Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. Psalm 144:1-9 The Lord teaching us to fight: F. D. Maurice, M. A. I do not know what that "Book of the Wars of the Lord" was which is referred to once or twice in the Old Testament; but I apprehend the Book of Psalms was such a Book to the Israelites, and that it has been such a book to Christendom. We may call it a collection of prayers, hymns, thanksgivings, — what we please, — but a record of fights it assuredly is. And this sentence, which occurs in one of the latest portions of it, is a fit summary of its contents, and a kind of moral to be drawn from the whole of it. I am far from thinking that this sentence applies exclusively to what we designate spiritual conflicts. I should suppose that David, or whoever the writer of the psalm was, gave thanks that he had been able to fight with the Philistines and Ammonites. Nay, I should think he gave thanks that he had been obliged to fight with them; that he had not been allowed to rust in the ease which he would have chosen for himself. Man is made for battle. His inclination is to take his ease: it is God who will not let him sink into the slumber which he counts so pleasant, and which is so sure to end in a freezing death. "Blessed be the Lord God, who teacheth the hands to war, and the fingers to fight!" 1. This thanksgiving is one of universal application: there are some cases in which we shrink from using it, and yet in which we are taught by experience how much better we should be if we dared to use it in all its force and breadth. There are those who feel much more than others the power of fleshly lusts. To withstand these is with them, through education, or indulgence, such an effort as their nearest friends may know nothing of. Oh, what help, then, may be drawn from the text! There is One who does know exactly what I am, and what I can bear. The constitution, the circumstances, are understood by Him; He has ordained them for me. And yet He is not tempting me to sink; He is tempting me to rise. He has allowed me to enter into this conflict that I may come out of it a humbler, sadder, stronger man. He does not desire me to fall in it. The falls I have had are all so many motives and goads to put that trust in Him which they show me that I cannot put in myself. 2. Violent desires or passions remind us of their presence. The fashion of the world is hemming us in and holding us down without our knowing it. A web composed of invisible threads is enclosing us. It is not by some distinct influence that we are pressed, but by an atmosphere full of influences of the most mixed quality, hard to separate from each other. How natural it is to yield to these influences! how very mischievous the effort to resist them often appears, — yes, and is! For how many a man becomes impatient of the habits of that particular society in which he is born; fancies that the habits of some other must be better in themselves or be better for him; flings himself eagerly into it, and finds that the chain which bound him before is more closely about him now. If it galls him, that is something to be thankful for. Blessed be the God of Israel for this! since surely it must be He, and no other, who shows us that we do not want to be loose from government, but to be under a stricter and a more righteous government than that of accident and convention and the floating opinion of an age; that we do not want to be more but less under the yoke of our own fancies and conceits; that self-will and vanity have been the great destroyers of all freedom and manliness in us and in our race; that these have built up that false world which has become our prison-house. Blessed be the Lord God for this! since to such awakenings of the conscience in men we owe all great and earnest reformations, all victories over desperate abuses which private interests established and sustained. 3. Least of all is there any natural energy in us to contend against that enemy who is described in Scripture as going about seeking whom he may devour. There is a natural, and therefore a very general, impression of his existence; there is a sense in all men that in some form or other he is not far from them. But the impulse among rude people is to conciliate the adversary who, as their consciences tell them, has had, and still has, such dominion over them. He is a god whom it is worth while to persuade with litanies and sacrifices that he will spare his victims. By degrees, if there is no counteracting force, he is certain to become the god: he will demand all services for himself. Among the civilized it is otherwise. They are inclined to regard the devil as a fiction of the nursery; it is the shadow of a name which cannot be banished from conversation, nor quite from the thoughts, but it means nothing. Yet something steals over these refined people which they know not exactly how to describe. Apathy, loss of power, despondency, — these are some of the names which they invent for it. Is it not true, then, that the time which boasts to have outlived the evil spirit is the one which is most directly exposed to his assaults? May it not be that our progress, which is not to be denied, and for which we are to feel all gratitude, has brought us into a closer conflict with the spiritual wickedness in high places than our forefathers were ever engaged in? Our progress! — cause for thankfulness, if this is the result of it! Yes; blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who teacheth our hands to war, and our fingers be fight. Blessed is He for bringing us into immediate encounter with His own immediate enemies, that so we may know more than others did of His own immediate presence! It is a terrible thing indeed to have the spirits of indolence and indifference and vanity all about us, and to think that they are mere names and abstractions. But it is a glorious thing to be roused up to the apprehension of them as real enemies, from whom none but a real Friend, an actual Captain of the Lord's host, can deliver us! ( F. D. Maurice, M. A. ) God as our General : — During the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, Colonel Gardiner, the friend of Dr. Doddridge, and Christian soldier, who was afterwards killed at the battle of Preston-pans, went to Stirling to a meeting of the gentlemen of that town to devise means of opposing the Highlanders, who were approaching under