Charles H. Spurgeon on Psalms 43:2

Thou art the God of my strength. The godly man hath from God a threefold strength, namely, natural, providential, and spiritual.

1. Natural, Ac 17:28. This is twofold: of body, of mind. Of robustness, hardness, and agility of body; of wit, invention, and valour of mind. Now, these donations of corporal and mental natural endowments are God's gifts. Ps 18:34,39 ...

2. Providential strength, which is threefold: (a) God's donation of strengthening mercies —Corporal: wine to make glad, and bread to strengthen. Ps 104:15, and mental, common gifts; as Paul had a singular gift of language and single life; Apollos of elocution, argument, power of convincing. (b) Providential strength is God's making way for his people to act and put forth their strength. Ps 78:50. (c) Providential strength is God's concurrence with our lawful human acting. Ps 18:29.

3. The third sort of power is spiritual: God is the godly man's spiritual power. 1Jo 2:14: "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, " namely, with spiritual strength, for it follows, "The word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." This is the main strength of a godly man; as that text hints, namely, young men are naturally strong, but St. John takes no notice of that, but commends them for their spiritual strength. This spiritual strength is from the word of the Spirit, and from the Spirit of the word, that is, from the Spirit accompanying the word.

From the word of the Spirit, the word of God. Ps 119:50: "This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me." To be "quickened, "i.e., enlivened, is to be full of vigour and spirit and to act mightily, and to "comfort" is, as the word signifies, to make strong; for when a man is most cheerful with sobriety, he is most strong. St. John in that place fore quoted, saith the young men to whom he wrote were strong because the word of God abode in them. For Pr 12:25 "whereas sorrow in the heart of man maketh it stoop" —makes it sickly, weak, drooping —"a good word maketh it glad, "cheerful, strong, vigorous. And so if the word of a wise friend, how much more the word of God, with its many strengthening promises? Ps 20:2 119:28. The word of God is the very mind and will of God, and power of God, and with the word God created the world, therefore, he that receives this word must needs receive a great deal of strength. Ro 1:16.