Psalm 144
Psalm 144 is David's prayer as a warrior king. He praises the LORD who trains his hands for battle, marvels that God cares for frail man at all, asks God to rescue him from deceitful enemies, and ends with a picture of a peaceful, thriving nation whose God is the LORD.
Psalm 144 (KJV)
Blessed be the LORD my strength v. 1-2
1Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
2My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.
What is man? v. 3-4
3LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!
4Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.
Bow thy heavens and come down v. 5-8
5Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
7Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;
8Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
A new song to the God who saves kings v. 9-11
9I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
10It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
11Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
Happy is that people v. 12-15
12That 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:
13That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
14That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.
15Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.
What Psalm 144 means
Psalm 144 opens with a string of names for God, piled up one after another: my strength, my goodness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield. David is a soldier and a king, and he credits even his fighting skill to God, who teacheth my hands to war.
Then the tone drops. Set beside a God like that, what is man? David says our days are as a shadow that passeth away. The wonder is not that man is great, but that God takes knowledge of him at all. The psalm holds both together: God is mighty, and he still pays attention to a passing shadow.
Verses 5 to 8 are a storm prayer. David asks God to bow the heavens, touch the mountains so they smoke, send lightning, and reach down to pull him out of great waters. The danger he names is people whose mouth speaketh vanity, whose right hand, the hand used to swear an oath, is a right hand of falsehood.
In verse 9 he promises a new song on an instrument of ten strings, and in verse 10 he names himself: God delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. Verse 11 repeats the plea for rescue from lying enemies.
The last four verses look past the battle to what it is for: sons growing like healthy plants, daughters like carved corner stones, full barns, flocks in the thousands, strong oxen, and streets with no breaking in and no complaining. The final line names the source of all of it: happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.
Background and context
The KJV heading reads, A Psalm of David. Much of its first half echoes Psalm 18, David's song from the day God delivered him from all his enemies and from Saul, and verse 3 echoes Psalm 8.
It is one of the last group of David psalms (Psalms 138-145) near the end of the Psalter, just before the closing run of praise psalms.
Key verses
Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
Psalm 144:1 · KJV
LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!
Psalm 144:3 · KJV
Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.
Psalm 144:15 · KJV
Cross references
- Psalm 18:2 The same list of names: rock, fortress, deliverer, strength, high tower.The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
- Psalm 18:34 He teacheth my hands to war, almost the same words as verse 1.He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
- Psalm 8:4 The parallel question: what is man, that thou art mindful of him?What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
- Psalm 39:5 David calls his days an handbreadth and man at his best state vanity.Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
- Job 14:2 Job says man fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
- Psalm 33:2-3 Another call to praise with an instrument of ten strings and a new song.Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
- Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the same ending idea as verse 15.Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
- 1 Samuel 17:47 Young David tells Goliath the battle is the LORD's.And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hands.
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Common questions
What is Psalm 144 about?
It is David's praise to God as the source of his strength in battle, his prayer for rescue from lying enemies, and his hope for a peaceful, fruitful nation whose God is the LORD.
Who wrote Psalm 144?
Its heading credits David, and verse 10 names David his servant as the one God delivered.
What does teacheth my hands to war mean?
David, a soldier king, credits even his skill in battle to God. Many Christians also read it in a wider sense, as God equipping his people for whatever struggle they face.
Where does the Bible say happy is that people whose God is the LORD?
Psalm 144:15 says it, and Psalm 33:12 makes the same point about the nation whose God is the LORD.
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