a complete composition if the passage from Ps 144:12-15 were dropped; but there are other parts, of David's poems which might be equally self contained if certain verses were omitted; and the same might be said of many uninspired sonnets. It does not, therefore, follow that the latter part was added by another hand, nor even that the latter part was a fragment by the same author, appended to the first song merely with the view of preserving it. It seems to us to be highly probable that the Psalmist, remembering that he had trodden some of the same ground before, felt his mind moved to fresh thought, and that the Holy Spirit used this mood for his own high purposes. Assuredly the addendum is worthy of the greatest Hebrew poet, and it is so admirable in language, and so full of beautiful imagery, that persons of taste who were by no means overloaded with reverence have quoted it times without number, thus confessing its singular poetical excellence. To us the whole psalm appears to be perfect as it stands, and to exhibit such unity throughout that it would be a literary Vandalism, as well as a spiritual crime, to rend away one part from the other.
Its title is "Of David", and its language is of David, if ever language can belong to any man. As surely as we could say of any poem, this is of Tennyson, or of Longfellow, we may say, This is of David. Nothing but the disease which closes the eye to manifest fact and opens it to fancy, could have led learned critics to ascribe this song to anybody but David. Alexander well says, "The Davidic origin of this psalm is as marked as that of any in the Psalter."
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It is to God the devout warrior sings when he extols him as his strength and stay (Ps 144:1-2). Man he holds in small account, and wonders at the Lord's regard for him (Ps 144:3-4); but he turns in his hour of conflict to the Lord, who is declared to be "a man of war", whose triumphant interposition he implores (Ps 144:5-8). He again extols and entreats in Ps 144:9-11 and then closes with a delightful picture of the Lord's work for his chosen people, who are congratulated upon having such a God to be their God.
Ver. 1. Blessed be the LORD my strength. He cannot delay the utterance of his gratitude, he bursts at once into a loud note of praise. His best word is given to his best friend"Blessed be Jehovah." When the heart is in a right state it must praise God, it cannot be restrained; its utterances leap forth as waters forcing their way from a living spring. With all his strength David blesses the God of his strength. We ought not to receive so great a boon as strength to resist evil, to defend truth, and to conquer error, without knowing who gave it to us, and rendering to him the glory of it. Not only does Jehovah give strength to his saints, but he is their strength. The strength is made theirs because God is theirs. God is full of power, and he becomes the power of those who trust him. In him our great strength lieth, and to him be blessings more than we are able to utter. It may be read, "My Rock"; but this hardly so well consorts with the following words:
Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. The word rock is the Hebrew way of expressing strength: the grand old language is full of such suggestive symbols. The Psalmist in the second part of the verse sets forth the Lord as teacher in the arts of war. If we have strength we are not much the better unless we have skill also. Untrained force is often an injury to the man who possesses it, and it even becomes a danger to those who are round about him; and therefore the Psalmist blesses the Lord as much for teaching as for strength. Let us also bless Jehovah if he has in anything made us efficient. The tuition mentioned was very practical, it was not so much of the brain as of the hands and fingers; for these were the members most needful for conflict. Men with little scholastic education should be grateful for deftness and skill in their handicrafts. To a fighting man the education of the hands is of far more value than mere book learning could ever be; he who has to use a sling or a bow needs suitable training, quite as much as a scientific man or a classical professor. Men are too apt to fancy that an artisan's efficiency is to be ascribed to himself; but this is a popular fallacy. A clergyman may be supposed to be taught of God, but people do not allow this to be true of weavers or workers in brass; yet these callings are specially mentioned in the Bible as having been taught to holy women and earnest men when the tabernacle was set up at the first. All wisdom and skill are from the Lord, and for them he deserves to be gratefully extolled. This teaching extends to the smallest members of our frame; the Lord teaches fingers as well as hands; indeed, it sometimes happens that if the finger is not well trained the whole hand is incapable.
David was called to be a man of war, and he was eminently successful in his battles; he does not trace this to his good generalship or valour, but to his being taught and strengthened for the war and the fight. If the Lord deigns to have a hand in such unspiritual work as fighting, surely he will help us to proclaim the gospel and win souls; and then we will bless his name with even greater intensity of heart. We will be pupils, and he shall be our Master, and if we ever accomplish anything we will give our Instructor hearty blessing.
This verse is full of personality; it is mercy shown to David himself which is the subject of grateful song. It has also a presence about it; for Jehovah is now his strength, and is still teaching him; we ought to make a point of presenting praise while yet the blessing is on the wing. The verse is also preeminently practical, and full of the actual life of every day; for David's days were spent in camps and conflicts. Some of us who are grievously tormented with rheumatism might cry, "Blessed be the Lord, my Comforter, who teacheth my knees to bear in patience, and my feet to endure in resignation"; others who are on the look out to help young converts might say, "Blessed be God who teaches my eyes to see wounded souls, and my lips to cheer them"; but David has his own peculiar help from God, and praises him accordingly. This tends to make the harmony of heaven perfect when all the singers take their parts; if, we all followed the same score, the music would not be so full and rich.
Whole Psalm. The psalm, in its mingled tones of prayer and praise, is a fit connecting link between the supplicatory psalms which go before, and the strains of thanksgiving which follow it. Speaker's Commentary.
Whole Psalm. After six psalms of sorrowful prayer in distress, we have now a psalm of praise and thanksgiving for God's gracious answer to supplications; and also a psalm of intercession. The present psalm bears a strong resemblance to David's last song in 2Sa 22:51 and to Ps 18:1-50. Here we have a vision of Christ rejoicing; after his passionrisen in glory, and having ascended in triumph, and pleading for us at the right hand of God. Christopher Wordsworth.
Whole Psalm. This psalm is ruled by the numbers ten and seven. Ten verses complete the first part of the psalm, which falls into two divisions. The first portion contains, in Ps 144:1-2, ten attributes of God, three and seven, the seven divided into four and three. In like manner it contains ten requests to God in Ps 144:5-7, divided precisely as the attributes. To this significance of the number ten for the first part, allusion is pointedly made in Ps 144:9. Seven blessings are prayed for in the second part, four in Ps 144:12-13, (valiant sons, beautiful daughters, full storehouses, numerous flocks), and three in Ps 144:14 (labouring oxen, no breach and diminution, no cry). The whole contains, apart from the closing epiphonem, which, as usual, stands outside the formal arrangement, seven strophes, each of two verses.
An objection has been brought against the Davidic authorship from the "traces of reading" it contains. But one would require to consider more exactly, what sort of reading is here to be thought of. It is only the psalms of David which form the ground work of this new psalm. But that it is one of David's peculiarities to derive from his earlier productions a foundation for new ones, is evident from a variety of facts, which, if any doubt must still be entertained on the subject, would obtain a firm ground to stand upon in this psalm, which can only have been composed by David. The way and manner of the use made of such materials is to be kept in view. This is always of a spirited and feeling nature, and no trace anywhere exists of a dead borrowing. That we cannot think here of such a borrowing; that the appropriation of the earlier language did not proceed from spiritual impotence, but rested upon deeper grounds, is manifest from the consideration of the second part, where the dependence entirely ceases, and where even the opponents of the Davidic authorship have not been able to overlook the strong poetical spirit of the time of David. They betake themselves to the miserable shift of affirming, that the Psalmist borrowed this part of the psalm from a much older poem now lost. E.W. Hengstenberg.
Ver. 1. Blessed be the LORD. A prayer for further mercy is fitly begun with a thanksgiving for former mercy; and when we are waiting upon God to bless us, we should stir up ourselves to bless him. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 1. The LORD my strength, etc. Agamemnon says to Achilles
If thou hast strength, 'twas heaven that strength bestowed;
For know, vain man! thy valour is from God. Homer.
Ver. 1. My strength (Heb. "my rock"). The climax should be noted; the rock, or cliff, comes first as the place of refuge, then the fortress or fastness, as a place carefully fortified, then the personal deliverer, without whose intervention escape would have been impossible. Speaker's Commentary.
Ver. 1. The LORD...teacheth: and not as man teacheth. Thus he taught Gideon to fight with the innumerable host of Midian by sending to their homes twenty-two thousand, and retaining but ten thousand of his soldiers: and then again by reducing that remnant to the little band of three hundred who lapped when brought down to the water. Thus he taught Samson by abstaining from strong drink, and by suffering no razor to pass over his head. Thus he taught the three kings in the wilderness to war against their enemies, not by any strength of their armies, but by making ditches in the desert. Thus he taught David himself by waiting for the sound of the going in the tops of the mulberry trees. And so he taught the arms of the True David to fight when stretched on the cross: nailed, to human sight, to the tree of suffering, but, in reality, winning for themselves the crown of glory: helpless in the eyes of scribes and Pharisees; in those of archangels, laying hold of the two pillars, sin and death, whereon the house of Satan rested, and heaving them up from, their foundation. Ayguan, in Neale and Littledale.
