The Meaning of Psalms 144:2 Explained

Psalms 144:2

KJV: 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.

YLT: My kind one, and my bulwark, My tower, and my deliverer, My shield, and in whom I have trusted, Who is subduing my people under me!

Darby: My mercy and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I trust, who subdueth my people under me!

ASV: My lovingkindness, and my fortress, My high tower, and my deliverer; My shield, and he in whom I take refuge; Who subdueth my people under me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Psalms 144:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 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: Psalms 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 144:2 mean?

My lovingkindness and my fortress My high tower and deliverer my My shield and [the One] in whom I take refuge who subdues My people under me
חַסְדִּ֥י וּמְצוּדָתִי֮ מִשְׂגַּבִּ֪י וּֽמְפַלְטִ֫י לִ֥י מָ֭גִנִּי וּב֣וֹ חָסִ֑יתִי הָרוֹדֵ֖ד עַמִּ֣י תַחְתָּֽי

חַסְדִּ֥י  My  lovingkindness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
וּמְצוּדָתִי֮  and  my  fortress 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: מְצוּדָה 
Sense: net, prey, net prey.
מִשְׂגַּבִּ֪י  My  high  tower 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: מִשְׂגָּב 
Sense: high place, refuge, secure height, retreat.
וּֽמְפַלְטִ֫י  and  deliverer 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: פָּלַט  
Sense: to escape, save, deliver, slip away.
לִ֥י  my 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
מָ֭גִנִּי  My  shield 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, first person common singular
Root: מָגֵן 
Sense: shield, buckler.
וּב֣וֹ  and  [the  One]  in  whom 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine singular
חָסִ֑יתִי  I  take  refuge 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: חָסָה  
Sense: (Qal) to seek refuge, flee for protection.
הָרוֹדֵ֖ד  who  subdues 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָדַד  
Sense: to beat down, beat out, subdue.
עַמִּ֣י  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
תַחְתָּֽי  under  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.