Psalm 144, Part 1: God’s Strength in War

David’s early life was filled with war and strife.

For years David sought refuge in the wilderness while hunted by Saul.

Psalm 144 echoes Psalm 18, where he asserts, “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (vv. 1, 2).

Note the similar phrases: God is “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 144:2). “As a fugitive from Saul, David had often found the rocks of the mountains a refuge and strength. God was to him as the strength of the rocks, providing him protection and deliverance from his enemies. . . . He had lived so close to the eternal hills, the rocks had so long been his abode, they had come to form an intrinsic part of his life and existence. It became second nature for him to weave these figures from the natural world into the songs that poured from his heart. “. . . David had learned to place his faith and confidence in God. He knew that whatever man might do, God would never fail him. God was as sure as the rocks of the eternal hills. Man could place his complete trust in Him.” God is as a high tower or mountain stronghold. “In the wilds of the hills such a place was lofty, inaccessible, and safe from attack. . . . It provided warning of approaching danger and also was a point of vantage from which to repel attacks.” “To anyone not a man of war the figure of a shield [v. 2] would have little value or meaning. To David the shield had frequently meant life itself. He knew from the most vivid of personal experiences its supreme importance in some of the critical moments of life. . . . God had repeatedly saved him from the enemy of his soul. The figure is characteristic of David. His songs live and breathe the spirit of the warlike life that was his as a soldier accustomed to battle.” “A mighty fortress is our God, / A bulwark never failing.”