Psalms 144:12
Ver. 12. That our sons [may be] as plants grown up in their youth,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read, "whose sons [are as] plants", &c. as if this and what follows were a description of the families, estates, substance, and outward happiness of wicked men, the enemies of David, the strange children he desired to be delivered from, agreeably to Job 21:7; and if the word "saying", or "who say", be supplied, as by some {o}, and connected with "that our sons are", &c. they may express the vain boastings of these men, and explain what is meant by the vanity their mouth spake; as well as furnish out another reason for the repetition of the above requests, namely, for the sake of introducing those vain boasts to which the happiness of good men is opposed, who have an interest in God as their God, Ps 144:15; but we with other versions take them to be a petition of the psalmist; that as he would deliver him personally out of the hands of his enemies, so he would bless his subjects with all prosperity and happiness in their families and estates; like a good prince concerned for the real welfare of his people, and wishes that their sons might be as plants, young, tender, well nursed, and taken care of, that were healthful, thriving, flourishing, and promising much fruit; so they might he of healthful constitutions, well educated in all useful knowledge, natural and religious, and grow both in wisdom and stature, and appear to be of promising parts for usefulness in the church and state; and especially that they might be the plants of the Lord, pleasant ones to him, and profitable to others; be planted in Christ, and in his house, and grow in grace and in the knowledge of him, and grow up to him their bead in all things. The Targum is,
"that our sons may be as plants of the dactyles (or palm trees, Ps 92:12), nourished up in the doctrine of the law from their youth;''see Ps 128:3;[that] our daughters [may be] as corner stones, polished [after] the similitude of a palace; or "temple"; tall, beautiful, and in good proportion; children have their name in Hebrew from a word which signifies to "build" {p}, because by them families are built up, Ru 4:11; and by marriage divers families are connected together, so that they are as corner stones to them; thus Plautus {q} speaks of children as a building, and parents as the fabricators of them; laying the foundation of them, raising them up and polishing them, and sparing no cost to make them useful to the commonwealth: or "as corner pillars" {r}, which support the house and continue in it; so they guide the house, take care of the affairs of it, and be keepers at home, 1Ti 5:14; and like such as are in temples or in kings' palaces, finely graved and beautifully polished, be adorned with grace and good works, particularly with modesty, meekness, and humility, 1Th 2:9; and grow up into an holy temple in the Lord, being parts of the spiritual building, and being laid on the foundation, of which Jesus Christ is the corner stone. The Targum is,"our daughters splendid and fit for the priests that minister in the midst of the temple.''The Syriac version,"their daughters as spouses adorned like temples.''{o} So Schmidt. {p} hnb "aedificavit, unde" Mynb & twnb "filii et filiae". {q} Mostellaria, Act. 1. Sc. 2. {r} tywzk "sicut angulares lapides, aut columnae", Michaelis. Psalms 144:13Ver. 13. [That] our garners [may be] full, affording all manner of store,.... Or "our corners" {s}, the corners of their houses, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; the nooks that were in them might be full of provisions for the supply of the family; or that their barns and granaries might be full of all kind of corn, as wheat, rye, barley, &c. which might be sufficient from year to year, as the Targum; plenty of all food is intended, in opposition to a scarcity, dearth, and famine, Pr 3:9; that so there might be enough for increasing families. Spiritually it may design that large provision of grace in the churches of Christ, and the fulness of the blessings of the Gospel the ministers of it come forth with, bringing out of their treasure things new and old, in the ministration of the word and administration of ordinances;[that] our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets; or millions; in which lay the riches of men formerly, and indeed in our nation now, where wool is the staple commodity of it; and these are creatures that breed and increase much; when they stand well, a few soon become a thousand, and these thousands produce ten thousands or millions, more. The Hebrew word Nau, "sheep", seems to be derived from the Arabic word "tzana", which signifies to be "fruitful", whether in men or beasts: "tzana": "foecunda