Prince Charles. Wishing to encourage his listeners to make every effort, he dwelt on the deficiencies of the opposing army, showed them its weaknesses, and somewhat boastfully declared that if he were only at the head of a certain regiment which he had formerly commanded he would not fear to encounter the whole rebel force, and he was sure he would then give a good account of them. Just then the Rev. Mr. Erskine, who stood by the Colonel's side, whispered into his ear, "Say under God, Colonel." At once Gardiner turned, and the hero of a hundred fights replied, "Oh, yes, Mr. Erskine, I mean that, and with God as our General we must be conquerors." Christians should never forget that God is their General. It is He who is in command, and who brings the victory. Lord, what is man, that Thou takest knowledge of him! Psalm 144:3, 4 The vanity of man; and Christianity its antidote H. Angus. We must take care, in denouncing human depravity, and declaiming on human misery, not to decry human nature; for that would be a procedure of a plainly immoral and irreligious tendency, instead of being praiseworthy; and it would involve untruth. The temple is in ruins, and "the Great Inhabitant is gone." But still we meet, here with a broken shaft, and there with a mutilated wreath; although all only sufficient to awaken melancholy remembrances, and make us say, "Here God once dwelt." And yet "man is like to vanity"; and the moment we have read the text it finds an echo in our bosoms. I. THE VANITY OF MAN. There are two words in our Bibles with which we are familiar, Death and Vanity. They are both employed to express the desolate estate into which man's fall has plunged him. Death sometimes includes the sin of that estate as well as its penal consequences. So sometimes does vanity. It is sometimes used as but another name for sin ( Psalm 12:2 ; Job 15:35 ; Romans 1:21 ; Ephesians 4:17 ). But it appears to be the more appropriate function of the Bible-word to express the penal consequences of sin ( Job 15:31 ; Psalm 78:33 ; Romans 8:20 ). Sin has driven all the originally solid and desirable out of man. It has left him the lifeless, bloodless, unsubstantial ghost of what once he was. 1. The life of man is perishable and ephemeral. 2. It is very far from yielding him satisfaction while it lasts. Man cannot find what he was made to find. He is like a long-lost child, with faint and melancholy recollections lingering in him of a sunny land and a pleasant home. And, closely connected with this, man cannot make of life what he has shrewd suspicions it was given to him that he might make of it. It is soon to end; and yet he knows that he has not been turning it to the right account; and, what is worse, he feels that even yet he cannot do so. Go then it must, and he can make nothing to his satisfaction out of it. II. CHRISTIANITY THE ANTIDOTE OF HUMAN VANITY. 1. It brings redemption by the Son of God. 2. It brings regeneration by the Spirit of God. 3. It gives faith in God. 4. It opens up the glorious spiritual world to view, and intercourse, and hope. ( H. Angus. ) Man David Thomas, D. D. : — I. AN INTELLECTUAL PROBLEM. 1. What is man in his constitution?(1) What is he corporeally? Medical science, from the beginning, has concerned itself with this question, and, as yet, has reached no satisfactory solution.(2) What is he mentally? Psychology has pondered on this question for ages, and has not, up to the present hour, reached a satisfactory explanation.(3) What is he morally? Ethical science has employed its most earnest efforts in order to find out whether man is a moral being or not, and, if he is, what are his distinguishing faculties, and what his ultimate destiny. 2. What is man in his relations? His relations to the material and the spiritual, the human and the Divine. 3. What is man in his character? Has he fallen from a higher type of character, or is he gradually rising out of a lower? Is his moral character a progressive evolution? Here is the problem, "What is man?" "Truly," says Sir Thomas Browne, "the whole creation is a mystery, and particularly that of man." "Man," says Carlyle, "stands in the centre of nature, his fraction of time encircled by eternity, his hand-breadth of space encircled by infinitude." II. A RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT. 1. The exclamation assumes that the Almighty does take special notice of man. The shepherd is interested in his one lost sheep. The housewife in her one lost piece of silver. The father in his one lost son. 2. The exclamation breathes the spirit of amazement at this. It is so contrary to what might antecedently have been expected, so contrary to what a guilty conscience would have foreboded. ( David Thomas, D. D. ) Worthless man much regarded by the mighty God : — I. SCRIPTURAL SOLUTION OF THE QUESTION. 1. As a creature of God, man is — (1) A piece of modified dust, enlivened with the breath of God ( Genesis 2:7 ; 1 Corinthians 15:47 ). (2) A potter's vessel, that is easily dashed and broken ( Psalm 2:9 ; Romans 9:21 ). (3) Grass ( Isaiah 40:6-8 ). (4) The drop of a bucket, etc. ( Isaiah 40:15 ). (5) Nothing, and less than nothing ( Isaiah 40:17 ). 2. As a fallen creature, man is — (1) Diseased, overrun with a loathsome leprosy from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot: the disease of sin has invaded the very vitals, insomuch that the very mind and conscience is defiled and wasted, etc. (2) Ugly and loathsome ( Job 15:16 ). (3) Impotent and helpless. (4) Rebellious. (5) Condemned. (6) Noxious and hurtful. (7) Noisome. (8) Dead ( Ephesians 2:1 ) II. WHAT IS IMPORTED IN GOD'S REGARDING MAN, OR MAKING ACCOUNT OF HIM. 1. That he is yet not beyond God's notice and observation. 2. That the regard God shows unto man does not flow from anything in himself. 3. That it is the fruit of His own free grace and sovereign will and pleasure. 4. That God has no need of man. 5. That God's mercy and love unto man, and the son of man, is of a preventing nature: man is not seeking after God when He takes knowledge of him in a way of mercy. 6. That whatever man be, however despicable, low, and inconsiderable, yet God treats him as if he were some great and considerable person. Hence He is said to magnify him ( Job 7:17 ). III. WHEREIN DOTH GOD DISCOVER HIS REGARD UNTO MAN? 1. Take a short view of the regard that God shows in common unto all men.