Psalms 144:1-15
1 Blessed be the LORD my strength,a which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
2 My goodness,b 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 salvationc 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, polishedd 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 labour; 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.
CXLIV. Ascribed by LXX and also by T. to David against Goliath, but without any shadow of reason.
Psalms 144:1 is really a mosaic chiefly taken from Psalms 18, but also from Psalms 8, 33, 104. It is a song of anticipated triumph. The Psalmist is in conflict with foreign enemies (strangers (Psalms 144:7) can only mean foreigners). God teaches his fingers to fight, for it is the fingers which grasp the bow and subdue peoples (not my people) under him. He prays that a display in storm and lightning may discomfit his foes. They can be bound by no treaty, for the right hand (Psalms 144:8), which is raised in taking an oath, is false and treacherous. But the Psalmist's triumph is secure. David (Psalms 144:10) is an erroneous gloss on his servant.
Psalms 144:12 is a Ps., or more probably the fragment of a Ps., describing the blessed lot of Yahweh's people. Observe that the blessing is wholly material. When (Psalms 144:12) has in Heb. no intelligible meaning, and may have belonged to the original continuation of Psalms 144:1. The daughters of the Jews in Psalms 144:12 are compared, according to one interpretation with corner pillars carved after the fashion of a palace. But there is no authority for the rendering pillars, and it is unlikely that the Psalmist knew anything of Caryatides.