Ver. 1. The LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war. There were three qualities of a valiant soldier found in Christ, the Captain of our salvation, in his war against Satan, which his followers are bound to emulate: boldness in attack, skill in defence, steadiness in conflict, all which he teaches by his example (Mt 4:1, 4, 7, 10-11). He was bold in attack, for he began the combat by going up into the wilderness to defy the enemy. So we, too, should be always beforehand with Satan, ought to fast, even if not tempted to gluttony, and be humble, though not assailed by pride, and so forth. He was skilful in defence, parrying every attack with Holy Writ; where we, too, in the examples of the saints, may find lessons for the combat. He was steadfast in conflict, for he persevered to the end, till the devil left him, and angels came and ministered unto him; and we, too, should not be content with repelling the first attack, but persevere in our resistance until evil thoughts are put to flight, and heavenly resolutions take their place. Neale and Littledale.
Ver. 1. Teacheth my hands. Used to the hook and harp, and not to the sword and spear; but God hath apted and abled them to feats of arms and warlike exploits. It is God that giveth skill and success, saith Solomon (Pr 8:1-36); wisdom and ability, saith Daniel (Da 2:1-49). And as in the spiritual warfare, so here; our weapons are "mighty through God" (2Co 10:4), who promises that no weapon formed against his people shall prosper (Isa 54:17). John Trapp.
Ver. 1. To war, ...to fight. I want to speak of a great defect among us, which often prevents the realization of going "from strength to strength"; viz., the not using, not trading with, the strength given. We should not think of going to God for money only to keep it in the bank. But are we not doing this with regard to strength? We are constantly asking for strength for service; but if we are not putting this out in hearty effort, it is of no use to us. Nothing comes of hoarded strength.
"Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my finger to fight." David, you see, was looking for strength for a purpose. Some people seem to expect strength, but never attempt to put forth their hands to war, and their fingers to fight there is so little venturing upon God, so little use of grace given, partly from fear of man, partly from indolence and worldly mindedness. It is not for us to be merely luxuriating in the power which God supplies. Action strengthens, and before we have a right to ask for an increase, we must use that already given. Catherine Pennefather, in "Service", 1881.
Ver. 1. Is not the spiritual victory of every believer achieved by God? Truly it is he who teaches his hands to war and his fingers to fight; and when the final triumph shall be sung in heaven, the victor's song will be, "Not unto me, O Lord, not unto me, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake." John Morison.
Ver. 1. My hands for fight, my fingers for war. Fight and war are both verbs and nouns in English, but the Hebrew words are nouns with the article prefixed. Joseph Addison Alexander.
Ver. 1. My fingers to fight. Probably the immediate reference here is to the use of the bow, placing the arrow, and drawing the string. Albert Barnes.
Ver. 1.
1. Two things needful in our holy warstrength and skill; for the hands and the fingers, for the difficult and the delicate.
2. In what way God supplies us with both. He is the one, and teaches the other. Impartation and Instruction. The teaching comes by illumination, experience, distinct guidance.
Ver. 1. Things not to be forgotten by the Christian Soldier.
1. The true source of his strength: "The Lord my strength." If remembered,
a) He will not be found trusting in self.
b) He will never be wanting in courage.
c) He will always anticipate victory.
d) He will never be worsted in the conflict.
2. His constant need of instruction, and the Teacher who never forgets him: "Which teacheth my hands", etc. If remembered,
a) He will gird on the armour provided and commended by God.
b) He will select for his weapon the sword of the Spirit.
c) He will study the divinely given text book of military tactics and discipline, that he may learn (1) the devices of the enemy; (2) methods of attack and defence; (3) how to bear himself in the thick of the fight.
d) He will wait upon God for understanding.
3. The praise due to God, both for victories won and skill displayed: "Blessed be", etc. If remembered,
a) He will wear his honours humbly.
b) Glorify the honour of his King.
c) Twice taste the sweets of victory in the happiness of gratitude. J.F.
Psalms 144:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my…
Psa_144:1-9
Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.
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The Lord teaching us to fight
I do not know what that Book of the Wars of the Lord was which is referred to once or twice in the Old Testament; but I apprehend the Book of Psalms was such a Book to the Israelites, and that it has been such a book to Christendom. We may call it a collection of prayers, hymns, thanksgivings,--what we please,--but a record of fights it assuredly is. And this sentence, which occurs in one of the latest portions of it, is a fit summary of its contents, and a kind of moral to be drawn from the whole of it. I am far from thinking that this sentence applies exclusively to what we designate spiritual conflicts. I should suppose that David, or whoever the writer of the psalm was, gave thanks that he had been able to fight with the Philistines and Ammonites. Nay, I should think he gave thanks that he had been obliged to fight with them; that he had not been allowed to rust in the ease which he would have chosen for himself. Man is made for battle. His inclination is to take his ease: it is God who will not let him sink into the slumber which he counts so pleasant, and which is so sure to end in a freezing death. Blessed be the Lord God, who teacheth the hands to war, and the fingers to fight!
1. This thanksgiving is one of universal application: there are some cases in which we shrink from using it, and yet in which we are taught by experience how much better we should be if we dared to use it in all its force and breadth. There are those who feel much more than others the power of fleshly lusts. To withstand these is with them, through education, or indulgence, such an effort as their nearest friends may know nothing of. Oh, what help, then, may be drawn from the text! There is One who does know exactly what I am, and what I can bear. The constitution, the circumstances, are understood by Him; He has ordained them for me. And yet He is not tempting me to sink; He is tempting me to rise. He has allowed me to enter into this conflict that I may come out of it a humbler, sadder, stronger man. He does not desire me to fall in it. The falls I have had are all so many motives and goads to put that trust in Him which they show me that I cannot put in myself.
2. Violent desires or passions remind us of their presence. The fashion of the world is hemming us in and holding us down without our knowing it. A web composed of invisible threads is enclosing us. It is not by some distinct influence that we are pressed, but by an atmosphere full of influences of the most mixed quality, hard to separate from each other. How natural it is to yield to these influences! how very mischievous the effort to resist them often appears,--yes, and is! For how many a man becomes impatient of the habits of that particular society in which he is born; fancies that the habits of some other must be better in themselves or be better for him; flings himself eagerly into it, and finds that the chain which bound him before is more closely about him now. If it galls him, that is something to be thankful for. Blessed be the God of Israel for this! since surely it must be He, and no other, who shows us that we do not want to be loose from government, but to be under a stricter and a more righteous government than that of accident and convention and the floating opinion of an age; that we do not want to be more but less under the yoke of our own fancies and conceits; that self-will and vanity have been the great destroyers of all freedom and manliness in us and in our race; that these have built up that false world which has become our prison-house. Blessed be the Lord God for this! since to such awakenings of the conscience in men we owe all great and earnest reformations, all victories over desperate abuses which private interests established and sustained.
3. Least of all is there any natural energy in us to contend against that enemy who is described in Scripture as going about seeking whom he may devour. There is a natural, and therefore a very general, impression of his existence; there is a sense in all men that in some form or other he is not far from them. But the impulse among rude people is to conciliate the adversary who, as their consciences tell them, has had, and still has, such dominion over them. He is a god whom it is worth while to persuade with litanies and sacrifices that he will spare his victims. By degrees, if there is no counteracting force, he is certain to become the god: he will demand all services for himself. Among the civilized it is otherwise. They are inclined to regard the devil as a fiction of the nursery; it is the shadow of a name which cannot be banished from conversation, nor quite from the thoughts, but it means nothing. Yet something steals over these refined people which they know not exactly how to describe. Apathy, loss of power, despondency,--these are some of the names which they invent for it. Is it not true, then, that the time which boasts to have outlived the evil spirit is the one which is most directly exposed to his assaults? May it not be that our progress, which is not to be denied, and for which we are to feel all gratitude, has brought us into a closer conflict with the spiritual wickedness in high places than our forefathers were ever engaged in? Our progress!--cause for thankfulness, if this is the result of it! Yes; blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who teacheth our hands to war, and our fingers be fight. Blessed is He for bringing us into immediate encounter with His own immediate enemies, that so we may know more than others did of His own immediate presence! It is a terrible thing indeed to have the spirits of indolence and indifference and vanity all about us, and to think that they are mere names and abstractions. But it is a glorious thing to be roused up to the apprehension of them as real enemies, from whom none but a real Friend, an actual Captain of the Lords host, can deliver us! (F. D. Maurice, M. A.)