(1) Observe what regard God showed unto man, that petty, poor creature, at his creation.(2) Consider the regard God shows unto man in the course of His common providence, and that notwithstanding his apostasy.(a) Although we be all transgressors from the very womb, yet He continues a succession of men upon the earth.(b) See the wonderful care that God has in and about the formation of man in the womb.(c) Whenever man is brought into the world, although he is the most helpless creature in himself, yet He has provided the best of help to cherish and preserve him. 2. Take a view of the good of His chosen. (1) Before time. (2) In time. (3) After time ends, in eternity ( 1 Corinthians 2:9 ). IV. SHOW THAT THIS IS TRULY WONDERFUL AND SURPRISING. 1. It is surprising, if we consider God's infinite and amazing greatness and glory. 2. It is surprising, if we consider what man is, what a poor, inconsiderable, contemptible creature he is, both as a creature and as a sinner.3. It is surprising and wonderful, because it cannot be conceived or expressed; it runs beyond all thought and all words. V. APPLICATION. 1. See hence the folly of all such as are taken up in admiring any created excellency, either to be found in themselves, or others of the human raze, without running up to the fountain head, an infinite God, from whom all being, beauty, glory, and excellency doth flow. 2. See hence the horrid ingratitude of sinners in waging war against God, who is so good and so kind unto man. 3. See hence the way and method that God takes to "lead sinners to repentance": why, He just pursues them with His kindness, and draws them "with cords of a man, with bands of love; knowest thou not, O man, that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" 4. Is God so good and so kind to worm man? then see hence, what a reasonable command the first command of the law is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." 5. See hence the criminal nature of the sin of unbelief, which is a saying upon the matter, God is not to be trusted, notwithstanding all His kindness, pity, and love to man. 6. Is God so kind to man? worm, worthless many Is the regard that He shows to us so surprising and wonderful? then let us discover a regard to Him, and to everything that belongs to Him. (1) In His works of nature. (2) In His works of providence. (3) In His Christ. (4) In His Scriptures. (5) By attending His courts. ( E. Erskine. ) The Divine condescension E. Brown. : — I. THE GREAT BEING WHO REGARDS — JEHOVAH. 1. Infinitely blessed in Himself. (1) Independent. (2) All-sufficient. 2. He has dominion over all. 3. He is well acquainted with all our conduct. 4. He hates sin with an infinite hatred. II. THE OBJECT REGARDED — MAN. 1. A most mean object. 2. A most frail being. 3. Singularly poor. (1) Spiritually destitute. (2) Spiritually deep in debt. (3) Unable to escape his creditor. 4. Spiritually loath-some. 5. Full of malignity. III. THE NATURE OF THE REGARD SHOWN BY GOD TO MAN. God hath shown his love to man — 1. By assuming wonderfully gracious characters. David exclaimed, "Lord, what is man," etc., immediately after he had been surveying some of God's principal titles. "Blessed be the Lord my strength," etc. 2. By conceiving many kind thoughts about his welfare. 3. By uttering many gracious expressions to him and concerning him. 4. By acting a gracious part towards him. 5. By conferring favours upon him. 6. By what He has endured for him. ( E. Brown. ) A fourfold wonder C. Clayton, M. A. : — Consider man — I. IN A STATE OF NATURE. "Of few days, and full of trouble." "As soon as we are born, we go astray, speaking lies." "Lord, what is man?" An immortal creature, and yet his immortality uncared for! A corrupt creature, and yet no holiness sought! A blind creature, and yet no sight implored! A redeemed creature, and yet that redemption slighted and forgotten! II. IN A STATE OF GRACE. "Old things have passed away." Old habits, old associations, old acquaintances, no longer please. "All things have become new." The man has new motives, new desires, new feelings, and he delights in the society and friendship of new companions. III. IN A STATE OF TORMENT. "Man dieth; man wasteth away; he giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" The wicked will rise "to shame and everlasting contempt." IV. IN A STATE OF GLORY. "Whom He justifies, them He also glorifies." He gives grace, and He gives glory, and no good thing will He withhold from you, if you are only His children, washed in His blood, sanctified by His Spirit, and robed in His righteousness. ( C. Clayton, M. A. ) His days are as a shadow. Psalm 144:4 Human life a shadow The Christian Guardian. : — I. A SHADOW IS COMPOUNDED OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS; for when no object intercepts the light of the sun, or when the light of the sun is withdrawn, no shadow is produced. In like manner, the state of man in the present world is made up of joy and sorrow; while, as in the emblem, the latter greatly preponderates. II. A SHADOW SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING, WHEN IN REALITY IT IS NOTHING. If you grasp it, you prove its emptiness. The pleasures, riches, and honours of the present world seem important to the eye of the carnal mind when viewed at a little distance; they attract attention, excite desire, and are eagerly pursued. But when, the object being attained, they are closely examined, how empty and unsatisfactory do they prove! III. A SHADOW IS THE SUBJECT OF CONTINUAL CHANGES, TILL AT LENGTH IT FINALLY AND SUDDENLY CEASES. In the morning, when the sun first rises above the horizon, it is weak and extended to a great length. Towards noon it gains strength, and is contracted in its dimensions. From thence to sunset it gradually becomes less distinct, and at last suddenly and wholly disappears. Man, survey in this emblem thy life l How lively and affecting the description! (Cf. Job 14:1, 2 ; James 4:14 ). IV. A. SHADOW CANNOT EXIST LONGER THAN THE SUN'S CONTINUANCE ABOVE THE HORIZON, AND IS EVERY MOMENT LIABLE TO ANNIHILATION BY THE INTERVENTION OF A CLOUD. In like manner, human life generally lasts but threescore years and ten, or four-score years; and may, by a sudden accident or the power of disease, be much curtailed. V. A SHADOW, WHEN GONE, LEAVES NO TRACK OF ITS EXISTENCE BEHIND. This also is the case with the riches, pleasures, and honours of the world. This world is