John Calvin Commentary Psalms 144:14

"[When] our oxen are well laden; [When there is] no breaking in, and no going forth, And no outcry in our streets:" — Psalms 144:14 (ASV)

Our oxen, etc. The Hebrew word סבל, sabal, properly means to carry. Accordingly, some understand מסובלים, mesubbalim, to mean robust, as unless they were strong oxen, they would not be fit for carriage or bearing burdens. Others think they are spoken of as laden with fat. There is no need to insist on this point, as it does not affect the main scope of the passage.

It may be more important to notice that God’s fatherly care of His people is celebrated because He condescends to attend to every smallest matter that concerns their advantage. As in the verse before He had ascribed the fruitfulness of the herds and flocks to God’s goodness, so now He ascribes the fattening of their oxen, to show that there is nothing relating to us here that He overlooks.

Since it would mean little to have an abundance of everything unless we could enjoy it, the author also notes, as another part of the Lord’s kindness, that the people were peaceable and quiet. Concerning breach, I have no doubt that he alludes to hostile incursions, meaning that there was no enemy to break in on them through demolished gates or walls. Regarding goings out, it is surprising that anyone should understand this as exile, as if the people were torn away from the bounds of their native country.

In my opinion, all the author simply means is that there was no necessity of sallying out to repel an enemy, as no one was offering violence or molestation. The reference to "any crying in the streets"—the effect of a sudden tumult—has a similar import. Accordingly, the overall meaning is that there was no disturbance in the cities because God kept enemies at a distance.