O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?
This psalm weaves praise and petition together. David extols God's mercies lavished on him, yet from experience of trials and wicked men still at large, he asks the Lord to sustain His favor to the end. Unlike Psalm 18, which triumphs with the kingdom subdued and prospering, this one mingles fear and anxiety; enemies remain to give him concern.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 144:1-15
Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? What a contrast between Jehovah and man! The Psalmist turns from the glorious all sufficiency of God to the insignificance and nothingness of man. He sees Jehovah to be everything, and then cries, "Lord, what is man!" What is man in the presence of the Infinite God? What can he be compared to?
A prayer for mercy begins rightly with thanksgiving for past mercy. David gives God glory for what He is to him: his strength to draw on for work and warfare, his chief good and the author of all goodness in him, his fortress and high tower. In weakness we are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 144:1-8