no further substantial, or of importance, than as it stands connected with the next. ( The Christian Guardian. ) Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Psalm 144:5 The kindling of the heart S. Baring Gould, M. A. : — It must be striking indeed to any one living in the neighbourhood of a chain of volcanoes to see those mountains which have long lain dormant suddenly tremble and throw up smoke. It must seem to them as though God laid His finger on the mountain peak, and called its hidden forces into activity, as the touch of a musician on the key of an instrument awakes a musical note. Some such scenes, transacted in the moral world, are quite as striking as those which occur in the material world. There are human natures which are cold and impassive, which become full of emotion and glow with heat at the touch of God. It was so at Pentecost. Before that day how faint-hearted, narrow-minded, short-visioned were the apostles. But how changed were they after the cloven tongues had rested on their heads. Fear was banished, their caution had disappeared, trampled down by their zeal, their understandings were illumined, their hearts burned with the fire of love, it was woe to them if they preached not the Gospel. "If He do but touch the mountains, they shall smoke." And now, what are we to learn from this? That there are times when God touches the heart, and the emotions are stirred. Perhaps the conscience is agitated by remorse for sin, perhaps with a sudden pang of sorrow for wasted opportunities, perhaps it quakes with fear of the judgments of God, perhaps there comes the flame of Divine love touching the heart, as a taper touches the wick of a candle, bidding it flame. And what then? If the feeling be allowed to be transient, if it be not followed up by an act of will, accepting the call, responding to grace, if it be followed by no resolutions, no struggle for amendment, — then it is the old story of Felix, and Agrippa, and Simon the Sorcerer over again. But, oh! if the touch of the finger of God calls up the long dormant will, if resolutions of amendment are formed, and a struggle be entered on which is to continue through life, then it is the old and beautiful story over again of Magdalen penitent and loving much, of Peter weeping and rising courageous to die for his Lord, of Saul the persecutor becoming Paul the preacher of righteousness, of John Boanerges transformed into the apostle of love. If ever your heart is stirred, at once turn the emotion to account, transform the feeling into practice. Then the feeling does not pass away for ever, it has left its trace, it has stirred your whole being, and has begun to transform your life. The whole mount of your heart will quake with the consciousness of sin, and your affections will smoke altogether as an offering of a sweet savour to God. ( S. Baring Gould, M. A. ) It is He that giveth salvation unto kings. Psalm 144:10 The care of Providence in defence of kings R. South, D. D. : — God in the government of the world exercises a peculiar and extraordinary providence over the persons and lives of princes. I. UPON WHAT ACCOUNT ANY ACT OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE MAY BE SAID TO BE PECULIAR AND EXTRAORDINARY. 1. When a thing falls out beside the common and usual operation of its proper cause. 2. When a thing falls out beside or contrary to the design of expert, politic, and shrewd persons, contriving or acting in it. 3. When a thing comes to pass visibly and apparently beyond the power of the cause immediately employed in it. II. HOW AND BY WHAT MEANS GOD DOES AFTER SUCH AN EXTRAORDINARY MANNER SAVE AND DELIVER PRINCES. 1. By endowing them with a more than ordinary sagacity and quickness of understanding above other men ( 1 Kings 4:29 ; Proverbs 20:8 ; Proverbs 25:5 ). 2. By giving them a singular courage and presence of mind in cases of difficulty and danger ( 1 Samuel 10:9 ; 1 Samuel 11:6 ). 3. By disposing of events and accidents in a strange concurrence for their advantage and preservation. 4. By wonderfully inclining the hearts and wills of men to a benign affection towards them ( 2 Samuel 19:14 ). 5. By rescuing them from unseen and unknown mischiefs prepared against them. 6. By imprinting a certain awe and dread of their persons and authority upon the minds of their subjects ( Daniel 5:12 ). 7. By disposing their hearts to such virtuous and pious courses as He has promised a blessing to; and by restraining them from those ways to which He has denounced a curse. And this is the greatest deliverance of all; as having a prospect upon the felicity of both worlds, and laying a foundation for all other deliverances. III. THE REASONS WHY PROVIDENCE IS SO MUCH CONCERNED IN THE SALVATION AND DELIVERANCE OF KINGS. 1. They are the greatest instruments in the hand of Providence to support government and civil society in the world. 2. They have the most powerful influence upon the concerns of religion, and the preservation of the Church, of all other persons whatsoever. IV. SOME USEFUL DEDUCTIONS. 1. The duty and behaviour of princes towards God. It shows them from whom, in their distress, they are to expect, and to whom, in their glory, they are to ascribe, all their deliverances. 2. Does not God by such a protecting providence over kings point out to us the sacredness of their persons? and command a reverence where tie Himself thinks fit to place an honour? Does not every extraordinary deliverance of a prince carry this inscription upon it in the brightest characters, "Touch not Mine anointed"? ( R. South, D. D. ) Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children. Psalm 144:11-15 A wise, patriotic prayer David Thomas, D. D. : — I. THE CULTIVATION OF MORAL WORTH AMONGST YOUNG PEOPLE IS OF VAST IMPORTANCE TO A STATE. The moral character which the patriot here desiderates for the young people of his country is presented in two ways. 1. By a moral contrast (ver. 11). 2. By a metaphorical description (ver. 12). (1) Growth. (2) Strength. (3) Beauty. II. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE MORAL WORTH OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE PHYSICAL PROSPERITY OF A COUNTRY. The patriot prays for the moral excellence of the young people, not merely for their own sake, but also for the sake of the prosperity of the state (vers. 13-15). 