Psalms 144

Psalms 144:1-15

God’ s People Are Happy Psalms 144:1-15 This psalm savors of the rocky caverns from which David and his men emerged to fight. Each day the chieftain asked God to teach him to fight, and realized that all his need would be met. The names he gives to God indicate that all-sidedness which becomes the complement of every conceivable necessity on our part. What a striking conception opens in Psalms 144:4! Saul was but a “ breath” ! r.v., margin. The persecuting bands were as the shadows that pass across the hills! From them all he appealed to God to bow the heavens and come, to touch the mountains, and to rescue him from the rising waters. And when the storm has passed he sings his new glad song, Psalms 144:9. Psalms 144:12-15 were probably added at a later time, when David was established in his kingdom. They describe a summer afternoon of prosperity, when sons have grown from plants to trees, and daughters resemble the carved figures which support the beams of a palace. No breaking in of the foe, no need to go forth to fight, no outcry of oppression or want; but the halcyon sunset of a well-spent life.

Lord, what is man! Dr. Alexander says, “the Davidic origin of this Psalm is as marked as that of any in the Psalter.” It is partly compiled of passages taken from other Psalms, Psalms 8:4; Psalms 18:13-15. But the last verses (Psalms 144:9-15) are a valuable addition. This Psalm forms a point of transition between the Prayer Psalms and the Songs of Praise. The cloud of adversity is breaking; the beams of the sun are already struggling through.

Psalms 144:1. The Lord, teacheth my hands to war In all spiritual warfare we need to be taught. Our weapons are only mighty through God (2 Corinthians 10:4). Is there not an illustration of this in 2 Samuel 5:17-25? (See also 2 Samuel 22:25-26).

Psalms 144:2. My Goodness, and my Fortress Each of these seven titles for God is a pathway which leads into his very heart. The all-subduing grace of God is indeed a theme for song. The Breaker is ever going before us (Micah 2:13). The Goliaths among men cannot stand before Him, or his weakest servant.

Psalms 144:3. Lord, what is man! Man would be insignificant indeed if he were not the favored of Jehovah (see Job 7:17; Psalms 8:4; 2 Samuel 7:18-19).

Psalms 144:4. As a shadow that passeth The shadows of the clouds darken miles of sea–and anon they are gone. So evanescent and so impalpable (Psalms 102:11; Psalms 109:23; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Ecclesiastes 8:13).

Psalms 144:5. Bow Thy heavens, O Lord! David calls to mind what is recorded (in the past tense) in Psalms 18:9. Here he asks God to repeat former deliverances.

Psalms 144:9. I will sing a new song! New songs are demanded by new mercies. Let us give God freshly baken loaves for His table (1 Samuel 21:6).

Psalms 144:10. Giveth! Delivereth! Comp. Psalms 33:16.

Psalms 144:11-12. Our sons as plants; our daughters as corner stones rain times of war the children are often the first to suffer from privation and hardship. So the king asks for deliverance, that the sons may grow up as vigorous plants and that the daughters may be as the exquisitely polished corner-stones which connect the walls of a palace or even as pillars. Nothing is more important than the nurture of a beautiful family life. For this the deliverances of God on the behalf of its head are all-important. Let the daughters who read these words seek the polishing which comes of God’s cuttings. The Prayer-book and other versions substitute the word temple for palace.

Psalms 144:13-14. That our garners may be full In this picture of national prosperity, consequent on devotion to the cause and service of God, we are taught to realize the immense blessing which follows godliness, even in this life (1 Timothy 4:8). Breaking in refers to the violence of the thief; going out to enforced emigration, like that which took Elimelech and his family to Moab (Rth 1:1-2). The Hebrew word rendered oxen (aluphim) may be translated captains or governors.

Psalms 144:15. Happy the people whose God is the Lord! True happiness is only to be found among the people of the Lord, and in the service of the blessed God.