30 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 144 A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David; not on account of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, by a spirit of prophecy, as Theodoret; but on his own account, after he was come to the throne, and was king over all Israel; and was delivered from the was between him and Israel, and from the war...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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,...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
The four preceding psalms seem to have been penned by David before his accession to the crown, when he was persecuted by Saul; this seems to have been penned afterwards, when he was still in trouble (for there is no condition in this world privileged with an exemption from trouble), the neighbouring nations molesting him and giving him...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hand to war, and my fingers to fight: David does not ascribe any honour to himself. Human strength is from within, from the nerves, and sinews, and muscles, but the believer’s strength is from without: “Blessed be Jehovah my strength.” Now, if Jehovah be our strength, then nothing can be too...
Spurgeon - Treasury of David - Charles H. Spurgeon
Ver. 1. 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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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 59:10; who is all...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; Here are six names, or rather, five titles of God, and then an inference from them: “He in whom I trust.” Oh! I know, ye people of God, you can say of Jehovah, “He is the One in whom I trust.” Rely upon anyone else, and your hopes are doomed to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Lord, what [is] man, that thou takest knowledge of him?.... 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...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! Have you not often felt like this? You have said, “Lord, how couldst thou have bestowed such favors upon me, so utterly unworthy, so insignificant, so unknown, so worthless? “What is man, that thou takest knowledge of him!”
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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" (h) of the mouth, as Kimchi; which is gone as soon as seen almost: or, to a vapour (i); to which the life of man is compared, James 4:14; his days [are] as a shadow that passeth away; as the former denotes the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. You know that a shadow is nothing; it is rather the absence of something than anything in itself. Shadow is the absence of light; and what is man but, as it were, the absence of light, the absence of anything that is substantial? He is but the fleeting shadow of some earthly...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Bow thy 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...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. God did but set one foot upon Mount Sinai, and it became altogether on a smoke. “The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord.” Well, believer, you have many mountains; but you can ask God to “touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.” No matter what the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them,.... The mountains, the kings and kingdoms of the earth; the enemies of David, and of Christ, and of his people; particularly the Jews, who have been scattered all over the earth by the judgments of God upon them; cast forth like lightning, which is swift, piercing, penetrating, and destructive; shoot out...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them. Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; Moses, you know, was called “one drawn out of the water”, so are all Gods people, they are drawn out of floods of tribulation. They are surrounded by those...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Send thine hand from above,.... From the high heavens, as the Targum; that is, exert and display thy power in my deliverance, and in the destruction of my enemies; as follows: rid me, and deliver me out of great waters; out of great afflictions, which, for quantity and quality, are like many waters, overflowing and overwhelming; see Isaiah 43:2;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Whose mouth speaketh vanity,.... Vain words, lies, flatteries, and deceit, Psalms 12:2; when they speak loftily of themselves, and contemptuously of others; when they deliver out threatenings against some, and make fair promises to others; it is all vanity, and comes to nothing; and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood; their strength...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. They swear, but they perjure themselves; they lift up the right hand, but they lie all the while. Rid me, O God, from such men; for, of all enemies, those that can lie are the worst, for you never know where you are with such people. Snakes in the grass are the most...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I will sing a new song unto thee, O God,.... The author of his being, the Father of mercies, temporal and spiritual, and therefore to him praise is always due; a new song of praise is to be sung for new mercies; and as these are new every morning, and are renewed day by day, new songs should be sung continually: or this is a song suited to New...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of...