kindness · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
fortress
וּמְצוּדָתִי֮u.me.tzu.da.Ti
H4686
a net · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
tower
מִשְׂגַּבִּ֪יmis.ga.Bi
H4869
defence · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
deliverer
וּֽמְפַלְטִ֫יu.me.fal.Ti
H6403
to slip out · conjunction + verb, piel active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
shield
מָ֭גִנִּיMa.gi.ni
H4043
a shield (i.e. the small one or buckler) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 1st person masculine singular
trust
חָסִ֑יתִיcha.Si.ti
H2620
to flee for protection · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
subdueth
הָרוֹדֵ֖דha.ro.Ded
H7286
to tread in pieces · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
people
עַמִּ֣י'a.Mi
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
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
2 Samuel 22:2-3 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
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 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psalms 59:9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.
Psalms 18:47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
Psalms 84:9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth,…
2 Samuel 22:40-48 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.
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…
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 Psalm 59:10; who is all mercy, full of mercy, rich and plenteous in it; which is abundant, and from everlasting to everlasting. Or, "my grace" (d); 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…
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
My mercy and my refuge, my helper and my deliverer: my protector. With how many names is God called! As many benefits, so many names. Who subdues my people under me. This can be said in the person of Christ, that is, from the assumed man. But it can also be said in the person of the apostles, that which he says: Who subdues my people under me. This too the holy father in the monastery says, and gives thanks to God, and says: Blessed be the Lord my God, who subdues my people under me. For it is not subjected to me, but subjected to you; therefore it serves me, that it may serve you.
My Mercy and my Refuge, my Upholder and my Deliverer [Psalm 144:2]. Much toils this combatant, having his flesh lusting against his spirit. Keep what you have. Then shall you have in full what you wish, when "death shall have been swallowed up in victory;" [1 Corinthians 15:54] when this mortal body has been raised, and is changed into the condition of the angels, and rises aloft to a heavenly quality....There is life, there are good days, where nought lusts against the spirit, where it is not said, "Fight," but "Rejoice." But who is he that lusts for these days? Every man certainly says, "I do." Hear what follows. I see that you are toiling, I see that you are engaged in battle, and in danger; hear what follows:..."Depart from evil, and do good:" let not the poor first weep under you, that the poor may rejoice through you. For what reward, since now you are fighting? "Seek peace, and ensue it." Learn and say, "My Mercy and my Refuge, mine Upholder and my Deliverer, my Protector:" "mine Upholder," lest I fall; "my Deliverer," lest I stick; "my Protector," lest I be stricken. In all these things, in all my toil, in all my battles, in all my difficulties, in Him have I hoped, "who subdues my people under me." Behold, our Head speaks together with us.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
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).
Psalms 144:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
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 144:2
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.
Now our royal poet multiplies metaphors to extol his God. My goodness, and my fortress. The word for goodness signifies mercy. Whoever we may be, and wherever we may be, we need mercy such as can only be found in the infinite God. It is all of mercy that he is any of the other good things to us, so that this is a highly comprehensive Title — O how truly has the Lord been mercy to many of us in a thousand ways! He is goodness itself, and he has been unbounded goodness to us. We have no goodness of our own, but the Lord has become goodness to us. So is he himself…