God as our General
During the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, Colonel Gardiner, the friend of Dr. Doddridge, and Christian soldier, who was afterwards killed at the battle of Preston-pans, went to Stirling to a meeting of the gentlemen of that town to devise means of opposing the Highlanders, who were approaching under Prince Charles. Wishing to encourage his listeners to make every effort, he dwelt on the deficiencies of the opposing army, showed them its weaknesses, and somewhat boastfully declared that if he were only at the head of a certain regiment which he had formerly commanded he would not fear to encounter the whole rebel force, and he was sure he would then give a good account of them. Just then the Rev. Mr. Erskine, who stood by the Colonels side, whispered into his ear, Say under God, Colonel. At once Gardiner turned, and the hero of a hundred fights replied, Oh, yes, Mr. Erskine, I mean that, and with God as our General we must be conquerors. Christians should never forget that God is their General. It is He who is in command, and who brings the victory.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Psalms 144
Psalms 144
THE force of compilation could no further go than in this psalm, which is, in the first eleven verses (Psa_144:1-11)simply a rechauffe of known psalms, and in Psa_144:12-15 is most probably an extract from an unknown one of later date. The junctions are not effected with much skill, and the last is tacked on very awkwardly (Psa_144:12). It is completely unlike the former part, inasmuch as there the speaker is a warlike king praying for victory, while in the latter the nation sings of the tranquil blessings of peaceful expansion. The language of the later portion is full of late forms and obscurities. But the compilers course of thought is traceable. He begins by praising Jehovah, who has taught him warlike skill; then adoringly thinks of his own weakness, made strong by Gods condescending regard; next prays for complete victory, and vows fresh praises for new mercies; and closes with a picture of the prosperity which follows conquest, and is secured to Israel because Jehovah is its God.
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Psa_144:1-2 are echoes of Psa_18:2; Psa_18:34; Psa_18:46, with slight variations. The remarkable epithet "My lovingkindness" offends some critics, who emend so as to read "My stronghold"; but it has a parallel in Jon_2:9, and is forcible as an emotional abbreviation of the fuller "God of my lovingkindness". {Psa_59:10} The original passage reads "people," which is the only appropriate word in this connection, and should probably be read in Psa_144:2 c.
Psalms 8 supplies the original of Psa_144:3-4, with a reminiscence of Psa_39:5, and of Psa_102:11, from which comes the pathetic image of the fleeting shadow. The link between this and the former extract seems to be the recognition of Gods condescension in strengthening so weak and transient a creature for conflict and conquest.
The following prayer for further Divine help in further struggles is largely borrowed from the magnificent picture of a theophany in Psa_18:9; Psa_18:14-16. The energetic "Lighten lightning" is peculiar to this psalm, as is the use of the word for "Pluck out." The description of the enemies as "sons of the alien" is like Psa_18:44-45. As in many other psalms, the treachery of the foe is signalised. They break their oaths. The right hand which they had lifted in swearing is a lying hand. The vow of new praise recalls Psa_33:2-3; Psa_96:1; Psa_98:1. Psa_144:10 is a reproduction of Psa_18:50. The mention of Davids deliverance from the "evil sword" has apparently been the reason for the LXX referring the psalm to the victory over Goliath an impossible view. The new song is not here sung; but the psalm drops from the level of praise to renew the petition for deliverance, in the manner of a refrain caught up in Psa_144:11 from Psa_144:7. This might make a well-rounded close, and may have originally been the end of the psalm.
The appended fragment (Psa_144:12-15) is attached to the preceding in a most embarrassing fashion. The first word of Psa_144:12 is the sign of the relative. The LXX accordingly translates "Whose sons are," etc., and understands the whole as a description of the prosperity of the enemies, which view necessarily involves the alteration of "our" into "their" in the following clauses. Others supply an antecedent to the relative by inserting save us or the like expression at the beginning of the verse. Others, again-e.g., Ewald, followed by Perowne-connect the relative with Psa_144:15 : "We whose sons are," etc "Happy is the people," etc. Delitzsch takes the relative to signify here "because," and compares Jdg_9:17; Jer_16:13. The prosperity subsequently described would then be alleged as the occasion of the enemies envy. Others would slightly emend the text so as to read, "I pronounce happy," or "Happy are we." The latter, which makes all smooth, and corresponds with Psa_144:15, is Graetzs proposal. The rendering of the A.V. "that" or "in order that," has much in its favour. The word which is the sign of the relative is a component of the full expression usually so rendered, and stands alone as equivalent to it in Deu_4:40, Gen_11:7. It is true, as Delitzsch objects to this rendering that the following verbs are usually finite, while here they are participles; but that is not a fatal objection. The whole that follows would then be dependent on the petition of Psa_144:11, and would describe the purpose of the desired deliverance. "This is, in fact, the poets meaning. He prays for deliverance from enemies, in order that the happy condition pictured in Psa_144:12 sqq. may come to pass" (Baethgen). On the whole, that rendering presents least difficulty, but in any case the seam is clumsy.
The substance of the description includes three things-a vigorous, growing population, agricultural prosperity, and freedom from invasion. The language is obscure, especially in Psa_144:14, but the general drift is plain. The characteristic Jewish blessing of numerous offspring is first touched on in two figures, of which the former is forcible and obvious, and the latter obscure. The comparison of the virgin daughters of Israel to "corners" is best understood by taking the word to mean "corner pillars," not necessarily caryatides, as is usually supposed-an architectural decoration unknown in the East. The points of comparison would then be slender uprightness and firm grace. Delitzsch prefers to take the word as meaning cornices, such as, to the present day, are found in the angles of Eastern rooms, and are elaborately carved in mazy patterns and brightly coloured. He would also render "variegated" instead of "carved." But such a comparison puts too much stress on gay dresses, and too little on qualities corresponding to those of the "well-grown" youths in the former clause.
The description of a flourishing rural community is full of difficult words. "Granaries" is found only here, and "kind" is a late word. "Fields" is the same word as is usually rendered "streets"; it literally means "places outside," and here obviously must refer to the open pastures without the city, in contrast to the "open spaces" within it, mentioned in the next verse. In that verse almost every word is doubtful. That rendered "kine" is masculine in form, but is generally taken as being applicable to both sexes, and here used for the milky mothers of the herd. The word translated above "heavy with young" means laden, and if the accompanying noun is masculine, must mean laden with the harvest sheaves; but the parallel of the increasing flocks suggests the other rendering. The remainder of Psa_144:14 would in form make a complete verse, and it is possible that something has fallen out between the first clause and the two latter. These paint tranquil city life when enemies are far away. "No breach"-i.e., in the defences by which besiegers could enter; "No going forth"-i.e., sally of the besieged, as seems most probable, though going forth as captured or surrendering has been suggested; "No cry"-i.e., of assailants who have forced an entrance, and of defenders who make their last stand in the open places of the city.
The last verse sums up all the preceding picture of growth, prosperity, and tranquillity, and traces it to the guardian care and blessing of Jehovah. The psalmist may seem to have been setting too much store by outward prosperity. His last word not only points to the one Source of it, but sets high above the material consequences of Gods favour, joyous as these are, that favour itself, as the climax of human blessedness.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain “This is a singularly composite Psalm. The earlier portion…
INTRODUCTION
“This is a singularly composite Psalm. The earlier portion of it, to the end of Psa_144:11, consists almost entirely of a cento of quotations, strung together from earlier Psalms; and it is not always easy to trace a real connection between them. The latter portion of the Psalm, Psa_144:12-15, differs completely from the former. It bears the stamp of originality, and is entirely free from the quotations and allusions with which the preceding verses abound. It is hardly probable, however, that this concluding portion is the work of the poet who compiled the rest of the Psalm: it is more probable that he has here transcribed a fragment of some ancient poem, in which were portrayed the happiness and prosperity of the nation in its brightest days, under David, it may have been, or at the beginning of the reign of Solomon. His object seems to have been thus to revive the hopes of his nation, perhaps after the return from the exile, by reminding them how in their past history obedience to God had brought with it its full recompense.”
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Thus Dean Perowne writes—rejecting the Davidic authorship, and bestowing no notice whatever on the superscription, which ascribes the Psalm to David. And Moll says, “It is doubtful whether it should be assigned to David himself.” But Hengstenberg says “that it is one of David’s peculiarities to derive from his earlier productions a foundation for new ones.… This Psalm can only have been composed by David.” And Alexander: “The Davidic origin of the Psalm is as marked as that of any in the Psalter.” And Perowne, notwithstanding the passage above quoted, says, “The language of Psa_144:1-4, as well as the language of Psa_144:10, is clearly only suitable in the mouth of a king, or some powerful and recognised leader of the nation; and it is difficult to find a person of rank in the later history in whose mouth such a Psalm as this would be appropriate.” For ourselves we are inclined to accept the superscription, and regard the Psalm as a composition or compilation of David’s.