1. All the provisions necessary to the material happiness of mankind must come from the earth. All the food we require — vegetable and animal — and all the clothing we require, God has shut up in the earth, as in a chest, for our use. There in their rudimental elements are the corn and the cattle, the costumes to screen us from the scorching sun and protect us from the cold winds. 2. These provisions require for their development the suitable agency of man. It is for man to unlock the chest, to bring out the germs and to cultivate them into fruition. Even Paradise would not yield provisions without the tilling hand of Adam. 3. This suitable agency can only be guaranteed by the moral rectitude of the population. A high moral tone of character will stimulate the study of agricultural science, ensure industry, economy and temperance. Thus "godliness is profitable to all things." Thus, and thus only, can a state prosper (ver. 15). ( David Thomas, D. D. ) That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth. Moral reform essential to national prosperity J. P. Smith, D. D. : — I. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL PROSPERITY? 1. Independence. 2. Competent affluence. 3. Sufficient and suitable means of employment for all classes. 4. Freedom. 5. Good laws, well administered. 6. Peace — internal and external. 7. A government and magistrates of a good and excellent kind. 8. A revenue competent to all the purposes of a wise and righteous government. II. THESE ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS CANNOT BE OBTAINED OR PRESERVED EXCEPT BY THE INFLUENCE OF TRUE RELIGION. 1. The nature and tendency of what is opposed to religion. (1) Selfishness, which makes the heart hard. (2) Indolence and improvidence. (3) Intemperance. (4) Impurity. (5) Disregard to God. 2. True religion produces all those qualities which are the immediate spring and cause of prosperity and happiness. (1) A regard for God. (2) Thoughtfulness. (3) Truth. (4) A deep sense of the value of time, and the end of human existence. (5) Industry and diligence. 6. Attention to duty. 7. Temperance, chastity, etc. ( J. P. Smith, D. D. ) Ideal youthhood: T. Baron. I. ITS ELEMENTS. 1. Strength. (1) Moral. (2) Intellectual. (3) Physical. 2. Beauty. Not veneered impotency, but polished power. 3. Religiousness. All must be inspired by the Divine. 4. Usefulness. No indolent living for oneself, but a self-sacrificing devotion to the good of others. II. ITS REALIZATION. Three things necessary. 1. Original capacity. (1) Religious instincts. (2) Moral capabilities. (3) Intellectual faculties. (4) Physical powers. 2. Appropriate culture. (1) Based on a radical moral change. (2) Suited to the varied constituents of our being.Our religious nature must be cultured, by forming us to habits of worship. Our moral nature must be cultured, by forming us to habits of truthfulness, purity, honesty, and love. Our intellectual nature must be cultured, by forming us to habits of study. The mind must be disciplined and stored with useful knowledge. Our physical nature must be cultured, by forming us to habits of health. Suitable food, pure air, due exercise, and avoidance of sensual indulgence. 3. Voluntary co-operation. (1) Realize the true object of life. Why are you here? Why are you to be cultured? (2) Make the most of your opportunities. Yours, as English-born in this century, are very great. See that they are eagerly seized and diligently used. (3) Be actuated by the highest motives. Not selfish, but benevolent and pious motives wilt lead you on to ideal youthhood and ideal manhood. ( T. Baron. ) The ideal young man and young woman G. Calthrop, M. A. : — 1. The young man is compared to a tree which is, of course, not inside the house, but out in the open; not sheltered within the walls, but exposed to all the vicissitudes of the atmosphere and to changes of climate. He has gone forth to battle with the forces of the world, and to do his work in it. Firmly rooted in the ground, he grows up (as the psalm says) "in his youth." He throws out his faculties and powers freely in every direction. The rough winds of life blow around him, but he wrestles with them, and heeds them not: indeed, the blast of difficulty only serves to fix him more deeply in the soil, and contributes to his courage and his strength. He grows upward: there is nothing interposing itself between him and heaven itself — no overhanging vice, no deadening sin or stiffing worldliness, to stunt and dwarf his development. He expands because he reaches out towards the sky. What a graphic picture of the ideal Christian gentleman in the prime vigour of his youth! with nothing squalid, or mean, or miserable, or petty, or unclean, or false about him; but with all his thoughts pure, and all his aims noble, and all his tendencies in the right direction: his life an example and a blessing, a help and a strength to those who come in contact with him. 2. Now turn to the other side and observe the contrast. Here we have something in the house, and not outside of it. It is not a tree: it is a graceful column. It is not intended for rough contact with the crowd. It is rather the ornament and the blessing of the house itself. And it is sculptured into forms of exquisite beauty. You will observe that no clumsy workman has been engaged in producing it, but that, although it may be intended for an ordinary household, it is hewn and fashioned in such a way as to be fit for a palace. The daughter — that is, the young woman here depicted — is spoken of as a column. Not characterized, as some columns are, by sturdy, massive strength, but rather marked by gracefulness; rather a slender-shafted column than anything else, she is yet no mere piece of ornamentation, but does her part in the sustaining and upholding of the household. If a girl cannot go out into the world and labour, so as to be able to contribute by her earnings to the maintenance of the family (and few can do that), at least there are many conceivable ways in which she may contrive to lighten the burden laid upon the shoulders of her parents. Parents grow old; and what in their younger days was easily borne becomes (occasionally, at least) irksome, and sometimes almost intolerable, to their failing strength and their clouded faculties. Or sickness comes into the household, and calls for patient nursing. Or little brothers and sisters require management, and perhaps teaching. Or it may be a blight falls upon the family prosperity; and then there must be a curtailing of accustomed comforts, and a necessary taking up of somewhat uncongenial occupations. But the imagery points net only, I think, to the work done, but also to the manner in which it is done. A pillar may support a rock, or help to support it, and yet be a coarse and clumsy sort of affair after all. It may be rough, instead of being polished. But this pillar spoken of by the psalmist is polished; and not only polished, but adorned with lovely sculptures. And there it stands before us, in its quiet gracefulness and beauty, a most engaging and most attractive object. Now, what is meant by this? External accomplishment? Well, yes, perhaps — nay, probably yes — the grace of a self-possessed and ladylike manner, the charm of a cultivated taste, of a musical voice, of a pure style — all the advantages, in fact

