¹Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. ²My lovingkindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me … ¹⁵How blessed are the people who are so situated; how blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Mutual blessing characterizes this psalm; it begins by blessing God and ends by describing the blessedness experienced by His people when they are rightly related to Him. When we bless God, we give him the best thing we can offer Him: praise. David blesses God wholeheartedly, acknowledging that humankind is utterly insignificant by comparison.  Having begun the psalm by addressing God as Yahweh (“Lord”), a name characterizing Him as the one who acts appropriately for His people whatever their need, the psalmist now urgently requests God to intervene dramatically on his behalf. While David’s need is hinted at in his descriptions of God and his past interventions, it is articulated more fully in verses 7 and 11. His life is being threatened by foreign armies invading Israel. Amid that predicament, David nonetheless sees himself as blessed because of who God is.

This man of God doesn’t just pray, “Lord, help me.” He understands that his military prowess comes from the Lord, who “trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle” (vs. 1). Yet, that training is not enough; he needs more direct divine help. David’s praise reveals his intimate knowledge of the Lord; it carries a nuanced understanding of the Lord’s character, as seen in the variety of epithets for God that he uses, all related to his need. In short, David aligns with the One he has come to know, the One called “Yahweh.” He models the commitment to exalt God in our circumstances by focusing on the Lord’s character. We can take his prayer as our own when confronted by assaults or detractors: God is with us as our “rock,” a solid ground on which to stand; He is our “lovingkindness” who ‘leans into’ us with His promises; He is our “fortress” protecting us from the attacks against us; He is our “stronghold” and “shield,” giving us strength to withstand threats against us; He is our “deliverer” who will rescue us, and our “refuge” in whom we can hide, fully protected. These characteristics of God assure us of answered prayer in the face of opposition.

Pondering the Lord’s greatness engenders a heightened awareness of our own insignificance and that of every human being. It is truly amazing that He would “take knowledge” of us (vs. 3-4). We are transitory, occupying a brief blip on the timeline of existence (“like a mere breath … passing shadow”). David confesses humbly that his standing with the Lord is not because of his own accomplishments, his position in society (as king of Israel), or his faithfulness to God. It is all about who God is!

After aligning his thoughts to the greatness of God and his own insignificance, David articulates his request (vss. 5-8, 11). He calls on theLord to act in ways reminiscent of the time when He gave the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai (vss. 5-6; see Exo. 20:16-18, Deut. 33:2). God used a frightening earthquake, smoke, and lightening (pictured as “arrows”) to emphasize His awesomeness and the importance of the Law giving. Now, David wants God to use the same shock and awe to scatter and confuse the invading army. He pictures them as flooding the land and prays, “Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hand of aliens” (vs. 7). When he writes of their lies and deceptions (vs. 8), it reminds us of the description Jesus gave of Satan—he is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Some might say the devil is the primal and supreme narcissist. As NT believers, we are reminded to put on the whole armor of God, and the first piece of armor mentioned is the belt of truth (Eph. 6:13-14)—every other piece of armor is attached to and depends on truth. David, here, zeroes in on the threat of one kind of deception, namely the treachery of an enemy extending a right hand, not of fellowship but of “falsehood.”

David moves on to promise that in the future, he will sing a new song of deliverance to God, with musical accompaniment of string instruments. The existence of this psalm in the biblical collection is evidence of the fulfillment of this promise. It was to be used as part of the Jewish liturgy in the Jerusalem temple and synagogues.

David does not let his dire predicament dominate his communication with God; instead, he focuses on asking for God’s blessing. He also turns from his own need to the greater need of Israel as a nation. Three verses, each beginning with “let,” outline his requests for God’s people. First, he asks that their succeeding generations would be strong and secure, both men and women (vs. 12). In the ancient world, a nation’s power and place in the world was measured to a large degree by the size and strength of its population. Second, David requests that the Lord would provide abundant food, namely full storehouses of grain (“garners”) and increased livestock (vs. 13). Cattle were not only a source of meat; they were also beasts of burden and, therefore, essential to labor and farming. He asks they not have mishaps of any kind (vs. 14).  

Even in his desperate need to be rescued from enemy marauders, David has the character and presence of mind to maintain the right spiritual priorities. He chooses to align his thoughts with what he knows of God’s character. He ultimately affirms that nothing can detract from the blessedness of being “the people whose God is the Lord!” (vs. 15).

 Lord, teach me more about the various aspects of Your character so I may see Your work more clearly in my times of need.