“The Psalmist recounts glorious victories in the past, complains that the nation is now beset by strange, i.e., barbarous enemies, so false and treacherous that no covenant can be kept with them, prays for deliverance from them by an interposition great and glorious as had been vouchsafed of old, and anticipates the return of a golden age of peace and plenty.”
INSPIRING ASPECTS OF THE DIVINE BEING
(Psa_144:1-2)
These verses are taken almost verbatim from different portions of Psalms 18. We regard them as presenting to us the Divine Being in certain inspiring aspects.
I. As the Author of human skill.
“He teacheth my hands to war, my fingers to fight.” The skill which the poet had in the use of the weapons of war, he attributes to the Lord. The abilities by which battles are planned and victories won come from Him. All beauty of design, and dexterity in labour, and success in achievement in human works, must be attributed to the Great God.
II. As the Protector of human life.
In several different forms the poet expresses this. “Jehovah my rock.” Two Hebrew words, which slightly differ in meaning, are translated by the word rock. The one which is employed here (צוּר) suggests the ideas of strength and fixedness; Jehovah is a strong and steadfast refuge. “My fortress,” i.e., a strong place, generally difficult of access, and thus a secure retreat. “My high tower,” i.e., a place so high as to be out of the reach of danger, or some almost inaccessible crag affording safety to those who reached it. “My deliverer,” who rescues me from the power of my enemies. “My shield,” protecting me from the arrows of the enemies on the field of battle. Now these figures set forth a protection which is—
1. Unchangeable, as a rock.
2. Enduring, as a rock.
3. Inviolable. The various figures which the poet employs suggest this fact. “On the heaping together of epithets and titles of God Calvin remarks, that it is not superfluous, but designed to strengthen and confirm faith; for men’s minds are easily shaken, especially when some storm of trial beats upon them. Hence, if God should promise us His succour in one word, it would not be enough; in fact, in spite of all the props and aids He gives us, we constantly totter and are ready to fall, and such a forgetfulness of His lovingkindness steals upon us, that we come near to losing heart altogether.”—Perowne. So these various figures are used to impress us with the invincibility of the Divine protection, and to inspire our confidence therein.
4. Ever available. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.” By prayer, by the exercise of faith in Him, we can at any time avail ourselves of the inviolable protection of Jehovah. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
III. As the Source of human authority.
“Who subdueth my people under me.” “The Psalmist is not triumphing in the exercise of despotic power, but gratefully acknowledges that the authority he wields comes from God.” David was chosen to be king by God, and in His providence all the tribes were led to submit to his government. “Let every soul,” saith St. Paul, “be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the Judge; He putteth down one, and setteth up another.”
IV. As the Object of human trust.
“And He in whom I trust.” Perowne translates: “He in whom I find refuge.” The idea is that the Psalmist confided in Him, sought unto Him for protection in times of peril, fled unto Him as His refuge in trouble. The Lord is an adequate object of trust for man, and the only one. “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.” “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”
V. As the Supreme Good of human life.
“My goodness.” Margin: “My mercy.” Perowne: “My lovingkindness.” So also Conant. The idea seems to be that the Psalmist regarded the Lord as his Chief Good, as the Source of all his blessings. David frequently gives expression to this sentiment. “There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us.” “In His favour is life.” “Thy lovingkindness is better than life.” And Asaph also: “Whom have I in heaven but Thee?” &c. In Him we have the supreme truth for the intellect, the supreme righteousness for the conscience, the supreme love for the heart, the supreme beauty for the soul.
VI. As the Recipient of human praise.
“Blessed be Jehovah my rock,” &c. The Psalmist here praises Jehovah for what He is to him, and for what He does for him.
1. Gratitude urges to this. Its language is, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?”
2. Reason urges to this. It is in the highest degree rational that He who is Supremely Good should be reverenced and loved; that our greatest Benefactor should be praised by us, &c.
3. This is blessed. He who sincerely blesses God finds blessing in so doing. True worship tends to purify and strengthen, to sanctify and gloriously transform the worshipper.
CONCLUSION.—The people of God in this world are still a militant people; but the Lord their God is still their omnipotent Protector and their Supreme Good. Let them loyally trust Him, and heartily worship Him, and soon and for ever they shall become a triumphant people over all foes.
THE INSIGNIFICANCE AND GREATNESS OF MAN
(Psa_144:3-4)
The connection of these verses with the preceding is correctly pointed out by Calvin: “David remembers all that God has done for him, and then, like Jacob, thinks: Lord, I am too little for all Thy lovingkindness, and so contrasts his own nothingness and that of mankind generally with the greatness of such a gracious God.” Thus the goodness of God produced humility in the poet; and the truest, deepest humility is always produced by the grace of God. The poet sets before us—
I. The insignificance of human life.
“Lord, what is man?… Man is like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away.” Here are two ideas:—
1. Human life is unsubstantial. It is here compared to “vanity”—more correctly, “a breath”—and “a shadow.” St. James also speaks of human life as “a vapour.” How unsubstantial are a “breath” and a “shadow”! So is human life. We may see this—
(1.) In the objects for which men live. “All the fret and stir,” says Perowne, “all the eager clamour and rivalry of men, as they elbow and jostle one another to obtain wealth and rank, and the enjoyments of life, are but a breath.” “With what idle dreams, what foolish plans, what vain pursuits, are they for the most part occupied! They undertake dangerous expeditions and difficult enterprises in foreign countries, and they acquire fame; but what is it?—Vanity! They pursue deep and abstruse speculations, and give themselves to that ‘much study which is a weariness of the flesh,’ and they attain to literary renown, and survive in their writings; but what is it?—Vanity! They rise up early, and sit up late, and eat the bread of anxiety and care, and thus they amass wealth; but what is it?—Vanity! They frame and execute plans and schemes of ambition—they are loaded with honours and adorned with titles—they afford employment for the herald, and form a subject for the historian; but what is it?—Vanity! In fact, all occupations and pursuits are worthy of no other epithet, if they are not preceded by, and connected with, a deep and paramount regard to the salvation of the soul, the honour of God, and the interests of eternity.… Oh, then, what phantoms, what airy nothings are those things that wholly absorb the powers and occupy the days of the great mass of mankind around us! Their most substantial good perishes in the using, and their most enduring realities are but ‘the fashion of this world that passeth away.’ ”—Dr. Raffles. The great majority of those who seek these things do not attain them; and the few who do attain them find them utterly unsatisfactory.
(2.) In life itself. How unsubstantial is our life as it appears here! How easily is the vital flame extinguished! A breath of air laden with disease may soon lay the most robust frame low in death. A draught of tainted water may quench the vital spark in the most beautiful body. A very little accident may still for ever the brain of the wisest man. Men “dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth. They are destroyed from morning to evening; they perish for ever without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? They die, even without wisdom.”
2. Human life is transitory. “As a shadow that passeth away.” “Come like shadows, so depart,” seems to be a law of human life.
(1.) “A shadow passeth away” constantly. It is never stationary. As the sun advances the shadow moves onward. It cannot rest. So is it with human life.
“Whate’er we do, where’er we be,
We’re travelling to the grave.”
(2.) “A shadow passeth away” rapidly. How soon the sun sets, and the shadow is gone! But the sun may be obscured by clouds long before his setting; then also the shadow is gone. A striking illustration of the brevity of human life. If, like Jacob, a man lived an hundred and thirty years, like Jacob he would say, “Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.” But the great majority of men do not live half so long as that. Much more rapidly do they pass away.
(3.) “A shadow passeth away” completely. The departing shadow leaves not a trace behind. Is it not so with almost all men? How few of all the millions that have lived in the past have any memorial upon earth now!
“Some sink outright,
O’er them and o’er their names the billows close,
To-morrow knows not they were ever born.
Others a short memorial leave behind;
Like a flag floating when the bark’s engulfed,
It floats a moment, and is seen no more.
One Cæsar lives; a thousand are forgot.”
—Young.
This aspect of life should humble human pride. Life is unsubstantial and transitory, as a mere “breath” or a passing “shadow.” “It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
“Life’s but a walking shadow—a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”—Shakespeare.
II. The greatness of human life.
“Lord, what is man, that Thou takest knowledge of him? A son of man, that Thou makest account of him?” Man is thought of, cared for, graciously regarded by God. This invests human nature with great importance and dignity. God’s regard for man is manifest—
1. In the provision which He has made for us in nature. He has created all nature to minister to man’s needs. Earth and sea, air and sky, all serve us. (Comp. Gen_1:28-29.)
