Psalms 144:10

Psa 144:10 [It is he] that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.

Ver. 10. It is he that giveth salvation (or victory) unto kings] Ferdinand, king of Arragon, sending his son against the Florentines, thus bespake him: Victoria mihi crede, non hominum disciplinis aut industria comparatur, sed Dei O.M. benignitate et arbitrio, Deum igitur imprimis cole, in eum confide, a quo tum victorias omnes tum optima quaeque provenire dubio procul est, &c.: Believe me, son, victories are not gotten by art or industry, but given of God (Val. Max. Christian., p. 516).

Who delivereth David his servant] All kings are God’s servants for the common good of mankind, saith Plutarch, but David by a specialty (Plut. προς ηγεμονα απαιδευτον).

From the hurtful sword] Of Goliath, saith the Chaldee, and of all his other enemies; for (as it was said of Queen Elizabeth) he swam to the crown through a sea of sorrows, and might rather marvel that he was, than muse that he should not be, were it not that God’s holy hand had protected him beyond expectation.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_144:10

It is He that giveth salvation unto kings.

The care of Providence in defence of kings

God in the government of the world exercises a peculiar and extraordinary providence over the persons and lives of princes.

I. Upon what account any act of Gods providence may be said to be peculiar and extraordinary.

1. When a thing falls out beside the common and usual operation of its proper cause.

2. When a thing falls out beside or contrary to the design of expert, politic, and shrewd persons, contriving or acting in it.

3. When a thing comes to pass visibly and apparently beyond the power of the cause immediately employed in it.

II. How and by what means God does after such an extraordinary manner save and deliver princes.

1. By endowing them with a more than ordinary sagacity and quickness of understanding above other men (1Ki_4:29; Pro_20:8; Pro_25:5).

2. By giving them a singular courage and presence of mind in cases of difficulty and danger (1Sa_10:9; 1Sa_11:6).

3. By disposing of events and accidents in a strange concurrence for their advantage and preservation.

4. By wonderfully inclining the hearts and wills of men to a benign affection towards them (2Sa_19:14).

5. By rescuing them from unseen and unknown mischiefs prepared against them.

6. By imprinting a certain awe and dread of their persons and authority upon the minds of their subjects (Dan_5:12).

7. By disposing their hearts to such virtuous and pious courses as He has promised a blessing to; and by restraining them from those ways to which He has denounced a curse. And this is the greatest deliverance of all; as having a prospect upon the felicity of both worlds, and laying a foundation for all other deliverances.

III. The reasons why Providence is so much concerned in the salvation and deliverance of kings.

1. They are the greatest instruments in the hand of Providence to support government and civil society in the world.

2. They have the most powerful influence upon the concerns of religion, and the preservation of the Church, of all other persons whatsoever.

IV. Some useful deductions.

1. The duty and behaviour of princes towards God. It shows them from whom, in their distress, they are to expect, and to whom, in their glory, they are to ascribe, all their deliverances.

2. Does not God by such a protecting providence over kings point out to us the sacredness of their persons? and command a reverence where tie Himself thinks fit to place an honour? Does not every extraordinary deliverance of a prince carry this inscription upon it in the brightest characters, Touch not Mine anointed? (R. South, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. (Psa 144:10) The (one) giving salvation to kings; the (one) ridding David his servant from an evil sword. This mode of connecting sentences, by a participle agreeing with a noun in the foregoing context, is a characteristic feature of Psalms 18. The kings particularly meant are the theocratical sovereigns, the royal family of David. Ridding, the participle of the verb so rendered in Psa 144:7. David (as) his servant, because he is his servant, in the sense repeatedly explained already. See above, on Psa 143:2; Psa 143:12. David speaks of himself by name, not only here but in Psa 18:50; Psa 61:6; Psa 63:11, 2Sa 7:26. An evil sword, not only dangerous but wicked. Compare Psa 22:20).

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Though wicked kings be called God’s servants, as Cyrus, Isa. 45:1, forasmuch as he useth them to execute his judgments: yet David because of God’s promise, and they that rule godly, are properly so called, because they serve not their own affections, but set forth God’s glory.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 10. He that giveth salvation unto kings] Monarchy, in the principle, is from God: it is that form of government which, in the course of the Divine providence, has principally prevailed; and that which, on the whole, has been most beneficial to mankind. God, therefore, has it under his peculiar protection. It is by him that kings reign; and by his special providence they are protected.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) David his servant.—See Psa_18:50.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. Cp. Psa_18:50. Who giveth salvation (or victory) unto kings may be meant as a general truth not to be limited to Israel only (cp. Psa_33:16), and David his servant may denote the typical ruler of Jehovah’s people (cp. Eze_34:23); or the reference may be historical, who gave victory … who rescued David.

the hurtful (lit. evil) sword] i.e. from the calamity of war. The Targ. renders ‘the evil sword of Goliath,’ but the reference is quite general.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is he that giveth salvation to kings,.... Which is the reason of singing the new song to the Lord, or this is the matter of it. The Lord is the Preserver of men and beasts, the Saviour of all men, and especially of them that believe; who are in a spiritual sense kings and priests unto God; and in a temporal sense he saves high and low, rich and poor: but there is a particular providence respecting kings; who, as they are the powers ordained of God, and are his vicegerents on earth, and represent him, so they are preserved by him; were they not, there would soon be an end to all public order and government: they cannot save themselves; nor are they saved by their bodyguards about them; nor is any king saved by the multitude of his host, but by the Lord, Psa 33:16. Or, "he that giveth victory to kings"; over their enemies; which is not obtained by the strength and force of their armies, and by their military skill valour; but by the right hand and arm of the Lord: and therefore, whenever this is the case, a new song should be sung to him; see Psa 98:1. David no doubt has regard to himself, and to the many salvations God had wrought for him, and the victories he had given him; as also to the King Messiah, whom God heard and helped, as man and Mediator, in the day of salvation, and gave it to him, and in which he rejoiced, Isa 49:8;

