John Gill Commentary Psalms 144

Blessed [be] the Lord my strength
The author and giver of his natural strength of body, and of the fortitude of his mind, and of all the spiritual strength he had, to exercise grace, to bear up under afflictions and trials, to perform duty, and withstand enemies. It may be applied to Christ, the antitype of David, the man of God's right hand, he has made strong for himself. It may be rendered, "my rock"^F3; to whom the psalmist fled for shelter, when in distress and overwhelmed; and on whom he built his faith, and hope of eternal salvation, as well as depended on him for all supplies of grace and strength, and for help and succour in all times of need. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "my God": and so the word "rock" is used for God, (Deuteronomy 32:30Deuteronomy 32:31) ;

which teaches my hands to war, [and] my fingers to fight ;
he took him from being a shepherd, and made him a soldier; and from being the leader of a flock of sheep, to be a general of armies; and all his military skill in marshalling of troops, in leading them on to battle, and bringing them off as well as all his courage and success, were from the Lord: he whose hands and fingers had been used to the shepherd's crook, and to the handling of the harp and lyre, were taught how to handle the sword, the bow, the shield, and spear. God is a man of war himself; and he teaches the art of war, as he does husbandry and other things; see (Exodus 15:3) (Psalms 18:34) ; and so the Lord furnishes his people, who are here in a militant state, with spiritual armour, to fight against their spiritual enemies; he teaches them how to put it on, and directs them how to make use of every piece of it; as well as gives them boldness to face their enemies, and victory over them.

FOOTNOTES:

• F3: (yrwu) "rupes mea", Montanus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator so Ainsworth.

My goodness
Not only good, but goodness itself; the donor of all the blessings of goodness to him; the author of all goodness in him; the provider of all goodness for him, laid up to be used hereafter. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it my mercy, properly enough; that is, the God of "my mercy", as in (Psalms 59:10Psalms 59:17); who is all mercy, full of mercy, rich and plenteous in it; which is abundant, and from everlasting to everlasting. Or, "my grace" ^F4 ; the God of all grace, the giver of every grace, and who is able to make all grace to abound; and from whom every blessing of grace, and every particular grace, as faith, hope, and love, and all the supplies of grace, as well as every good and perfect gift, come: Christ is prevented with all the blessings of goodness; in him all fulness of grace dwells, and with him God keeps his mercy for evermore.

and my fortress ;
garrison or strong hold: what fortresses or fortifications are to cities, whether natural or artificial, that is God to his people; all his perfections are on their side; and particularly they are kept by his power, as in a garrison, through faith unto salvation, (1 Peter 1:5).

my high tower :
the name of the Lord, which is himself, is a strong tower, where his righteous ones that flee to him are safe; and is an "high" one, where they are out of the reach of all their enemies, (Proverbs 18:10).

and my deliverer ;
that delivered him from his temporal enemies; and from his spiritual ones, from sin, Satan, and the world; from all afflictions and temptations, from wrath and ruin, death and hell.

my shield ;
that protected him from all evil and danger; whose favour encompassed him as a shield; whose salvation was a shield to him; and more particularly the person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of his Son, called the shield of faith, (Ephesians 6:16).

and [he] in whom I trust ;
not in men, no, not in princes; but in the Lord only; in his Word, as the Targum; for things temporal and spiritual; for the blessings of grace here, and glory hereafter; of these several titles, see more on (Psalms 18:2).

who subdueth my people under me ;
the people of Israel, all the tribes; whose hearts the Lord inclined to make him king over them all, (2 Samuel 5:1–3). Or, "the people" ^F6 ; so the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic versions; the Heathen people, the Philistines, Ammonites, Edomites, Moabites, and Syrians; see (2 Samuel 8:1–18) (Psalms 18:47) . The former reading seems best, and is followed by the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and other versions: and this may be typical of the subduing of Christ's people under him; who are made willing, in the day of his power, to receive and own him as their King; profess subjection to his Gospel, and submit to his ordinances.

FOOTNOTES:

• F4: (ydox) "gratia mea", Cocceius, Gejerus.
• F6: (yme) "pro" (Myme) "populos", Piscator.