2. In His care over us in Providence. It was this protecting and sustaining providential care which led the Psalmist to inquire, “Lord, what is man?” &c. He guides and guards and sustains with tenderest care and infinite wisdom. (Comp. Psa_40:17.)
3. In the redemption which He has wrought for us. “He remembered us in our low estate,” &c. (Psa_136:23-24). “God so loved the world,” &c. “God commendeth His love,” &c.
4. In the home which He has provided for us. “In My Father’s house are many mansions,” &c. “He hath begotten us again unto an inheritance incorruptible,” &c. When man passeth away like a shadow, it is to enter upon an immortal and glorious life.
CONCLUSION.—Let our lives harmonise with God’s regard for us.
MAN
(Psa_144:3)
“Lord, what is man?”
I. What was man as he came from the hands of his Creator?
1. Rational.
2. Responsible.
3. Immortal.
4. Holy and happy.
II. What is man in his present condition?
1. He is fallen.
2. He is guilty.
3. He is sinful.
4. He is miserable, and helpless in his misery.
III. What is man when he has believed in Christ?
1. He is restored to a right relation to God.
2. He is restored to a right disposition toward God.
3. He enjoys the influences of the Holy Spirit.
4. He is in process of preparation for the heavenly world.
IV. What shall man be when he is admitted into heaven?
1. Free from gin and sorrow.
2. Advanced to the perfection of his nature.
3. Associated with angels.
4. Near to his Saviour and his God.
—George Brooks.
HUMAN LIFE A SHADOW
(Psa_144:4)
Man and his days are here compared to “a shadow;” and the propriety of the similitude is attested by the experience of all mankind. The resemblance lies in the following particulars:—
I. A shadow is compounded of light and darkness; for when no object intercepts the light of the sun, or when the light of the sun is withdrawn, no shadow is produced. In like manner, the state of man in the present world is made up of joy and sorrow; while, as in the emblem, the latter greatly preponderates.
II. A shadow seems to be something, when in reality it is nothing. If you grasp it, you prove its emptiness. The pleasures, riches, and honours of the present world seem important to the eye of the carnal mind when viewed at a little distance; they attract attention, excite desire, and are eagerly pursued. But when, the object being attained, they are closely examined, how empty and unsatisfactory do they prove!
III. A shadow is the subject of continual changes, till at length it finally and suddenly ceases. In the morning, when the sun first rises above the horizon, it is weak and extended to a great length. Towards noon it gains strength, and is contracted in its dimensions. From thence to sunset it gradually becomes less distinct, and at last suddenly and wholly disappears. Man, survey in this emblem thy life! How lively and affecting the description! (Comp. Job_14:1-2; Jas_4:14.)
IV. A shadow cannot exist longer than the sun’s continuance above the horizon, and is every moment liable to annihilation by the intervention of a cloud. In like manner, human life generally lasts but three score years and ten, or four score years; and may, by a sudden accident or the power of disease, be much curtailed. We have no security for the protraction of life through another day or hour; and the probability that our life will not reach its customary limit is as great as that the shadow will cease before the evening arrives.
V. A shadow, when gone, leaves no track of its existence behind. This also is the case with the riches, pleasures, and honours of the world. “We brought nothing into the world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” This world is no further substantial, or of importance, than as it stands connected with the next.—“The Christian Guardian.”
A PRAYER OF THE GODLY FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THEIR ENEMIES
(Psa_144:5-11)
In these verses we have the Psalmist’s prayer for the overthrow of his enemies, and for his own victory. Let us notice—
I. His description of his enemies.
1. They were foreigners. The Psalmist speaks of them as “strange children;” or, taking Perowne’s rendering, “sons of the alien” (Psa_144:7), and “strange persons” (Psa_144:11). It seems that at this time David was engaged in warfare with some of the heathen nations; but with what people or peoples we know not. The spiritual enemies of the people of God are strangers both to Him and to them. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own,” &c. (Joh_15:18-21; Joh_16:1-3.)
2. They were deceivers. “Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” “Deception,” or “falsehood,” would be a better rendering of the Hebrew than “vanity.” The right hand amongst the Jews was uplifted towards heaven in taking an oath. These enemies swore falsely; they were covenant-breakers; their most solemn engagements were not reliable. In the present day falsehood is rife. On every hand and in almost every province of life we are confronted with shams. The great enemy of God and man is the original liar, the arch deceiver. “The devil abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him,” &c. (Joh_8:44). “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Let the godly be on their guard, “lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Let them be true in word and deed and life.
3. They caused him great trouble. The Psalmist represents himself as in “great waters.” This is a Scriptural figure for deep distress. “All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me” “Thou hast afflicted me with all Thy waves.” “When Thou passest through the waters,” &c. (Isa_43:2). The people of God sometimes suffer sorely from their spiritual enemies.
II. His prayer for deliverance from his enemies. This is expressed in language which is vigorously and strikingly poetical; and which is very natural in so strong-winged a poet as David. “Bow Thy heavens, O Jehovah, and come down,” &c. “The Psalmist longs for a Theophany, a coming of God to judgment, which he describes in language again borrowed from Psa_18:9; Psa_18:14-16.” These poetic figures having been dealt with there, we need not dwell upon them here. He prays that he may be delivered—
1. With Divine majesty. “Bow Thy heavens, O Jehovah, and come down,” &c. (Psa_144:5). The ideas are doubtless those of awful majesty and irresistible power.
2. By Divine power. “Cast forth lightnings, and scatter them; shoot out Thine arrows, and destroy them. Send Thine hand from above,” &c. The lightnings are the Lord’s arrows. The poet prays that his deliverance may be accomplished by Divine power, as verily effected by the immediate presence and finger of God as if He had come down in visible form to accomplish it.
3. With Divine completeness. “Scatter them; … destroy them,” or “discomfit them.” They whom God scatters and discomfits are utterly overthrown; they whom He delivers are triumphantly saved. The Lord is the glorious Deliverer of His people from their spiritual foes. “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” “We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
III. His resolution to praise God for deliverance from his enemies.
“I will sing a new song unto Thee, O God,” &c. (Psa_144:9-10). Notice here—
1. The assurance of deliverance. He speaks of God as a present Deliverer to him (Psa_144:10), and he looks forward with confidence to singing the new song for the new victory. The people of God may well be assured of victory in their moral conflicts; for the purposes, the promises, and the power of God in Christ Jesus, unite to guarantee it unto them.
2. The basis of this assurance of deliverance. The Psalmist seems to have grounded His confidence upon God’s wonted doings. “He giveth salvation unto kings; who delivereth David His servant from the hurtful sword.” God was the great giver of victory to kings; many a time had He delivered David from the sword of his enemies. What He has done in the past, we may expect Him to do again in similar circumstances and to similar characters. Let His past deliverances be to us so many pledges of our full and final triumph.
3. The promised song of deliverance. “I will sing a new song unto Thee, O God; upon a psaltery, an instrument of ten strings, will I sing praises unto Thee.” More correctly: “Upon a ten-stringed lute will I make music unto Thee.” The goodness of God in the new victory shall be celebrated in a new song; and the new song shall be accompanied with the sweet strains of music.
Let new mercies evoke new gratitude; and let the new gratitude be expressed in new songs. Let us through our Lord Jesus Christ anticipate with confidence the new song of heaven: “And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy,” &c. (Rev_5:9-14).
A PICTURE OF A HAPPY PEOPLE
(Psa_144:12-15)
We regard these verses as presenting a picture of prosperity which the poet desired for Israel. Let us look at its main features—
I. The blessing of a noble offspring.
1. Sons characterised by strength. “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth.” The idea is that of young men of vigorous and well-proportioned growth. But the Psalmist certainly could not mean strength of body simply. We interpret his meaning to be vigorous young manhood, including physical, mental, and moral strength.
(1.) Physical strength is good.
(2.) Intellectual strength is better.
(3.) Moral strength is best. The strength of righteous principles, virtuous habits, holy attachments, and devout aspirations—this it is which ennobles manhood. What greater blessing can be desired for any nation than that its manhood should be of this order?
2. Daughters characterised by beauty. “Our daughters as corner-stones polished after the similitude of a palace.” Conant translates: “Our daughters as corner-pillars, sculptured after the structure of a palace.” And Perowne: “Our daughters as corner-pillars, sculptured to grace a palace.” Some expositors discover here the idea of usefulness: useful as pillars supporting a building, or as corner-stones uniting an edifice. But the main idea is undoubtedly that of the gracefulness and beauty of the maidens. The Psalmist cannot mean external beauty merely.
