Psalms 44:6
in Psalms 44For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I will not trust in my bow, Neither shall my sword save me.
KJV
For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
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This verse in Psalms 44
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFor I will not trust in my bow,.... In any carnal weapon, in any creature help and assistance, or in an arm of flesh, but in the word of the Lord, and in his name; see Psa 20:7; neither shall my sword save me; that is, I will not ascribe salvation to it; the church's weapons are not carnal, but spiritual; not the sword of the civil magistrate, but the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; Christ's kingdom, being not of this world, is not supported and defended by worldly means, or carnal weapons.
This site's exposition
You are my King, O God
on Psalms 44:4-8
You are my King, O God names the one who ordains victories for Jacob. The weapons are refused: I do not trust in my bow. Henry notes the boast in God stands before the complaint that follows.
This site's exposition
I do not trust in my bow
The voice shifts here from the people to a single speaker. Albert Barnes took the speaker as the psalmist, voicing the people's trust in God alone. Adam Clarke would put the verbs in the past tense, to match the story of the fathers.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Behold, this is the true and the Christian humility. In this you will best govern both yourself and those in your charge. In this you will be able to achieve victory over every vice, by attributing to God rather than to yourself the fact that …
Thus much of the future. "I will not trust in my bow," even as our fathers did not in "their sword. Neither shall my sword help me" [Psalm 44:6].
The Medieval Church1 voice
"For not." In the preceding verse the Psalmist set forth the hope of repelling enemies; here, however, he shows the reason for what was said, namely what he said, "Through you our enemies," and therefore he shows that he does not hope in himself: because …
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. Thy people Israel, under thy guidance, shouldered out the heathen, and gained their land, not by skill of weapons or prowess of arms, but by thy power alone; therefore will we renounce for ever all reliance upon outward confidences, of which other men make such boast, and we will cast ourselves upon the omnipotence of our God.
For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. Thy people Israel, under thy guidance, shouldered out the heathen, and gained their land, not by skill of weapons or prowess of arms, but by thy power alone; therefore will we renounce for ever all reliance upon outward confidences, of which other men make such boast, and we will cast ourselves upon the omnipotence of our God. Bows having been newly introduced by king Saul, were regarded as very formidable weapons in the early history of Israel, but they are here laid aside together with the all conquering sword, in order that there may be room for faith in the living God. This verse, in the first person singular, may serve as the confession of faith of every believer renouncing his own righteousness and strength, and looking alone to the Lord Jesus. O for grace to stand to this self renunciation, for alas! our proud nature is all too apt to fix its trust on the puffed up and supposititious power of the creature. Arm of flesh, how dare I trust thee? How dare I bring upon myself the curse of those who rely upon man?
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I will not trust in my bow - As he is speaking of what God had already done for his forefathers, these words should be read in the past tense: “We have not trusted,” etc.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For I will not trust in my bow - The author of the psalm himself again speaks as expressing his own feelings, and stating the grounds of his confidence and hope. Compare Psa 44:4. At the same time he doubtless expresses the feelings of the people, and speaks in their name. He had said Psa 44:3 that the ancestors of the Jewish people had not obtained possession of the promised land by any strength or skill of their own, and he now says that he, and those who were connected with him, did not depend on their own strength, or on the weapons of war which they might employ, but that their only ground of trust was God.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְקַשְׁתִּ֣י | vekashti | in bow my | H7198 → | 76 times |
| אֶבְטָ֑ח | ʾevtach | I trust | H982 → | 120 times |
| וְ֝חַרְבִּ֗י | vecharbi | and sword my | H2719 → | 413 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃ | toshieni | it saves me | H3467 → | 206 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְקַשְׁתִּ֣יin bow my
vekashtiH7198 →76 times
אֶבְטָ֑חI trust
ʾevtachH982 →120 times
וְ֝חַרְבִּ֗יand sword my
vecharbiH2719 →413 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תוֹשִׁיעֵֽנִי׃it saves me
toshieniH3467 →206 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
Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Proverbs 21:31
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
- Psalms 33:16–17
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah…
- Isaiah 31:1
Through
1 Samuel 17:47And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our…
it leads to
- Zechariah 4:6
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 44:6–7
For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.
- Hosea 1:7
Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”
- Zechariah 4:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 44; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Martin of Braga, EXHORTATION TO HUMILITY 6; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.