WE
ARE BLESSED!
Psalm
144:1-2
Blessed
be the LORD, my rock,
who
trains my hands for war,
and
my fingers for battle;
he
is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my
stronghold and my deliverer,
my
shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who
subdues peoples under me.
Although
David was a powerful king, he realized that any ability or power he had came
from the Lord. His security came through the One who was his fortress and his
refuge. It was the almighty and omnipotent God who was his deliverer from enemies.
Often we have situations where we want to take matters into our own hands, or to
vindicate ourselves, or to defend ourselves from hurtful words or deeds. David
knew that God was his shield, his refuge, and his deliverer. God has the power
and the wisdom to subdue any enemies.
These
realities are both a comfort and reasons for surprise, for finite man.
Psalm
144:3-4
O
LORD, what is man that you regard him,
or
the son of man that you think of him?
Man
is like a breath;
his
days are like a passing shadow.
David
does not presumptuously take the care of Jehovah as something expected or
normal. In fact, David realizes the distance between himself and God, and
marvels at His care. In some ways, the description not only causes us to be
humbled by the care of God, but also helps to put our lives into perspective.
They are brief, and pass quickly, like a shadow.
James
also reminds us of our lives’ brevity and dependence on God’s will.
James
4:13-16
Come
now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and
spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what
tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a
little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we
will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such
boasting is evil.
The
psalmist, although he knows that he is small, knows that God has the power to
come to his rescue.
Psalm
144:5-8
Bow
your heavens, O LORD, and come down!
Touch
the mountains so that they smoke!
Flash
forth the lightning and scatter them;
send
out your arrows and rout them!
Stretch
out your hand from on high;
rescue
me and deliver me from the many waters,
from
the hand of foreigners,
whose
mouths speak lies
and
whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
The
next verses explode in worshipful gratitude!
Psalm
144:9-11
I
will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon
a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
who
gives victory to kings,
who
rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
Rescue
me and deliver me
from
the hand of foreigners,
whose
mouths speak lies
and
whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
What
a privilege and blessing is ours, to be able to read, learn, and meditate upon the
inspired songs of David! He struggled, went to God for help, and penned a
psalm. He sinned, experienced the grace of forgiveness, and then wrote a beautiful
psalm. He learned about the character of God and worshipped Him with masterful
words. How kind of God, to inspire David to
write words that can powerfully express and even transform our attitudes and
reactions!
Blessed
are those who recognize the hand of God in their lives!
Psalm
144:12-15
May
our sons in their youth
be
like plants full grown,
our
daughters like corner pillars
cut
for the structure of a palace;
may
our granaries be full,
providing
all kinds of produce;
may
our sheep bring forth thousands
and
ten thousands in our fields;
may
our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering
no mishap or failure in bearing;
may
there be no cry of distress in our streets!
Blessed
are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed
are the people whose God is the LORD!
May
we, too, recognize the hand of God in our lives and may our testimony be as
loud and clear as David’s: ‘Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!’
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