(1.) Beauty of feature and of form is desirable. It is a gift of God.
(2.) Beauty of mind and of manner is much more desirable. It is of a higher order, and more lasting than that of feature and form.
(3.) Beauty of soul and temper is pre-eminently desirable. This is the highest, the divinest, the unfading, and immortal beauty. This is an unmixed, a pure blessing. Beauty of form and feature, when associated with mental weakness and vacuity, appears misplaced and incongruous; when associated with moral deformity it becomes repulsive and loathsome even. The highest visible beauty is that of the soul manifesting itself in the “human face divine.” “I have come to the conclusion,” says Professor Upham, “if man, or woman either, wishes to realise the full power of personal beauty, it must be by cherishing noble hopes and purposes; by having something to do, and something to live for, which is worthy of humanity, and which, by expanding the capacities of the soul, gives expansion and symmetry to the body which contains it.”
‘What’s female beauty, but an air divine
Through which the mind’s all-gentle graces Shine;
They, like the sun, irradiate all between;
The body charms, because the soul is seen.”
—Young.
Who does not wish that our daughters may shine in the beauty of meekness, gentleness, purity, piety, and love?
II. The blessing of secular prosperity.
“That our garners may be full,” &c. (Psa_144:13-14). Several rare expressions occur in these verses, which are of very doubtful interpretation. It is certain that it is intended to set forth great temporal prosperity; and the entire picture contains three prominent features:—
1. Well-stored granaries. “Our garners full, affording all manner of store” Heb. as in Margin: “From kind to kind.” Conant: “Supplying of every kind.” The idea is, abundance of all kinds of produce.
2. Fruitful flocks. “Our sheep bringing forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets.” More correctly, “In our fields.” A great part of the wealth of eastern peoples consisted of flocks of sheep.
3. Laden oxen. “Our oxen strong to labour.” Margin: “Able to bear burdens, or loaden with flesh.” The Hebrew is simply: “Our oxen laden.” But with what?
(1.) With fat and flesh, say some, and therefore strong to labour.
(2.) With young, say others, and interpret the clause as descriptive of the fruitfulness of the herds.
(3.) With the abundant produce of the fields, say others. “Laden oxen presuppose a rich abundance of produce.” The exact meaning is doubtful; but the interpretation last named appears to us the most probable. This however is certain, that the poet is setting forth the great temporal prosperity of an eastern people.
III. The blessing of settled peace.
“No breaking in, nor going out, and no complaining in our streets.” Perowne translates: “No breach and no sallying forth, and no cry (of battle) in our streets.” He says, “ ‘No sallying forth,’ lit., ‘going out,’ which has been interpreted either of ‘going forth to war,’ or ‘going forth into captivity.’ This and the previous expression, taken together, most naturally denote a time of profound peace, when no enemy lies before the walls, when there is no need to fear the assault through the breach, no need to sally forth to attack the besiegers.” There are other interpretations of these clauses; but this seems to us the most probable. “The image is that of security, peace, order, prosperity.”
IV. These blessings are viewed as flowing from the favour of God.
“Happy is the people that is in such a case; happy is the people whose God is Jehovah.” It was common amongst the ancient Hebrews to regard temporal prosperity as an evidence of the Divine favour. “National piety,” says Matthew Henry, “commonly brings national prosperity; for nations, in their national capacity, are capable of rewards and punishments only in this life.” And Barnes: “The worship of Jehovah—the religion of Jehovah—is adapted to make a people happy, peaceful, quiet, blessed. Prosperity and peace, such as are referred to in the previous verses, are, and must be, the result of pure religion. Peace, order, abundance, attend it everywhere, and the best security for a nation’s prosperity is the worship of God; that which is most certain to make a nation happy and blessed, is to acknowledge God and to keep His laws.”
But the Christian view of the evidences of the Divine blessing is truer, deeper, nobler than that of the ancient Hebrew. God has granted unto us a fuller and clearer revelation of Divine truth. We look for the evidences of His favour in our souls rather than in our circumstances; in inward joy rather than in outward happiness; not in well-stored granaries, but in the abounding “fruit of the Spirit, in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”
SOLICITUDE ON BEHALF OF SONS AND DAUGHTERS
(Psa_144:12)
I. The objects of this solicitude.
First: Our sons are objects of solicitude. “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth.” The desire is—
1. That our sons may be as plants of the right kind. We desire that they may possess right knowledge, right principles, right habits, and be found truly righteous in all they think, say, and do.
2. That our sons may be as plants in a good situation. There are honourable situations: such are the lawful callings of life, all stations of virtuous industry. There is one situation we covet for our sons. We mean that described in Psa_92:13. We desire that our sons may value and enjoy religious ordinances, &c.
3. That our sons may be as plants rightly cultivated. Our sons, left to themselves, will grow wild, and bring forth the fruit of a depraved heart. A change of heart is indispensable before our youth can grow up as plants of righteousness. Training is absolutely necessary (Pro_22:6). And with their training pruning is requisite.
4. That our sons may be as plants that flourish well. A good profession, with consistency, is a great ornament to character. They will flourish most who make God’s Word their study, &c. (Psa_1:2-3).
5. That our sons may be as plants most fruitful and useful. The plants most admired are fruit-bearing. We would have our sons abound in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, doing good to all men as they have means and opportunity.
6. That our sons may be as plants of perennial verdure and perpetual stability. The Psalmist speaks of the blessedness of those whose “leaf shall not wither.” He speaks also of the righteous bringing forth fruit in old age. So the prophet Jeremiah says,” Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord,” &c. (Jer_17:7-8). Here is the perennial verdure and stability we desire. We would have piety adorn both youth and age. We would have our sons grow in grace as they grow in years.
Second: Our daughters are objects of solicitude. “That our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.”
1. That our daughters may be polished with sound education. “If either of the sexes ought to have superior training, that privilege should be especially ceded to women. If you have ignorant women, you must have a large mass of foolish and depraved men; but, on the contrary, make the female portion of any nation intellectual, and the other sex must also be mentally improved.”
2. That our daughters may be polished with good manners. Beauty of person, without good manners, is worthless. “Favour is deceitful,” &c (Pro_31:30). Grace and affability are adornments to the female character. Urbanity, tenderness, sympathy, charity, a constant desire to promote universal happiness,—are embellishments above the most splendid attire.
3. That our daughters may be polished with true piety. Piety is an adornment which all our daughters may possess. A polished education, and polished manners, in the sense in which these terms are understood in the fashionable and polite world, can be the lot of but few. But true piety is open to all (Jas_2:5). Religion refines and elevates the character when all merely secular education fails. It adorns with a meek and quiet spirit, &c.
4. That our daughters may, as corner-stones, cement and adorn our families. Benjamin Parsons observes justly: “In the character of companions, friends, sisters, wives, mothers, nursemaids, nurses, and domestic servants, there is a sphere of usefulness assigned to women which angels might envy. In a majority of cases the minds of youth of both sexes are formed by females. Girls are generally educated by their own sex, and boys, in most instances, have their character stamped before they leave the guardianship of mothers and governesses.” Sisters may make home to be home to our sons, &c.
5. That our daughters may, as cornerstones, support and beautify the fabric of the state. “Verily, it is of more importance to have an intelligent and moral population, than to have great capitalists or landowners. Wealth cannot make any nation great. Enlightened moral principle is the true glory of any kingdom or empire; but this dignity cannot be obtained apart from the due cultivation of all the powers of the human soul, and to accomplish this we must have the agency of mothers.”
6. That our daughters may be as corner-stones in the Church of the living God. Our Sabbath-schools, our ignorant and destitute neighbourhoods, our sick-chambers, our walks of benevolence, can all yield spheres of usefulness for our daughters.… But all this is preparatory to a higher state. The stones that are polished here are preparing to be built up in the heavenly Temple. Whilst, therefore, we may aim to promote their temporal interest, let us not overlook the infinitely more valuable inheritance of personal salvation and eternal glory.
II. The subjects of this solicitude. This desire may be considered as,—
First: The cherished anxiety of all right-minded parents.
Second: That of the friends of the young. Among these are the Sabbath-school teachers of our land, &c.
Third: That of true patriots and genuine philanthropists.
Let us remember that without the Divine blessing all our efforts are in vain.—J. Sayer.
THE GOD IN WHOM MAN IS BLESSED
(Psa_144:15)
“Happy is that people whose God is Jehovah.”
Our text warrants two observations—
I. That all peoples have a god.
This is clearly implied in the text. Man must have a god. The need of a god is constitutional, it is innate, in the case of man.
1. Man must trust. Every man does trust n some being or in some thing. The credulousness of man is amazing; and is often a great curse. Men are trusting in idols, in wealth, in friends, in priests, in themselves, in Jehovah.