who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword; David literally, the servant of the Lord by creation, redemption, and grace, as well as by his office, as king of Israel; him the Lord delivered from the sword of Goliath, as the Targum; from the sword of Saul, as Jarchi and Kimchi; and from the sword of strange children, as Arama; of all his enemies he had been or was engaged with in war: and David mystically, Christ the son of David, God's righteous servant, he chose, called, upheld; and in whom he was glorified, by doing his work diligently, faithfully, and completely; him he delivered from the sword of justice, when he had satisfied it; and from wicked men, like a sword; and from all his enemies, and death itself, when he raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; see Psa 22:20. Aben Ezra thinks there is a defect of the copulative "and": and that it should be read, "from the sword and evil"; every evil person or thing; and observes, that some take it for an adjective, and understand it of an evil camp or company.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

It is he that giveth salvation unto kings - Margin, “Victory.” The Hebrew word means “salvation,” but it is used here in the sense of deliverance or rescue. Even “kings,” with all their armies, have no hope but in God. They seem to be the most powerful of men, but they are, like all other people, wholly dependent on him for deliverance from danger. David thus recognizes his own entire dependence. Though a king in the divine purpose and in fact, yet he had no power but as derived from God; he had no hope of deliverance but in him. It is implied further that God might as readily be supposed to be willing to interpose in behalf of kings as of other people when their cause was right, and when they looked to him for aid. See the notes at Psa 33:16 : “there is no king saved by the multitude of an host.” Compare Psa 44:5-6.

Who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword - Who has done it; who can do it again; on whom alone David is dependent as all other men are. David speaks of himself by name elsewhere. See Psa 18:50; 2Sa 7:26. He refers to himself also under the name of “the king,” Psa 61:6; Psa 63:11. Caesar, in his writings, often speaks of himself in the same way.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Kings are not preserved by their own power or prudence, but by God’s special providence, which for the public good of the world watcheth over them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 10. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings. Those whom the Lord sets up he will keep up. Kings, from their conspicuous position, are exposed to special danger, and when their lives and their thrones are preserved to them they should give the Lord the glory of it. In his many battles David would have perished had not almighty care preserved him. He had by his valour wrought salvation for Israel, but he lays his laurels at the feet of his Lord and Preserver. If any men need salvation kings do, and if they get it the fact is so astonishing that it deserves a verse to itself in the psalm of praise.

Who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. He traces his escape from death to the delivering hand of God. Note, he speaks in the present tensedelivereth, for this was an act which covered his whole life. He puts his name to the confession of his indebtedness: it is David who owns without demur to mercy given to himself. He styles himself the Lord's servant, accepting this as the highest title he had attained or desired.

Ver. 10. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings. Ferdinand, king of Aragon, sending his son against the Florentines, thus bespake him: Believe me, son, victories are not gotten by art or subtlety, but given of God. John Trapp.

Ver. 10. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings. What a doctrine this for the kings and great men of the earth to remember! Could they be brought to feel and acknowledge it, they would not trust to the sagacity of their own councils, nor to the strength of their own arm; but would ever remember that the Most High is the ruler among the nations, and that he putteth down one and raiseth up another according to the dictates of his own all perfect will. Such remembrances as this would stain the pride of all human glory, and would lead men to feel that the Lord alone is to be exalted. John Morison.

Psalms 144:11*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It is he that giveth salvation unto kings. There has always been a belief, especially in the East, that "a divinity doth hedge a king." Saul himself was regarded by David as sacrosanct, and to kill him, even at his own request, was a sacrilege. (2Sa_1:14-16) Who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. David speaks of himself by name, not only here, but in Psa_18:50 2Sa_7:26.

The first stage of salvation is deliverance.

"Who rescueth David his servant from the hurtful sword." This describes what is involved in "giving salvation unto kings." An act of deliverance is always the beginning of salvation; but such act of deliverance is only a beginning.

I AN ACT OF DELIVERANCE IS THE BEGINNING OF SALVATION. This is the truth of a fact that is once for all illustrated in the history of Israel. God would saw that people in a large sense of saving. He must begin by a formal act of deliverance, in bringing his people out from bondage in Egypt. That truth once presented in so large a way, is afterwards presented again and again in more limited spheres. In the time of the Judges, when God would save his people, he began the salvation by a formal act of deliverance, as is seen strikingly in the case of Gideon. When God would save his people from captivity in Babylon, he began by the formal act of liberation made by Cyrus. And it was the same with the great spiritual salvation of men. Its beginning is that sublime act of sacrifice which is man"s rescue from the thraldom of sin. The formal act of surrender made on the cross was Christ"s triumph over man"s sin, his "leading captivity captive." And so in personal experience salvation begins in that act of consecration to Christ which we make, and which is met by Christ"s act of delivering us from the power of self and sin.

II SUCH AN ACT OF DELIVERANCE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt was only a beginning of God"s dealings in their salvation. Gideon"s overthrow of the Midianites was only a beginning. Cyrus"s decree was only a beginning. Our Lord"s sacrifice was only a beginning. Our consciousness of acceptance is only a beginning. The salvation of a nation is a large and comprehensive thing; so is the salvation of a man. But in every case God"s beginning is the pledge that he will carry on the work and perfect it. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who gives salvation to kings This speaks about the Rock of the Divisions, when David was close to being seized by Saul (I Sam. 23:27): “A messenger came to Saul, saying, ‘Make haste and go, etc.’” He saved Saul from shedding innocent blood, and David from being killed.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.