In the next section of Psalm 144, David describes his confidence in God to deliver Him. David declares, “I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.” (Psalm 144:9) And what is it that David will sing about? “It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.” (Psalm 144:10) David will sing about the salvation of the Lord. David will sing about God’s power to deliver kings. It is not the kings who can deliver. It is not the kings who can save a nation. Rather, it is God who saves and delivers the kings so that they can rule the nations in His fear.
Psalm thirty-three explains more about kings trusting in God to deliver them and fearing God. “16) There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17) An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18) Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.” (Psalm 33:16-18) It does not matter how big a king’s army is, how strong his warriors are, how many great horses he has – these things do not save a king. The Lord delivers those that fear Him and those that hope in His mercy.
In verse eleven, David repeats the prayer he made in verse seven, “Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” (Psalm 144:11) It was only the Lord who could save King David. David sang a song of praise to God for His salvation from trouble. He expressed how God will save him from the hurtful sword. Then he prayed for deliverance from a specific group of people – strange children, people who spoke vain and useless and empty things, people who made deceit their way of life and the way to victory over their enemies. These were the type of people from whom David desired deliverance. This deliverance would come from God. There was no other way. There was no other place of safety.
Today, we too can cry to God for deliverance. God’s eye will be upon us for good if we fear Him and hope in His mercy. There is no other way. There is no other place of safety. “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.” (Deuteronomy 33:27) God is our deliverance and our salvation. This is true whether our enemies are physical enemies or whether our enemies are the powers of darkness. Our refuge and place of safety is in Almighty God. If we fear Him, we can trust in Him.