fuit, et multos liberos hubuit mulier-----idem significat, et multa habuit pecora", Golius, col. 1428; and though for the most part they bring but one at a time, yet Aristotle {t} says, sometimes two, three, and four; and in India, Aelianus {u} says, they bring four, and never less than three. It is a beautiful sight to see them driven in such numbers through the streets of cities to markets, or to pasture. Or rather this may design the country towns and villages, where large flocks of them are kept. The people of God resemble these in their meekness, harmlessness, innocence, and other things; and who not only increase in grace and gifts, and spiritual knowledge, and in all goodness, which is desirable, but also in numbers, as they did in the first times of the Gospel, and will in the last, when they shall be increased as a flock; the fulness of the Gentiles, the other sheep, shall be brought in, and the nation of the Jews called at once.{s} wnywzm "anguli nostri", Pagninus, Vatablus, Cocceius, Michaelis. {t} Hist. Animal. l. 6. c. 19. {u} De Animal. l. 4. c. 32. Psalms 144:14Ver. 14. [That] our oxen [may be] strong to labour,.... To draw carriages, to plough with, and to tread out the corn: or "may be burdened" {w}; fit to carry burdens; or burdened with flesh, be plump and fat, and in good condition to work; or burdened with young, as some {x} understand it, and then it must be meant of cows, as the word is used, De 7:13; and so here an increase of kine is wished for, as of sheep before. Ministers of the word are compared to oxen for their patience in suffering, and their laboriousness in working, 1Co 9:9 1Ti 5:17; and happy is it for the churches of Christ when their ministers are laborious ones; are strong to labour, and do labour, in the word and doctrine; stand fast in the faith, and quit themselves like men, and are strong;[that there be] no breaking in: of the enemy into the land to invade it, into cities and houses to plunder and spoil them;nor going out: of the city to meet the enemy and fight with him, peace and not war is desirable; or no going out of one's nation into captivity into a foreign country, as Kimchi; or no breaking in to folds and herds, and leading out and driving away cattle, to the loss of the owners thereof. Some {y} understand both these of abortion, of any violent rupture of the womb, and an immature birth;that [there be] no complaining in our streets; on account of famine, pestilence, the sword, violence, and oppression; or no crying {z}, no mournful cry or howling and shrieking on account of the enemy being at hand, and just ready to enter in, or being there, killing, plundering, and spoiling.{w} Mylbom "onusti", Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus; "onerarii", so some in Vatablus; "onerati", Schmidt; "loden", Ainsworth, {x} So Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 295. {y} lbid. {z} hxwu "clamor", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. Psalms 144:15Ver. 15. Happy [is that] people that is in such a case,.... Whose families are in good order and behave well; who enjoy plenty of all good things; whose flocks and herds increase, and who live in peace and prosperity; these are temporal blessings highly valuable, and for which those who have them should be thankful, as being happy in comparison of others that are destitute of them, De 28:3; and especially who besides these are blessed with spiritual blessings, signified by them, and of which these were typical;[yea], happy [is that] people, whose God [is] the Lord; whose God the Lord is, not only by creation, and as he is a common benefactor and preserver, but as their God in covenant, their covenant God and Father in Christ; whom he has loved, chosen, redeemed, adopted, justified, pardoned, regenerated, and sanctified; all which appears to them in effectual calling, is manifested by the application of covenant grace to them, and is witnessed to their spirits by the spirit of God, and which their faith claims an interest in: and these are happy, thrice happy persons; for all that God has are theirs; all his perfections are on their side and for their good; he is their portion, shield, reward, and their all in all; his covenant, its blessings and promises, are all theirs; they have enough, having all things, and can want no good thing; nor need they fear any enemy; the Lord takes care of them, sets a guard about them, resents all injuries done them, prevents the designs of their enemies, makes all things work together for their good, provides all things necessary for them for time and eternity, and will be their God and guide even unto death; covenant interest always continues, and therefore such must be ever happy.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.