Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
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
Whose mouth speaketh vanity. No wonder that men who are vanity speak vanity. "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own. "They cannot be depended upon, let them promise as fairly as they may: their solemn declarations are light as the foam of the sea, in no wise to be depended upon.
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