Psalm 144
1 Of David.
Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. 2 He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him? 4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.
5 Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. 6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemies; shoot your arrows and rout them. 7 Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners 8 whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you, 10 to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.
11 Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. 12 Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. 13 Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; 14 our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. 15 Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
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Psalm 144– God’s character and acts
(Verses 1-2) David begins this psalm with the word ‘Praise’, which is a good way to begin anything directed at God. He praises God for six things He is, and three things He does. Although God does what He does because He is who He is, it is good to praise Him for His character before you praise Him for His acts, even though one is bound to lead to the other. So here are six aspects of God Himself that cause David to praise Him.
The LORD God is David’s:
- rock
- loving God
- fortress
- stronghold
- deliverer
- shield.
Here are the three ways that God acts to bless and help David:
- God trains him for warfare which he must conduct as the king and army commander of a nation which has to fight against real enemies.
- God gives David refuge through being his shield.
- God subdues people under King David.
If you repent of sin and trust in the now risen Jesus, through His substitutionary death on the cross when He bore your sins and penalty for them, all of the above things are true of Him for your blessing. You then discover Jesus as your Rock, loving God, fortress, stronghold, deliverer, and shield. Through the Bible truth, the help of the Holy Spirit, and your daily and weekly drawing close to God, He trains you for the spiritual warfare you will face against the world, the flesh and the devil.
(Verses 3-4) Human life is short. It passes very quickly. Yet God cares for and thinks about us. In Christ He became a man to die for us so we can trust in Him and be saved.
(Verses 5-8) David asks God to intervene from Heaven to deliver and rescue him from the lies and deceit of foreign foes. We must seek His help in our spiritual battles.
(Verses 9-10) David plans to praise God in a new song for victory and deliverance He gives him from the ‘deadly sword’. We should thank and praise Him for saving us.
(Verses 11-15) David prays again. He is so blessed by God’s saving him. There is no captivity, crying or distress. That is true for us, too. in trusting Jesus. We are doubly blessed, because our ‘God is the LORD’.