Lord, what [is] man, that you take knowledge of him ?
&c.] Man, that is at most and best but a creature, made of the dust of the earth, is but dust and ashes; yea, a sinful creature, that drinks up iniquity like water: and yet the Lord not only knows him, as he is the omniscient God, but takes notice of him in a way of providence, and in a way of grace. His chosen people are no other nor better than others, of the same original, and of the same character; and yet he owns and acknowledges them as his peculiar people, and makes himself known unto them: and so it is rendered by the Septuagint version, "that you should be known unto him?" or, "appear to him?" as the Arabic; reveal yourself to him, not only by the light of nature and works of creation, but in Christ, and by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;

[or] the son of man, that you make account of him ?
as the Lord does, especially of some of the sons of men; whom he reckons as his portion and inheritance, his jewels and peculiar treasure, and who are as dear to him as the apple of his eye; whom he "magnifies", as in (Job 7:17) ; makes them kings and priests; raises them from the dunghill, and sets them among princes, to inherit the throne of glory; on whom he sets his heart, and loves them with an everlasting love: or, "that you should think of him?" ^F7 thoughts of peace, and not of evil; so as to provide a Saviour for men, and send down the Spirit of his Son into their hearts to quicken them; so as to bless them with all spiritual blessings, and at last to glorify them.

David no doubt had a special respect to himself; and wondered at the goodness of God to him, in taking him from a family of little or no account, from a mean employ, from a shepherd's cottage, and raising him to the throne of Israel; and especially in making him a partaker of grace, and an heir of glory; see (Psalms 8:4) ; which is applied to Christ, (Hebrews 2:6–9) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: (whbvxtw) "quod cogites de eo", Tigurine version, Vatablus.

Man is like to vanity
Is vanity itself, in every age, state, and condition; yea, in his best estate, (Psalms 39:5) ; or, "to the breath" ^F8 of the mouth, as Kimchi; which is gone as soon as seen almost: or, to a vapour ^F9 ; to which the life of man is compared, (James 4:14) ; his days [are] as a shadow that passes away ;
as the former denotes the frailty and mortality of man, this the shortness of his duration; his days fleeing away, and of no more continuance than the shadow cast by the sun, which presently declines and is gone.

FOOTNOTES:

• F8: (lbhl) "halitui", Muis; so Kimchi.
• F9: "Vapori", Cocceius; so the Syriac and Arabic versions

Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down
The heavens, which the Lord has made, and where he dwells; and which are under his influence, and he can cause to incline or bow at his pleasure: and which literally may be said to bow, particularly the airy heavens, when these are filled with clouds heavy with rain, and hang low, ready to fall upon the earth, and being rent, let down showers on it: and mystically may design storms of wrath gathering over the heads of ungodly men, and revealed from heaven against them.

Or rather, as connected with the phrase, "and come down", denotes some appearance or manifestation of God; either for the help and assistance of his people; or in a way of vengeance against their enemies; or both: and which descent must be understood in consistence with the omnipresence of God; and supposes his habitation to be on high, and is expressive of regard to the persons and affairs of men on earth; and is by some considered as a prayer for the incarnation of Christ, which is sometimes signified by coming down from heaven; not by change of place, nor by bringing an human nature, soul or body, down with him from heaven; but by the assumption of our nature; and which was greatly wished, prayed, and longed for, by the Old Testament saints The Targum is, ``O Lord, bow the heavens, and manifest thyself;'' see (Psalms 18:9) (Isaiah 64:1) ;

touch the mountains, and they shall smoke ;
as Mount Sinai did when the Lord descended on it, (Exodus 19:18) ; see (Psalms 104:32) ; These, according to Kimchi, signify mighty kings, strong as mountains: so kingdoms are sometimes called; as the Babylonian empire is called a mountain, a destroying and burnt mountain, (Zechariah 4:7) (Jeremiah 51:25) . Such kings and kingdoms rose up like mountains against Christ, when here incarnate; and against his Gospel, and the ministry of it by his apostles; as the kingdom and nation of the Jews, and the whole Pagan empire: but these, by a touch of his almighty power, have vanished into smoke, (Psalms 2:1Psalms 2:2) (Revelation 8:8) .