2. Man must love. “Some one to love” is perhaps the deepest cry of the human heart. Every man loves, at least, some person or some thing,—e.g., wealth, honour, self, friends, God. Every man loves some person or something pre-eminently; has some object of supreme love.
3. Man must worship. There are in each of us at times feelings of wonder, awe, and reverence, which compel us to worship. You hold your breath in the felt presence of mystery; you are silent in the presence of death; the realisation of the sublime fills you with awe—these are signs of the working of the religious element and instincts of your being. Now, that which man chiefly trusts, supremely loves, and truly worships, is his god. All history testifies with unmistakable clearness to the fact that man must have a god.
II. That that people only is blessed whose God is Jehovah.
“Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah.”
1. He is the only adequate Object of trust. Idols, wealth, friends, priests, ourselves, each and all are terribly insufficient as objects on which the soul may repose its confidence. They are unstable, transient, and equal only to very few of the emergencies of life. Jehovah is all-sufficient;—eternal, unchangeable, equal to every emergency, infinite in His resources, &c.
2. He is the only worthy Object of our supreme love. To love material things is degrading to the lover. To love relatives or friends or any created person supremely, is to seek our own disappointment and sorrow, because they are changeable, mortal, imperfect, &c. The object of our chief love should be a person perfectly lovable, true, good, beautiful, unchangeable, and ever-living. Jehovah is all this.
3. He is the only worthy Object of our worship. The worship of Jehovah is the only worship which purifies, strengthens, ennobles, and crowns our nature. The old idolatries were terribly degrading; they produced terror, cruelty, uncleanness, and other evils in the worshippers. Worship wealth, and you will degrade your being, &c. Make a relative or friend your god, and you are lost to progress, &c. Make self your god, and you forego all that is noble, &c. The object of our worship should be such as tends to educate, exalt, satisfy, and perfect our spiritual nature. In Jehovah, and in Him alone, have we such a God.
“Happy the people whose God is Jehovah;” because He is supremely good, unchangeable, and eternal, and He stands in covenant relation with His people. His wisdom and power, His goodness and faithfulness, are all pledged to them. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
THE HAPPY PEOPLE
(Psa_144:15)
“Happy is that people whose God is Jehovah.” Let us—
I. Examine what is comprehended in the relation referred to. It refers—
1. To God as the Object of religious worship.
2. To Him as the Author of every blessing.
3. To the covenant relation in which He condescends to stand to His people—including Divine acceptance, delightful intercourse, pleasing satisfaction.
II. Confirm and illustrate the declaration itself. They are happy—
1. Because all the Divine perfections are engaged in their behalf. Mercy to pardon their sins, and deliver them from guilt. Wisdom to direct and guide them through the intricate mazes of the world to heaven. Omnipresence to guard and defend them. Omnipresence to survey them in all conditions. Consummate goodness to supply their needs. And faithfulness to perform all that He has spoken.
2. Because in Him they are assured of finding a refuge in time of need.
3. Because they are warranted to expect every needful supply.
4. Because in Him they have “a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
5. Because all the promises of the Gospel are “yea and Amen” in Christ Jesus.
6. Because they have a sure prospect of being with Him for ever.
LEARN.—
1. How mistaken the men of the world are with respect to the people of God.
2. How insignificant is the worldling’s portion.
3. How dangerous is the condition of those who have not the Lord for their portion.—L … s.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain I am far from thinking that this sentence applies…
Psa 144:1
I am far from thinking that this sentence applies exclusively to what we designate spiritual conflicts. I should suppose that David, or whoever the writer of the Psalm was, gave thanks that he had been able to fight with the Philistines and the Ammonites. No one who had learned Jewish history by heart would attempt an artificial division between national wars and spiritual wars. The first supposed the last; the visible enemy was permitted to put forth his strength that the spiritual strength which was dormant might be called forth to withstand him. Man is made for battle. His inclination is to take his ease; it is God who will not let him sink into the slumber which he counts so pleasant, and which is so sure to end in a freezing death.
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I. I have spoken of this thanksgiving as of universal application; there are some cases in which we shrink from using it, and yet in which we are taught by experience how much better we should be if we dared to use it in all its force and breadth. There are those who feel much more than others the power of that first enemy of which I have spoken. To withstand the lusts of the flesh, not to be completely overpowered by them, is with them, through constitution, or education, or indulgence, such an effort as their nearest friends may know nothing of. What help then may be drawn from the words, "Blessed be the Lord God, who has taught my hands to war, and my fingers to fight"!
II. Violent desires or passions remind us of their presence. The fashion of the world is hemming us in and holding us down without our knowing it. A web composed of invisible threads is enclosing us. It is not by some distinct influence that we are pressed, but by an atmosphere full of influences of the most mixed quality, hard to separate from each other. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who stirs the hands to war, and the fingers to fight," for the Divine order which He has established, and not man. Blessed be that Lord God for not allowing His creature, His child, to lie buried under the weight of opinions, maxims, traditions, which is crushing him; for giving him visions of a city which has foundations, of which He is the Builder and Maker; for giving him the assurance that he may, and that he must, beat down all obstacles that hinder him from possessing its glorious privileges.
III. Least of all is there any natural energy in us to contend against that enemy who is described in Scripture as going about seeking whom he may devour. Is it not true that the time which boasts to have outlived the evil spirit is the one which is most directly exposed to his assaults? May it not be that our progress has brought us into a closer conflict with the spiritual wickedness in high places than our forefathers were ever engaged in? Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who teacheth our hands to war, and our fingers to fight. Blessed be He for bringing us into immediate encounter with His own immediate enemies, that so we may know more than others did of His own immediate presence.
F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. i., p. 317.
References: Psa 144:4.—R. W. Evans, Parochial Sermons, vol. i., p. 162, and vol. ill., p. 133. Psa 144:5.—S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. ii., p. 88.
Psa 144:12
I. These two figures express, in different ways, the notions of fixity and substance. Both plant and column are fixed and steady. The plant is fixed by its roots into the earth, the column fixed into the building. Life must be rooted in fixed belief in God and the way of reconciliation and fellowship with Him. This belief alone gives meaning, and purpose, and substance to life. It is great truths believed that nourish the soul.
II. Growth and permanence are both set forth in the text. Growth belongs just as necessarily to the conception of a plant as permanence does to that of a column. Growth of soul and spirit is the result of holding firmly to great central truths and drawing the very pith of them into the being. While man represents progress and woman permanence, the true ideal life includes both equally.
III. In the plant and the column we have represented individualism, separateness, independence, and, on the other hand, combination, unity, and mutual help and support.
IV. The text speaks of two different kinds of beauty: that of the plant, the beauty of nature; that of the sculptured column, the beauty of culture. We are reminded that all beauty of soul must be the result both of nature and cultivation. (1) That the soul may be beautiful, it must be a living soul, living by contact with the infinite, in fellowship with God. This is truly the beauty of nature, the deepest nature. (2) Think of the sculpturing of that stone. If the substance had had feeling, at what cost that beautiful form would have been obtained! Human souls are shaped into beauty often through great suffering and trial. Let us not forget that. But let us specially consider that we must wield the chisel and mallet on ourselves, strike off the evil, and seek that the ideal of our nature should come out.
J. Leckie, Sermons Preached at Ibrox, p. 178.
Psa 144:12
David is not praying that the youth of the land should have any abnormal precociousness, or should be in any way ahead of their years; but the picture before his mind is that of vigorous, healthful, upright, manly, and ingenuous youth: and he feels that this, if realised, would be the highest glory of the land. For the young men of his country he desired:—
I. A healthful frame; a strong, robust, vigorous physique. It has been said that as righteousness is the health of the soul, so health is the righteousness of the body.
II. A solid character. A quaint writer says, "If a man is to grow, he must grow like a tree; there must be nothing between him and heaven." It is an old adage that knowledge is power, but it is still more true to say that character is power.
III. A hidden life. Each of you needs that which no human power can communicate, and without which the fairest religious profession is only a painted corpse. Personal and saving religion is no development from within, no product of moral evolution; it is something whose germ must be imparted to you by the Holy Spirit, and without which germ you are in the sight of God absolutely dead.
J. Thain Davidson, The City Youth, p. 239.
References: Psa 144:12.—W. Walters, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 338. Psa 144:15.—F. W. Farrar, Ibid., vol. xix., p. 33; W. M. Arthur, Ibid., vol. xxvii., p. 200. Psa 145:1.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 295. Psa 145:1, Psa 145:2.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxii., No. 1902.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain The Helper of Israel.
The Helper of Israel.
