Psalms 144:7
in Psalms 144Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Stretch forth thy hand from above; Rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, Out of the hand of aliens;
KJV
Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;
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This verse in Psalms 144
Commentary
12 notes on this verseSend forth your hand from on high. 'Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?' Send forth your hand from on high. Lord, bow down your heavens, and descend. This is said to the Son: Bow down your heavens, and descend. And how does he say, Send forth your hand from on high? If he descended, how does he send his hand from on high? But although he may be on earth, still he sends his hand from heaven: for he does not withdraw from heaven.
This site's exposition
Reach down from on high
on Psalms 144:7-8
The plea is for a hand reaching down into deep waters. The danger is foreigners whose mouths speak falsehood and whose right hands are deceitful. Henry took that right hand as the hand men give on their word, which cannot be trusted.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Send forth Thine Hand from on high." What afterward? What in the end? How conquereth the Body of Christ? By heavenly aid. "For the Lord Himself shall come with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God shall He descend from heaven," Himself the Saviour of the body, the Hand of God. What is, "Out of many waters"? From many peoples. What peoples? Aliens, unbelievers, whether assailing us from without, or laying snares within. Take me out of many waters, in which Thou didst discipline me, in which Thou didst roll me, to free me from my filth. This is the "water of contradiction." ..."From the hand of strange children." Hear, brethren, among whom we are, among whom we live, from whom we long to be delivered.
"But you sent down your help from above" and rescued my soul from the depths of this darkness because my mother, your faithful servant, wept to you for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than other mothers shed for the bodily death of a son. For in her faith and in the spirit that she had from you she looked on me as dead. You heard her and did not despise the tears that streamed down and watered the earth in every place where she bowed her head in prayer.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
That he might see the public peace and prosperity: "Lord, let us have victory, that we may have quietness, which we shall never have while our enemies have it in their power to do us mischief." David, as a king, here expresses the earnest desire he had of the welfare of his people, wherein he was a type of Christ, who provides effectually for the good of his chosen.
He does not specify who they were that he was in fear of, but says, Scatter them, destroy them. God knew whom he meant, though he did not name them. But afterwards he describes them (
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Send thine hand from above,....
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the L ORD . The method is the same in this latter part of the psalm as in the former; David first gives glory to God and then begs mercy from him.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Send thine hand from above. Let thy long and strong arm be stretched out till thine hand seizes my foes, and delivers me from them. Rid me, and deliver me out of great waters. Make a Moses of me, —one drawn out of the waters. My foes pour in upon me like torrents, they threaten to overwhelm me; save me from their force and fury; take them from me, and me from them. From the hand of strange children.
Send thine hand from above. Let thy long and strong arm be stretched out till thine hand seizes my foes, and delivers me from them. Rid me, and deliver me out of great waters. Make a Moses of me, —one drawn out of the waters. My foes pour in upon me like torrents, they threaten to overwhelm me; save me from their force and fury; take them from me, and me from them. From the hand of strange children. From foreigners of every race; men strange to me and thee, who therefore must work evil to me, and rebellion against thyself. Those against whom he pleaded were out of covenant with God; they were Philistines and Edomites; or else they were men of his own nation of black heart and traitorous spirit, who were real strangers, though they bore the name of Israel. Oh to be rid of those infidel, blaspheming beings who pollute society with their false teachings and hard speeches! Oh to be delivered from slanderous tongues, deceptive lips, and false hearts! No wonder these words are repeated, for they are the frequent cry of many a tried child of God;— "Rid me, and deliver me." The devil's children are strange to us: we can never agree with them, and they will never understand us: they are aliens to us, and we are despised by them. O Lord, deliver us from the evil one, and from all who are of his race.
Deliver me out of great waters - See the note Psa 18:16.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Send thine hand from above - Margin, as in Hebrew, “hands.” See the notes at Psa 18:16: “He sent from above.” Rid me, and deliver me out of great waters - Thus Psa 18:16: “He took me, he drew me out of many waters.” As God had done it once, there was ground for the prayer that he would do it yet again. From the hand of strange children - Strangers: strangers to thee; strangers to thy people, foreigners. See Psa 54:3: “For strangers are risen up against me.” The language would properly imply that at the time referred to in the psalm he was engaged in a warfare with foreign enemies. Who they were, we have no means now of ascertaining.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁלַ֥ח | shelach | stretch out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יָדֶ֗יךָ | yadeikha | hands your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מִמָּ֫ר֥וֹם | mimarom | from a high place | H4791 → | 54 times |
| פְּצֵ֣נִי | petzeni | set free me | H6475 → | 15 times |
| וְ֭הַצִּילֵנִי | vehatzileni | and deliver me | H5337 → | 212 times |
| מִמַּ֣יִם | mimayim | from waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רַבִּ֑ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| מִ֝יַּ֗ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נֵכָֽר׃ | nekhar | foreignness | H5236 → | 36 times |
שְׁלַ֥חstretch out
shelachH7971 →845 times
יָדֶ֗יךָhands your
yadeikhaH3027 →1618 times
מִמָּ֫ר֥וֹםfrom a high place
mimaromH4791 →54 times
פְּצֵ֣נִיset free me
petzeniH6475 →15 times
וְ֭הַצִּילֵנִיand deliver me
vehatzileniH5337 →212 times
מִמַּ֣יִםfrom waters
mimayimH4325 →581 times
רַבִּ֑יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
מִ֝יַּ֗דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
בְּנֵ֣יsons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
נֵכָֽר׃foreignness
nekharH5236 →36 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 27:43He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
it leads to
- Psalms 22:8
“He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”
- Psalms 22:8
Through
Psalms 18:16He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 22:17
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
- Jonah 2:5–6
The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head.
- Psalms 57:3
He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.
- Psalms 18:43
You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.
- 2 Samuel 22:17
Through
Psalms 54:3For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life— men with no regard for God. Selah
it leads to
- Psalms 86:14
The arrogant rise against me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, with no regard for You.
- Psalms 36:1
An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- Psalms 86:14
Through
Revelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
it leads to
- Revelation 17:1
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
- Revelation 17:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 144; Augustine of Hippo, Confessions 3.11; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Jerome, Homily 54, on Psalm 143; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.