Benson Commentary Psalm 144:1 A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: Psalm 144:1-2 . Blessed be the Lord my strength — On whom I rely, and from whom I have power to withstand and subdue my enemies, and to perform the duties of my place and station; who teacheth my hands to war, &c. — Who gives me that skill in military affairs, and that dexterity in the management of my weapons, which is much above my education and former course of life; my goodness — Or, my mercy, or the God of my mercy, as God is called, Psalm 59:10 ; Psalm 59:17 . He who is exceedingly good or merciful to me, as goodness itself; who subdueth the people under me — Who disposes my people’s hearts to receive and obey me as their king. “What David here acknowledges, with regard to his victories, and that skill or might by which they were obtained, should be likewise acknowledged by all earthly kings and generals in the day of battle and conquest.” Psalm 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. Psalm 144:3 LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! Psalm 144:3-4 . Lord, what is man — He magnifies and illustrates God’s goodness to him, by the consideration of his own meanness. Though I am a king over my people, yet, alas, I am but a man, a base, sinful; and mortal creature; if compared with thee, less than nothing and vanity; that thou takest knowledge of him — That thou so much as takest notice, or makest any account of him, especially that thou hast any care over, or kindness for him; or the son of man, &c. — The same thing repeated in other words: see on Psalm 8:4 ; Job 7:17-18 . Man — In his nature and continuance in the world; is like to vanity — Or, to a vapour, or a breath, as Isaiah 57:13 , which is gone in an instant. His days are as a shadow that passeth away — That declineth, as Psalm 102:11 ; Psalm 109:23 , (where see the notes,) or “that glides over the earth, vanishes, and is seen no more. Such was human nature; but the Son of God hath taken it upon himself, rendered it immortal, and exalted it to heaven; whither all will follow him hereafter who follow him now in the paths of righteousness and holiness. It is justly observed here by Dr. Horne, (as had been suggested by Dr. Hammond,) that, “if David, upon the remembrance of what God had done for him, could break forth into this reflection, much more may we do so, for whom the Redeemer hath been manifested in the form of a servant, and in that form hath humbled himself to the death of the cross, to gain the victory over principalities and powers, to put all things under our feet, and to make us partakers of his everlasting kingdom. Lord, what, indeed, is man, or what is the son of such a miserable creature, that thou shouldst take this knowledge, and make this account of him!” Psalm 144:4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. Psalm 144:5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Psalm 144:5-8 . Bow thy heavens and come down — To help me before it be too late, remembering what a frail and perishing creature I am. “David having celebrated his victories over some of his enemies, and extolled the mercy and goodness of God, to whom he ascribed the achievement of them, now proceeds to request a further manifestation of the omnipotent arm in his favour against other hostile forces, which still threatened his country upon his accession to the throne.” Touch the mountains and they shall smoke — As Sinai did at thy glorious appearance, Exodus 19:18 . This is a figurative and poetical description of God’s coming to take vengeance on his enemies, which is continued in the next verse. The images used are taken from the promulgation of the law on Sinai. Cast forth lightning and scatter them — Namely, the enemies of David and Judah, such as the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and Syrians: see 2 Samuel 5:8 . Shoot out thine arrows — Thy thunderbolts, or lightnings, as before; and destroy them — Totally: for these weapons of thine are irresistible. Send thy hand — Thy power; from above — For from thence we look for help; deliver me out of great waters — Which are ready to overflow me, namely, the multitude of enemies, which assault me on all sides; from the hand of strange children — Either of the heathen nations, or of the rebellious Israelites. Whose mouth speaketh vanity — Empty boasts, or vain threatenings which come to nothing; or false and deceitful promises and professions of friendship, which they cannot, or do not, make good; and their right hand, a right hand of falsehood — “For, with that hand, as with a pledge, they confirmed the treaties of peace, and leagues of friendship made with Israel, all which they had perfidiously broken. Lifting up the hand was the usual ceremony at the taking of an oath, Genesis 14:22 . So that this clause seems to be a repetition of the sense contained in the former: agreeably to which the Chaldee interprets the former part of the verse to mean a false oath; and the Arabic renders the latter part thus; and their oath is an oath of iniquity.” — Dodd. Psalm 144:6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them. Psalm 144:7 Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; Psalm 144:8 Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. Psalm 144:9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. Psalm 144:9-10 . I will sing a new song unto thee — When thou hast granted this my request, Psalm 144:7-8 , which I know assuredly thou wilt do. He giveth salvation to kings — Who are not preserved by their own power or prudence, but