[A psalm] of David.
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{Verse 2 ’peoples’: "Ammim is the reading of ninety-one Hebrew MSS. the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic and Roman Vulgate and of the parallel passages, Psa 18:47; 2Sa 22:48." (Coleman.)}
"God only" is still the moral of the psalm that follows. He is owned here as the sole Helper of Israel, in language much of which recalls to mind the eighteenth, but with five verses added which give the blessing of Israel now with God, and prepare the way for the praises of that which follows, and which ends the series. Man as before is put in the balance before God, and what is he? The answer is a very different one from that given in the eighth psalm; the stand-point being altogether different.
1. Israel is yet in conflict, but strong in God, and confident of the issue. Jehovah is their Rock and teaches their hands to war and their fingers to fight. He is the real Deliverer in whom they take refuge, and who subdues the peoples under them. Before Jehovah what is man, that He should make account of him? This is, of course, looking at him as the would-be thwarter of God’s purposes. Yet he is merely like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
2. God is besought, therefore, to come down and destroy their enemies, sending from heaven to deliver them from the hand of strangers, men speaking vanity and acting falsehood. Then would they sing a new song to Him; the giver of victory to kings (and not their own might), and rescuing David His servant from the hurtful sword. If this speak typically of any in the latter day, it is suggested by another that "it would be ’the prince’ [of Eze 44:1-31; Eze 45:1-25; Eze 46:1-24]; for there will be a house of David on the earth" at that time (Zec 13:1-9). Messiah is of course the true Head; but the language seems more naturally to refer to a merely human ruler.
3. The psalm ends with describing the portion of Israel as the people of Jehovah, beginning with Jehovah’s intervention in power for them: righteously, because of the character of their enemies. This would bring them into the fullness of earthly blessing according to announcements of the law, but of which the law was incompetent to give them possession. "Happy the people in such a case -a people whose God is Jehovah."
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain This Ps. consists mainly of thoughts and quotations from…
This Ps. consists mainly of thoughts and quotations from earlier Pss., e.g. 8 and 18. Psa_144:12-15 are, however, quite unlike anything else in the Psalter, and some suppose them to be a quotation from a lost Ps., possibly by David.
2. My goodness] lit. 'my lovingkindness,' but with the change of a single Hebrew letter we can render 'my castle,' which is much more suitable. My people] probably we should render, 'the peoples.'
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3, 4. Cp. Psa_8:4; Psa_39:5.
7. Strange children] i.e. strangers.
9. See Psa_33:2.
12. The want of connexion seems to point to a new fragment. Our daughters, etc.] Two renderings are possible: (1) 'our daughters be draped in purple cloth like the hangings of a palace,' or (2) 'our daughters as corner stones carved after the similitude of a palace,' strong and graceful. For' palace' PBV reads 'temple.'
14. Breaking in] invasion by an enemy.
Going out] either into exile, or to surrender to an enemy. Complaining] RV 'outcry': cp. Isa_24:11; Jer_14:2.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Thanksgiving and Prayer for Deliverance.
Thanksgiving and Prayer for Deliverance.
A psalm of David, in which he praises God for help experienced in the past and confidently implores His assistance against the enemies of the nation, as well as His blessing for continued prosperity.
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v. 1. Blessed be the Lord, my Strength, his Rock or Refuge, with whom he is safe, which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight, giving the king instruction and assistance in waging a just war;
v. 2. my Goodness, rather, my Mercy, since it was the Lord’s unmerited favor which sustained David, and my Fortress, his mountain Stronghold, where he is beyond the reach of his enemies; my high Tower, and my Deliverer, who was able to snatch him out of the midst of troubles; my Shield, to protect him from attacks, and He in whom I trust, in whose care he knew himself to be definitely out of harm’s way; who subdueth my people under me, making Israel realize that David’s authority was his by divine investment. It is the feeling of, his own unworthiness which moves David to cry out, in view of God’s mercy upon him:
v. 3. Lord, what is man that Thou takest knowledge of him, by conferring such wonderful favors, or the son of man, an ordinary, frail human being, that Thou makest account of him! The very fact that God pays any attention to him at all fills David with a sense of his own insignificance, since it contrasts his own nothingness, and that of mankind generally, with the greatness of such a gracious God.
v. 4. Man is like to vanity, like a breath which is gone before it is noticed; his days are as a shadow that passeth away, Psa 102:11. All the firmer, then, must be the believer’s trust in God.
v. 5. Bow Thy heavens, O Lord, bringing them nearer, as it were, for speedy help, and come down, manifesting His almighty power; touch the mountains, with the hand of His majesty extended from the heights of heaven, and they shall smoke, the volcanoes revealing His omnipotent power.
v. 6. Cast forth lightning, in a mighty thunderstorm, and scatter them; shoot out Thine arrows, for the lightnings were considered the arrows of the majestic God, and destroy them.
v. 7. Send Thine hand from above, extending it in His almighty power; rid me, saving him from drowning, and deliver me out of great waters from the hand of strange children, the heathen enemies, the barbarians,
v. 8. whose mouth speaketh vanity, making statements without the foundation of truth, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood, since it is raised in swearing falsely. The entire picture is that of the powers of the world, the enemies of the Lord and of His people, assembled to work harm to the Church, but overthrown by the manifestation of God’s almighty power. Relying upon this fact, the psalmist lifts up his voice in a song of praise.
v. 9. I will sing a new song unto Thee, one composed for this special occasion, O God; upon a psaltery, a sort of harp or lute, and an instrument of ten strings, a lyre then in common use, will I sing praises unto Thee.
v. 10. It is He that giveth salvation unto kings, granting them deliverance from great dangers; who delivereth David, His servant, from the hurtful sword, that which had caused him evil and misfortune.
v. 11. Rid me, snatching him away from the danger, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood, this repetition of the appeal just made serving to emphasize the great need of the Lord’s interference,
v. 12. that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth, thriving in the strength of their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace, graceful as the architectural ornaments, glistening with gold and brilliant colors, which were found in the reception-halls of Oriental houses, the figure stressing both the strength and the charm of the young women;
v. 13. that our garners may be full, affording all manner of store, grain of every kind; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets, out in the open meadows;
v. 14. that our oxen may be strong to labor, prolific, bringing forth strong calves; that there be no breaking in nor going out, no enemy making a breach in the city walls, no city forced to surrender; that there be no complaining in our streets, no lamenting on account of indignities inflicted by cruel conquerors. It is a fine description of happiness and prosperity under the blessing of God.
v. 15. Happy is that people that is in such a case, whose condition is such as here described; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord; for that, after all, is the greatest blessing, the highest distinction, surpassing all mere earthly blessings, if a people has the right to call Jehovah their God, their heavenly Father, chosen by Him as His children and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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A psalm of David
Possible meanings are 1) David wrote the psalm or 2) the psalm is about David or 3) the psalm is in the style of David's psalms.
my rock
Possible meanings are 1) "the one who keeps me safe" or 2) "the one who gives me strength" (See: Metaphor)
who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle
The words "hands" and "fingers" are synecdoches for "me." If "war" and "battle" are the same word in your language, you can translate this as one line. AT: "who trains me for war and trains me for battle" or "who trains me for war" (See: Synecdoche and Doublet and Ellipsis)
my covenant faithfulness
The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated with anadverb. Possible meanings are 1) "the one who faithfully loves me" or 2) "the one who faithfully protects me." (See: Abstract Nouns)
my fortress ... take refuge
The psalmist uses many metaphors to emphasize that Yahweh will protect him. (See: Metaphor)
my high tower
David speaks of Yahweh as if he were a fortress that protects him from attack. Yahweh is the one who protects David from harm. (See: Metaphor)
my shield
David speaks of Yahweh as if he were a shield that protects a soldier. Yahweh is the one who protects David from harm. See how this is translated in Psalms 18:2. (See: Metaphor)
the one in whom I take refuge
Going to Yahweh for protection is spoken of as taking refuge in him. AT: "the one to whom I go so he will protect me" (See: Metaphor)
the one who subdues nations under me
"the one who enables me to defeat other nations"
translationWords
psalm
David
bless
Yahweh
covenant faithfulness
stronghold
watchtower
shield
refuge
nation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Ps 144 This lament begins with an exclamation of…
Ps 144 This lament begins with an exclamation of love for the Lord. The community then reflects on the transitory nature of life (144:3-4). The psalmist prays for divine intervention and anticipates victory (144:5-11). A new song (144:9-10) and a prayer for rescue (144:11) open up the theme of the Lord’s blessing through his provisions and protection (144:12-15).
144:1-2 The psalmist’s descriptive names for the Lord reveal his deep love for him.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.