A Shower of Blessings
OPENING PRAYER:
Father God, today by your Holy Spirit, enlighten my mind with your truth and fill my heart with your love.
Of David.
1 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[a] under me.
3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a fleeting shadow.
5 Part your heavens, Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;
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, my 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;
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.[b]
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Blessed is the people of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 144
Footnotes
Psalm 144:2 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Jerome and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text subdues my people
Psalm 144:14 Or our chieftains will be firmly established
REFLECT:
If today you feel in any way overwhelmed, know that God is on your side. A rock, a stronghold, a shield.
The psalm is wrapped around with blessing (vs 2,15). In between, it’s not so serene. The talk is of enemies gathering to attack the king and the nation, and the psalmist prays for skill to fight, and then for rescue and deliverance. The fight is physical, but also psychological, being waged against those who trade in lies and deceit (v 8; Ephesians 6:12). Wisely, King David acknowledges both the fragile nature of human existence and the solid reality of the living God, who is a rock, a fortress and a shield (v 2). Someone you definitely want on your side!
The context is national, but the lessons are also personal. What battles are you currently engaged in? Are there forces aiming to undermine your life with deceit and lies? Our loving God comes into battle with us, to energize and deliver. He will strengthen our fingers that hold the weapons of prayer and faith (v1), and one day the same fingers will make music to praise him for our deliverance (v 9).
The psalm ends with a picture of the abundant life God intends for his people: human flourishing, material blessing, well-being, security, freedom, and joy. One day this will be a glorious reality (Revelation 21:1-4), but even now, as ‘the people whose God is the Lord’, we can taste that abundant life (v 15). Blessed indeed!
APPLY:
Hold on today, through good or ill, and trust in God’s unfailing love.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Gracious Lord, through all the ups and downs of life, your Word promises you will never leave me or forsake me. How great and loving you are.
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