A Psalm of David.

1Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
         Who trains my hands for war,
         And my fingers for battle;

2My lovingkindness and my fortress,
         My stronghold and my deliverer,
         My shield and He in whom I take refuge,
         Who subdues my people under me.

3O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
         Or the son of man, that You think of him?

4Man is like a mere breath;
         His days are like a passing shadow.

5Bow Your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
         Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.

6Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
         Send out Your arrows and confuse them.

7Stretch forth Your hand from on high;
         Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
         Out of the hand of aliens

8Whose mouths speak deceit,
         And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

9I will sing a new song to You, O God;
         Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,

10Who gives salvation to kings,
         Who rescues David His servant from the evil sword.

11Rescue me and deliver me out of the hand of aliens,
         Whose mouth speaks deceit
         And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants,
         And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace;

13Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
         And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;

14Let our cattle bear
         Without mishap and without loss,
         Let there be no outcry in our streets!

15How blessed are the people who are so situated;
         How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle;

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
By David. Thank the LORD, my rock, who trained my hands to fight and my fingers to do battle,

King James Bible
<<A Psalm of David.>> Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war.

Darby Bible Translation
{A Psalm of David.} Blessed be Jehovah my rock, who teacheth my hands to war, my fingers to fight;

English Revised Version
A Psalm off David. Blessed be the LORD my rock, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

Webster's Bible Translation
A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight;

World English Bible
Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle:

Young's Literal Translation
By David. Blessed is Jehovah my rock, who is teaching My hands for war, my fingers for battle.

Cross References

Numbers 1:22 Of the sons of Simeon, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers' households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war,

2 Samuel 22:35 "He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:34 He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 144

The four preceding psalms seem to have been penned by David before his accession to the crown, when he was persecuted by Saul; this seems to have been penned afterwards, when he was still in trouble (for there is no condition in this world privileged with an exemption from trouble), the neighbouring nations molesting him and giving him disturbance, especially the Philistines, 2 Sa. 5:17. In this psalm, I. He acknowledges, with triumph and thankfulness, the great goodness of God to him in advancing him to the government (v. 1-4). II. He prays to God to help him against the enemies who threatened him (v. 5-8 and again v. 11). III. He rejoices in the assurance of victory over them (v. 9, 10). IV. He prays for the prosperity of his own kingdom, and pleases himself with the hopes of it (v. 12-15). In singing this psalm we may give God the glory of our spiritual privileges and advancements, and fetch in help from him against our spiritual enemies; we may pray for the prosperity of our souls, of our families, and of our land; and, in the opinion of some of the Jewish writers, we may refer the psalm to the Messiah and his kingdom.

A psalm of David.

Verses 1-8

Here, I. David acknowledges his dependence upon God and his obligations to him, v. 1, 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 (v. 1), my goodness, my fortress, v. 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 (1 Sa. 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 (2 Sa. 5:7, 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.

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 (v. 3, 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 (Ps. 8:4), and he illustrated the wonder by the consideration of the great dignity God has placed man in (Ps. 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 (v. 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, v. 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 (v. 7, 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 (v. 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, v. 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.

Calvin's Commentary

1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength, who teaches my hands for battle, my fingers for war. 2. My goodness, and my munition, my citadel, and my deliverer, my shield, and in him I have hoped, who subdues my people under me. 3. O Jehovah! what is man that thou acknowledgest him? the son of man that thou thinkest of him? 4. Man is like to vanity: his deeds are as a shadow passing away.

1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength [257] It is very evident that David, since he celebrates the favor of God in such high terms, had not only obtained the kingdom, but gained signal victories. When he calls God his strength, he acknowledges that any courage he had was given him from above, not only because he had been made from a country shepherd a mighty warrior, but because the constancy and perseverance he had shown was signally a gift from God. This term answers better than were we to translate it rock; for, by way of explanation, he adds immediately afterwards, that he had been formed under God's teaching for war. The words certainly imply an acknowledgment, that though of a warlike spirit, he was not born for warlike enterprises but needed to undergo a change. What kind of a commencement, for example, did he show in the case of Goliah? That attempt would have been preposterous on any other supposition than his being upheld by secret divine support, so as to be independent of mere human help. (1 Samuel 17:40.)