by God’s special providence, which, for the public good of the world, watcheth over them. Psalm 144:10 It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. Psalm 144:11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: Psalm 144:11-14 . Rid me, and deliver me, &c. — “Prayer is again made for a continuance of God’s favour, and a complete victory over every enemy; the happy consequences of which, in the establishment of Israel and the prosperity of Jerusalem, are described.” That our sons, &c. — This mercy I ask not only for my own sake, but for the sake of thy people, that thine and our enemies being subdued, and peace established in the land, thy people may enjoy those blessings which thou hast promised them. That our sons — Who are the strength, safety, and hopes of our nation; may be as plants — Flourishing and thriving, and growing in strength and stature, as plants do in their youth; that our daughters — Upon whom the hope of posterity depends; may be as corner-stones, &c. — Strong and beautiful, and adorned with all the ornaments belonging to their sex. That our garners may be full — That our storehouses may be well replenished with the fruits and products of the earth. That our sheep may bring forth thousands, &c., in our streets — So that they may fill our streets, being brought in great numbers to our towns and cities to furnish meat for the inhabitants. Or, in our folds, or stables, as the Chaldee, Dr. Waterland, and others, render ???????? , or, as the LXX. translate the word, ?? ???? ??????? ????? , in their outlets, out-goings, or walks; that is, in the fields where they abide. That our oxen may be strong to labour — The oxen are not described by number, as the sheep, but very properly by their firmness and usefulness for tillage; Hebrew, ?????? , portare facti, formed to bear, namely, the yoke. Some, indeed, interpret the expression, laden, burdened, with flesh and fat. But the former seems the more probable sense of the word. That there be no breaking in — Namely, of enemies, invading our land, or assaulting our cities, and making breaches in our walls; nor going out — Namely, of our people, either out of the towns and cities to fight with an invading enemy, or out of the land into captivity. No complaining — Hebrew, ???? , no outcry, or howling, or lamentation on account of any sad tidings, or public calamities, or grievances; in our streets — ???????? , a very different word from that rendered streets in the preceding verse. This properly means the broad, spacious ways of cities and towns, but the former word out-places, as out-buildings, folds, or fields. Kimchi observes of these verses, that all those three blessings, namely, of the womb, of the earth, and of cattle, which are mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:4 , are specified here. Psalm 144:12 That 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: Psalm 144:13 That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: Psalm 144:14 That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. Psalm 144:15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea , happy is that people, whose God is the LORD. Psalm 144:15 . Happy is that people that is in such a case — The fathers, with many others, have supposed these wishes for sons, daughters, corn, sheep, oxen, &c., to be uttered by the strange children, the aliens and idolaters, mentioned Psalm 144:11 , but there is no reason for such a supposition. The good things of this world were promised to Israel of old, on condition of their obedience, and were bestowed on them while they observed God’s laws. And national piety and virtue are generally followed by national prosperity; for nations, as such, in their national capacity, are only capable of rewards and punishments in this life. And secular prosperity may fall, and sometimes does fall, to the lot of the righteous, “who are distinguished from the wicked by the use which they make of temporal blessings, when given, and by their meek resignation of them, when taken away. Whatever be the will of God concerning our having or wanting these outward comforts, we know that we have, as the faithful servants of God have had in every age before us, greater and more precious promises, a better and an enduring substance, pleasures that fade not, and riches that fly not away, reserved for us in a heavenly country, and a city that hath foundations.” — Horne. Hence the psalmist corrects the former clause of the verse by adding, Happy is that people whose God is the Lord — As if he had said, It is desirable to have temporal prosperity, but the true and chief happiness of God’s people doth not consist therein, nor in any thing common to them with the people of the world, but in this peculiar privilege, that the living, true, and blessed God is their God by covenant and special relation, and that they enjoy his favour, love, and grace, according to the tenor of the covenant, though they may not have abundance of this world’s goods, but may be in a state of great poverty, reproach, and affliction. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 144:1 A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: Psalm 144:1-15 THE force of compilation could no further go than in this psalm, which is, in the first eleven verses ( Psalm 144:1-11 )simply a rechauffe of known psalms, and in Psalm 144:12-15 is most probably an extract from an unknown one of later date. The junctions are not effected with much skill, and the last is tacked on very awkwardly ( Psalm 144:12 ). It is completely unlike the former part, inasmuch as there the speaker is a warlike king praying for victory, while in the latter the nation sings of the tranquil blessings of peaceful expansion. The language of the later portion is full of late forms and obscurities. But the compiler’s course of thought is traceable. He begins by praising Jehovah, who has taught him warlike skill; then adoringly thinks of his own weakness, made strong by God’s condescending regard; next prays for complete victory, and vows fresh praises for new mercies; and closes with a picture of the prosperity which follows conquest, and is secured to Israel because Jehovah is its God. Psalm 144:1-2 are echoes of Psalm 18:2 ; Psalm 18:34 ; Psalm 18:46 , with slight variations. The remarkable epithet "My lovingkindness" offends some critics, who emend so as to read "My stronghold"; but it has a