Psalms 144:9 - Meaning and Application

The way David speaks in this part of the psalm is the same as before. He first gives glory to God, then asks God for mercy. In the middle of his complaints about the strength and deceit of his enemies, he suddenly breaks into holy joy in God: “I will sing a new song to you, O God.” He praises God for fresh mercies, for those compassions that are new every morning. New kindnesses deserve new thanks. We should praise God not only for mercy already received, but also for mercy we expect because he has promised it (2 Chronicles 20:20-21).

David says he will praise God with music as well as with words. He will sing to God with a harp or lyre of ten strings, using the best means he has to honor God. In his mind, nothing is too much when it comes to praising the Lord. He then tells us the content of this new song: “It is he who gives salvation to kings” (Psalm 144:10). This means, first, that even great kings cannot save themselves apart from God. Kings may have bodyguards, armies, and every human means of protection, but in the end God gives them safety through those means, and he could protect them without them if he chose (Psalm 33:16). Kings are protectors of their people, but God is their protector.

This also means that good kings, who serve God and seek the good of their people, will be preserved by him. God has promised to give salvation to those kings who are his servants and rule for him. David had seen this many times, when God rescued him from the deadly sword, even though Saul’s hatred and David’s own public duty often put him in danger. This may also point to Christ, the Son of David, and then it becomes a new song in a special sense, a New Testament song. God delivered Christ from the deadly sword, upheld him as his servant, and brought him through victory over all the powers of darkness (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 49:8). God gave him salvation, not for himself alone, but for us, by raising him up as a horn of salvation.

David then prays that God’s favor would continue. He asks first for deliverance from public enemies (Psalm 144:11). He repeats the prayer and the reason he had already given, because these enemies were still the same in character, false and treacherous. Such people would outwit an honest man if they could, and they would be too strong for him. So he asks God to rescue him from them because they are a strange and wicked sort of people.

He also asks for public peace and prosperity. He wants victory, so the people may have quietness, since they cannot have peace while their enemies can still do them harm. As a king, David shows a strong desire for the well-being of his people, and in this he was a type of Christ, who truly provides for the good of his chosen people. David then names the blessings he wants for the nation. He wants their sons and daughters to be healthy, promising, and well ordered (Psalm 144:12). He is speaking not only of his own family, but of the children of the whole people, the next generation.

It is a great comfort to parents in this life to see their children likely to do well. It is pleasant to see sons like young plants, growing strong in their youth, like olive trees planted by the Lord (Psalm 128:1-6; Isaiah 61:3). They should be plants, not weeds or thorns. They should be growing, not withering. They should have sound health, quick minds, willing hearts, and above all a desire for godliness, so they may bear fruit for God in their time. It is just as desirable to see daughters like corner-stones or corner-pillars, polished to resemble a palace or temple. Daughters help hold families together, like the stones that bind a building. When they are graceful and wise, firm in character, united to Christ by faith, and adorned with the graces of the Spirit, then they are like polished stones in a beautiful building.

David also asks for great plenty. Large families bring more need, and that means more concern if there is not enough to support them. So he asks for storehouses full of grain and other produce, like the good householder who brings out treasures both old and new. He wants enough for his own house and for friends, enough to live well without wasting what God gives, enough to be thankful, generous, and ready to help the poor. If that is missing, what good is it to have full storehouses? He also asks that the flocks would increase greatly, with thousands and ten thousands in the fields. In those days, much of a nation’s wealth lay in its livestock, and the increase of animals is a blessing that should be credited to God. He further asks that the oxen be strong for labor, fit for the plow and other work. We were not made to be idle, so we should pray for bodily health, not merely to live comfortably, but to be strong for useful labor. Otherwise, we are worse than the beasts, since their strength is for work.

Finally, David asks for unbroken peace. He wants no war, no enemy invasions, and no forced campaigns. He asks that enemies not break in on them and that they not need to march out against them. War brings many troubles, whether a nation is attacking or defending itself.

Second, that there be no oppression or division, and no complaining in our streets. The people should have no reason to complain about their rulers or about one another, and they should not be so quick to grumble without cause. It is a good thing to live in peaceful homes and settled communities.

The psalmist then reflects on this picture of national prosperity, which he longed for so much (Psalm 144:15). “Happy are the people who are in such a state,” he says, but he adds, “it is seldom so, and never for long.” Then he goes farther: “Yes, happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” That means one of two things.

First, this relationship with God is the source of all these blessings. Israel would be happy if it stayed faithful to the Lord as its God, because then it could expect to be in such a blessed state. National faithfulness usually brings national well-being, because nations, as nations, receive their rewards and punishments in this life.

Second, this is far better than every outward comfort. The psalmist begins the way most people do, by saying, “Happy are the people who are in such a state,” since those who prosper in the world seem blessed. But he quickly corrects himself: “Yes, more truly, happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” They have his favor, his love, and his grace, according to the terms of the covenant, even if they do not have much of this world’s goods.

All these outward blessings, and even much more, cannot make us truly happy unless the Lord is our God. But if he is our God, then the lack of these things, the loss of them, or even their opposite, cannot make us miserable.