2. My goodness, etc. This way of using the word in a passive sense, as in the Hebrew, sounds harsh in Latin; just as elsewhere (Psalm 18:50) he calls himself "God's king," not in the sense of his having dominion over God, but being made and appointed king by him. Having experienced God's kindness in so many ways, he calls him "his goodness," meaning that whatever good he possessed flowed from him. The accumulation of terms, one upon another, which follows, may appear unnecessary, yet it tends greatly to strengthen faith. We know how unstable men's minds are, and especially how soon faith wavers, when they are assailed by some trial of more than usual severity. It is not enough, if God would sustain us under such weakness, to promise us his help in individual or single expressions; and, even however many aids he supplies us with, we are subject to very great vacillations, and a forgetfulness of his mercy creeps in upon us which almost overwhelms our minds. We are to remember that it is not merely in token of his gratitude that David heaps together so many terms in declaring the goodness of God, but to fortify God's people against all attacks of the world, and of the evil one. He had a reason for reckoning it among the chiefest of God's mercies, that he controlled the people under his government. For my, ami, my people, some read, mym, amim, peoples; [258] and it is surprising they should prefer such a forced rendering, as David means simply that the settled state of the kingdom was owing not to any counsel, valor, or authority of his own, but to God's secret favor. The verb rdd, radad, is used appropriately, signifying to spread out. The idea some have, that by a people spread out is meant a people set down at ease in a prosperous and happy condition, is farfetched. I have as great objections to the idea of others, that he means a people laid prostrate, so as that they may be trodden under foot; for a violent domination like this would not have been desirable over the chosen people, and sacred inheritance of the Lord. When a people yields a cordial and willing obedience to the laws, all subordinating themselves to their own place peaceably, this signally proves the divine blessing. And in such a settlement as this, where there is no turbulence, nor confusion, the people are appropriately represented, according to what we have said above, as being spread out. David accordingly having ascribed the victories he had gained over foreign enemies to God, thanks him at the same time for the settled state of the kingdom. Raised indeed as he was from an obscure station, and exposed to hatred from calumnious charges, it was scarcely to have been believed that he would ever obtain a peaceable reign. The people had suddenly and beyond expectation submitted to him, and so surprising a change was eminently God's work.

3. O Jehovah! what is man, etc. He amplifies the goodness shown by God by instituting a comparison. Having declared how singularly he had been dealt with, he turns his eyes inward, and asks, "Who am I, that God should show me such condescension? "He speaks of man in general; only the circumstance is noticeable that he commends the mercy of God, by considering his lowly and abject condition. In other places he mentions grounds of humiliation of a more personal or private nature, -- here he confines himself to what has reference to our common nature; and though even in discussing the nature of man there are other reasons he might have specified why he is unworthy of the regard and love of God, he briefly adverts to his being like the smoke, and as a shadow. [259] We are left to infer that the riches of the divine goodness are extended to objects altogether unworthy in themselves. We are warned, when apt at any time to forget ourselves, and think we are something when we are nothing, that the simple fact of the shortness of our life should put down all arrogance and pride. The Scriptures, in speaking of the frailty of man, comprehend whatever is necessarily connected with it. And, indeed, if our life vanish in a moment, what is there stable about us? We taught this truth also -- that we cannot properly estimate the divine goodness, unless we take into consideration what we are as to our condition, as we can only ascribe to God what is due unto him, by acknowledging that his goodness is bestowed upon undeserving creatures. The reader may seek for further information upon this point in the eighth Psalm, where nearly the same truth is insisted upon.

Footnotes:

[257] "Ou, mon rocher." -- Fr. marg. "Or, my rock."

[258] Those who conjecture that mym, amim, is the correct reading, refer to the parallel passage in Psalm 18:47, where the word is in the plural. They also observe in support of their opinion, that this reading is actually found in a great number of MSS. examined by Kennieott and De Rossi; and they account for my, ami, having got into the text by supposing that it was written in the first instance as a contraction for mym, amim. Rosenmuller supposes, but with less probability, that the original word was m, and that the letter y, yod, is paragogic, that is, has been annexed to improve the sound; m, am, being taken collectively. The Masorets have noticed that m, which the translators of our English Bible took to be m, with its possessive affix here, in 2 Samuel 22:44, and Lamentations 3:14, and consequently rendered by my people, is to be taken as the plural number of that noun.

[259] "Et mesmes combion qu'en espluchant la nature des hommes il eust peu toucher d'autres choses, pour lesquelles ils sont indignes. -- neantmoins," etc. -- Fr.

Links

Psalm 144 Commentaries: Barnes • Calvin • Clarke • Darby • Gill • Geneva • Guzik • JFB • Keil / Delitzsch • KJV Translators' • Henry's Concise • Matthew Henry • Scofield • TSK • Treasury of David • Wesley

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