parallel in Jonah 2:9 , and is forcible as an emotional abbreviation of the fuller "God of my lovingkindness". { Psalm 59:10 } The original passage reads "people," which is the only appropriate word in this connection, and should probably be read in Psalm 144:2 c. Psalm 8:1-9 supplies the original of Psalm 144:3-4 , with a reminiscence of Psalm 39:5 , and of Psalm 102:11 , from which comes the pathetic image of the fleeting shadow. The link between this and the former extract seems to be the recognition of God’s condescension in strengthening so weak and transient a creature for conflict and conquest. The following prayer for further Divine help in further struggles is largely borrowed from the magnificent picture of a theophany in Psalm 18:9 ; Psalm 18:14-16 . The energetic "Lighten lightning" is peculiar to this psalm, as is the use of the word for "Pluck out." The description of the enemies as "sons of the alien" is like Psalm 18:44-45 . As in many other psalms, the treachery of the foe is signalised. They break their oaths. The right hand which they had lifted in swearing is a lying hand. The vow of new praise recalls Psalm 33:2-3 ; Psalm 96:1 ; Psalm 98:1 . Psalm 144:10 is a reproduction of Psalm 18:50 . The mention of David’s deliverance from the "evil sword" has apparently been the reason for the LXX referring the psalm to the victory over Goliath an impossible view. The new song is not here sung; but the psalm drops from the level of praise to renew the petition for deliverance, in the manner of a refrain caught up in Psalm 144:11 from Psalm 144:7 . This might make a well-rounded close, and may have originally been the end of the psalm. The appended fragment ( Psalm 144:12-15 ) is attached to the preceding in a most embarrassing fashion. The first word of Psalm 144:12 is the sign of the relative. The LXX accordingly translates "Whose sons are," etc ., and understands the whole as a description of the prosperity of the enemies, which view necessarily involves the alteration of "our" into "their" in the following clauses. Others supply an antecedent to the relative by inserting save us or the like expression at the beginning of the verse. Others, again- e.g. , Ewald, followed by Perowne-connect the relative with Psalm 144:15 : "We whose sons are," etc "Happy is the people," etc. Delitzsch takes the relative to signify here "because," and compares Jdg 9:17 ; Jeremiah 16:13 . The prosperity subsequently described would then be alleged as the occasion of the enemies’ envy. Others would slightly emend the text so as to read, "I pronounce happy," or "Happy are we." The latter, which makes all smooth, and corresponds with Psalm 144:15 , is Graetz’s proposal. The rendering of the A.V. "that" or "in order that," has much in its favour. The word which is the sign of the relative is a component of the full expression usually so rendered, and stands alone as equivalent to it in Deuteronomy 4:40 , Genesis 11:7 . It is true, as Delitzsch objects to this rendering that the following verbs are usually finite, while here they are participles; but that is not a fatal objection. The whole that follows would then be dependent on the petition of Psalm 144:11 , and would describe the purpose of the desired deliverance. "This is, in fact, the poet’s meaning. He prays for deliverance from enemies, in order that the happy condition pictured in Psalm 144:12 sqq. may come to pass" (Baethgen). On the whole, that rendering presents least difficulty, but in any case the seam is clumsy. The substance of the description includes three things-a vigorous, growing population, agricultural prosperity, and freedom from invasion. The language is obscure, especially in Psalm 144:14 , but the general drift is plain. The characteristic Jewish blessing of numerous offspring is first touched on in two figures, of which the former is forcible and obvious, and the latter obscure. The comparison of the virgin daughters of Israel to "corners" is best understood by taking the word to mean "corner pillars," not necessarily caryatides, as is usually supposed-an architectural decoration unknown in the East. The points of comparison would then be slender uprightness and firm grace. Delitzsch prefers to take the word as meaning cornices, such as, to the present day, are found in the angles of Eastern rooms, and are elaborately carved in mazy patterns and brightly coloured. He would also render "variegated" instead of "carved." But such a comparison puts too much stress on gay dresses, and too little on qualities corresponding to those of the "well-grown" youths in the former clause. The description of a flourishing rural community is full of difficult words. "Granaries" is found only here, and "kind" is a late word. "Fields" is the same word as is usually rendered "streets"; it literally means "places outside," and here obviously must refer to the open pastures without the city, in contrast to the "open spaces" within it, mentioned in the next verse. In that verse almost every word is doubtful. That rendered "kine" is masculine in form, but is generally taken as being applicable to both sexes, and here used for the milky mothers of the herd. The word translated above "heavy with young" means laden, and if the accompanying noun is masculine, must mean laden with the harvest sheaves; but the parallel of the increasing flocks suggests the other rendering. The remainder of Psalm 144:14 would in form make a complete verse, and it is possible that something has fallen out between the first clause and the two latter. These paint tranquil city life when enemies are far away. "No breach" -i.e., in the defences by which besiegers could enter; "No going forth" -i.e., sally of the besieged, as seems most probable, though going forth as captured or surrendering has been suggested; "No cry" -i.e., of assailants who have forced an entrance, and of defenders who make their last stand in the open places of the city. The last verse sums up all the preceding picture of growth, prosperity, and tranquillity, and traces it to the guardian care and blessing of Jehovah. The psalmist may seem to have been setting too much store by outward prosperity. His last word not only points to the one Source of it, but sets high above the material consequences of God’s favour, joyous as these are, that favour itself, as the climax of human blessedness. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.