a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix
war
לַקְרָ֑בlak.Rav
H7128
hostile encounter · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fingers
אֶ֝צְבְּעוֹתַ֗י'etz.be.'o.Tai
H676
something to sieze with · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix
fight
לַמִּלְחָמָֽהla.mil.cha.Mah
H4421
a battle (i.e. the engagement) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 18:34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
2 Samuel 22:35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
Psalms 18:2 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,…
Psalms 44:3-4 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the…
Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Deuteronomy 32:30-31 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
Isaiah 45:24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shal…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 144:1-8
Here, I. David acknowledges his dependence upon God and his obligations to him, Psa 144:1, Psa 144:2. A prayer for further mercy is fitly begun with a thanksgiving for former mercy; and when we are waiting upon God to bless us we should stir up ourselves to bless him. He gives to God the glory of two things: -
1. What he was to him: Blessed be the Lord my rock (Psa 144:1), my goodness, my fortress, Psa 144:2. He has in the covenant engaged himself to be so, and encouraged us, accordingly, to depend upon him; all the saints, who by faith have made him theirs, have found him not only to answer but to out do their expectations. David speaks of it here as the matter of his trust, and that which…
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" (c); 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, Ethi…
Psalm 144:1-4
1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength, who teaches my hands for battle, my fingers for war. 2. My goodness, and my munition, my citadel, and my deliverer, my shield, and in him I have hoped, who subdues my people under me. 3. O Jehovah! what is man that thou acknowledgest him? the son of man that thou thinkest of him? 4. Man is like to vanity: his deeds are as a shadow passing away.
1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength [257] It is very evident that David, since he celebrates the favor of God in such high terms, had not only obtained the kingdom, but gained signal victories. When he calls God his strength, he acknowledges that any courage he had was given him from above, not only b…
The Church Fathers
Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands for the fight. He who interprets briefly gains this: that he himself has no praise, and yet whatever there is in the interpretation, those who have heard retain it. Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands for the fight, and my fingers for war. Let us lift up our hands in holy things without thoughts and disputes, and let us lift them up in every place; and when we have lifted up our hands, our prayer to God is a weapon against the devil. Who teaches my hands for the fight, and my fingers for war. This is our lyre, this our harp: on this we sing to God.
"Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands for battle, my fingers for war" [Psalm 144:1]. These are our words, if we be the Body of Christ. It seems a repetition of sentiment; "our hands for battle," and "our fingers for war," are the same. Or is there some difference between "hands" and "fingers"? Certainly both hands and fingers work. Not then without reason do we take "fingers" as put for "hands." But still in the "fingers" we recognise the division of operation, yet still a sort of unity. Behold that grace! the Apostle saith, To one, this; to another, that; "there are diversities of operations; all these worketh one and the self-same Spirit;" there is the root of unity. With these "fingers" then the Body of Christ fighteth, going forth to "war," going forth to "battle." ...By works of Mercy our enemy is conquered, and we could not have works of mercy unless we had charity, and charity we could have none unless we received it by the Holy Ghost; He then "teacheth our hands for battle, and our fingers for war:" to Him rightfully do we say, "My Mercy," from whom we have also that we are merciful: "for he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy."
But because you disregard the interior battle and delight in exterior battles, therefore you do not wish to belong to the new song, where it is said: "He teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to battle." For there is a battle that a man wages against himself, fighting against evil desires, restraining greed, crushing pride, suffocating ambition, slaughtering lust. These battles you wage in secret and are not defeated in the open. For this reason, your hands are taught to fight, and your fingers to battle. This is not in your spectacles. In those spectacles, the hunter is not the same as the harpist; the hunter does one thing, the harpist another. In God's spectacle, it is one and the same. Strum the same ten strings, and you will slay beasts. You do both at the same time. You strike the first string by which one God is worshipped; the beast of superstition falls. You strike the second string by which you do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; the beast of the error of wicked heresies, which thought otherwise, falls. You strike the third string where you do whatever you do for the hope of future rest; the cruelest of all beasts, the love of this world, is slain. For because of the love of this world, men labor in all endeavors. But you labor in all your good works, not for the love of this world, but for the eternal rest that God promises. See how you do both at the same time. You strike the strings and slay the beasts. That is, you are both a harpist and a hunter. Do such spectacles not delight you, where we do not gain the eyes of the editor, but the eyes of the Redeemer? "Honor your father and your mother"; you strike the fourth string so you honor your parents, the beast of impiety is slain. "You shall not commit adultery"; you strike the fifth string, the beast of lust falls. "You shall not kill"; you strike the sixth string, the beast of cruelty falls. "You shall not steal"; you strike the seventh string, the beast of rapacity falls. "You shall not bear false witness"; you strike the eighth string, the beast of falsehood falls. "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife"; you strike the ninth string, the beast of adulterous thoughts falls. For it is one thing not to do something outside of marriage, another not to desire another's wife. Therefore, there are two commandments: "You shall not commit adultery," and "You shall not covet your…
Dictionary and topics
Blessing · SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD — SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The whole of this first strophe is an imitation of David's great song of thanksgiving, Ps 18. Hence the calling of Jahve "my rock," Psa 18:3, Psa 18:47; hence the heaping up of other appellations in Psa 144:2, in which Psa 18:3 is echoed; but וּמפלּטי־לי (with Lamed deprived of the Dagesh) follows the model of Sa2 22:2. The naming of Jahve with חסדּי is a bold abbreviation of אלהי חסדּי in Psa 59:11, 18, as also in Jon 2:8 the God whom the idolatrous ones forsake is called הסדּם. Instead of מלחמה the Davidic Psalms also poetically say קרב, Psa 55:22, cf. Psa 78:9. The expression "who traineth my hands for the fight" we have already read in Psa 18:35. The last words of the strophe, too, are a…
Ps 144 This lament begins with an exclamation of love for the Lord. The community then reflects on the transitory nature of life (144:3-4). The psalmist prays for divine intervention and anticipates victory (144:5-11). A new song (144:9-10) and a prayer for rescue (144:11) open up the theme of the Lord’s blessing through his provisions and protection (144:12-15).
144:1-2 The psalmist’s descriptive names for the Lord reveal his deep love for him.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 144:1
Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
Blessed be the Lord my strength. He cannot delay the utterance of his gratitude, he bursts at once into a loud note of praise. His best word is given to his best friend—"Blessed be Jehovah." When the heart is in a right state it must praise God, it cannot be restrained; its utterances leap forth as waters forcing their way from a living spring. With all his strength David blesses the God of his strength. We ought not to receive so great a boon as strength to resist evil, to defend truth, and to conquer error, without knowing who gave it to us, and rendering to him the glory of it. Not only does Jehovah…
