Read Psalm 144 at Bible Gateway.
1a) Psa 144:1a, Blessed be the Lord my Rock;
1b) Psa 144:1b-6, The battle;
1b Who trains my hands for war; {n}
1c And my fingers for battle—;
2a My lovingkindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer; {n}
2b My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me;
3 Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow;
5 Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke;
6 Flash forth lightning and scatter them; shoot out Your arrows and destroy them;
1c) Psa 144:7-8, Rescue me from strangers who speak lying words;
7 Stretch out Your hand from above; rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of foreigners;
8 Whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood;
central axis) Psa 144:9-10, Praise to God;
9 I will sing a new song to You, O God; 0n a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You;
10 The One who gives salvation to kings, who delivers David His servant from the deadly sword;
2c) Psa 144:11, Rescue me from strangers who speak lying words;
11a Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners; {n}
11b Whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—;
2b) Psa 144:12-14, The peace in the aftermath of victory;
12a That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; {n}
12b That our daughters may be as pillars, sculptured in palace style;
13a That our barns may be full, supplying all manner of store; {n}
13b That our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
14 That our oxen may be well laden; that there be no breaking in or going out; that there be no outcry in our streets;
2a) Psa 144:15, Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! {p}
The A pair: the Hebrew word is “blessed” in both instances: Blessed be the Lord / Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
The B pair: The battle we wage against falsehood is a spiritual battle, but not with carnal weapons; with the word of God which is mighty to pull down strongholds. As the 2B pair shows, even though battle is not pleasant, the rewards of victory are well worth it. The reference to daughters just means, may they be as beautiful as the most costly and elegant palace.
The C pair: The word translated “foreigners” in both instances is literally in Hebrew, “strange children,” nekar ben. I think the sense is, the children of strange or foreign gods, as the same word, nekar, is often used to mean strange or false gods.
The central axis: Notice that the praise is sung before the peaceful result of the 2B pair is manifest? Yes, it sung (present tense) even while the battle is still raging and before the victory is secure. But in faith the victory is secure, as God wins all His battles!
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