The Meaning of Psalms 144:1 Explained

Psalms 144:1

KJV: {A Psalm of David.} Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

YLT: By David. Blessed is Jehovah my rock, who is teaching My hands for war, my fingers for battle.

Darby: {A Psalm of David.} Blessed be Jehovah my rock, who teacheth my hands to war, my fingers to fight;

ASV: Blessed be Jehovah my rock, Who teacheth my hands to war, And my fingers to fight:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

{{[A Psalm] of David.  }} Blessed  [be] the LORD  my strength,  which teacheth  my hands  to war,  [and] my fingers  to fight: 

What does Psalms 144:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 144:1-15 - God's People Are Happy
This psalm savors of the rocky caverns from which David and his men emerged to fight. Each day the chieftain asked God to teach him to fight, and realized that all his need would be met. The names he gives to God indicate that all-sidedness which becomes the complement of every conceivable necessity on our part.
What a striking conception opens in Psalms 144:4! Saul was but a "breath"! r.v., margin. The persecuting bands were as the shadows that pass across the hills! From them all he appealed to God to bow the heavens and come, to touch the mountains, and to rescue him from the rising waters. And when the storm has passed he sings his new glad song, Psalms 144:9. Psalms 144:12-15 were probably added at a later time, when David was established in his kingdom. They describe a summer afternoon of prosperity, when sons have grown from plants to trees, and daughters resemble the carved figures which support the beams of a palace. No breaking in of the foe, no need to go forth to fight, no outcry of oppression or want; but the halcyon sunset of a well-spent life. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 144

1  David blesses God for his mercy both to him and to man
5  He prays that God would powerfully deliver him from his enemies
9  He promises to praise God
11  He prays for the happy state of the kingdom

What do the individual words in Psalms 144:1 mean?

A Psalm of David Blessed [be] Yahweh my Rock who trains my hands for war [And] my fingers for battle
לְדָוִ֨ד ׀ בָּ֘ר֤וּךְ יְהוָ֨ה ׀ צוּרִ֗י הַֽמְלַמֵּ֣ד יָדַ֣י לַקְרָ֑ב אֶ֝צְבְּעוֹתַ֗י לַמִּלְחָמָֽה

לְדָוִ֨ד ׀  A  Psalm  of  David 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
בָּ֘ר֤וּךְ  Blessed  [be] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: בָּרַךְ 
Sense: to bless, kneel.
יְהוָ֨ה ׀  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צוּרִ֗י  my  Rock 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: צוּר 
Sense: rock, cliff.
הַֽמְלַמֵּ֣ד  who  trains 
Parse: Article, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: לָמַד  
Sense: to learn. teach, exercise in.
יָדַ֣י  my  hands 
Parse: Noun, fdc, first person common singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
לַקְרָ֑ב  for  war 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קְרָב  
Sense: battle, war.
אֶ֝צְבְּעוֹתַ֗י  [And]  my  fingers 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֶצְבַּע  
Sense: finger, toe.
לַמִּלְחָמָֽה  for  battle 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.