Thank the Lord, my rock, who trained my hands to fight and my fingers to do battle,
my merciful one, my fortress, my stronghold, and my savior, my shield, the one in whom I take refuge, and the one who brings people under my authority.
O Lord, what are humans that you should care about them? What are mere mortals that you should think about them?
Humans are like a breath of air. Their life span is like a fleeting shadow.
O Lord, bend your heaven low, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
Hurl bolts of lightning, and scatter them. Shoot your arrows, and throw them into confusion. [vss 1-6]
Stretch out your hands from above. Snatch me, and rescue me from raging waters and from foreigners’ hands.
Their mouths speak lies. Their right hands take false pledges.
O God, I will sing a new song to you. I will sing a psalm to you on a ten-stringed harp.
You are the one who gives victory to kings. You are the one who snatches your servant David away from a deadly sword.
Snatch me, and rescue me from foreigners’ hands. Their mouths speak lies. Their right hands take false pledges. [vss 7-11]
May our sons be like full-grown, young plants. May our daughters be like stately columns that adorn the corners of a palace.
May our barns be filled with all kinds of crops. May our sheep give birth to thousands of lambs, tens of thousands in our fields.
May our cattle have many calves. May no one break in, and may no one be dragged out. May there be no cries of distress in our streets.
Blessed are the people who have these blessings!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! [vss 12-15]
A psalm by David. (Psalms 144:1-15 GW)
It's pointed out often that while others are running away from danger, first responders are running towards and into that same danger. That's their role. It's what they are trained to do.
First responders run into danger to rescue those still in danger and to establish order. Law enforcement, fire, and rescue personnel, and the military risk their lives to save the lives of others and we ought to appreciate them for doing it.
At the opening of this psalm, David thanks the Lord for God's training that equipped King David to be a warrior-king. But David was also gifted as a musician and poet. He was a passionate man. In a sense, David was one of God's first responders.
David also understood that even though he was a king, God was the ultimate authority.
As a man whose life and authority existed under God's authority, David realized how fragile human life is. He knew his life and those under his authority needed God's sovereign power to intervene on their behalf.
When you or I acknowledge and submit to God's sovereignty in our lives, it brings the assurance David expresses in this psalm.
Likewise, we can ask for God's intervention and blessing in our lives. Even as David prayed, "O Lord, bend your heaven low, and come down." Reading through the book of 2nd Samuel, we see how God did this in David's life many times.
All four gospels remind us how God personally came down and became human—when heaven did indeed bend low—as Jesus, the Son of God, was born, lived, and offered Himself to intervene on behalf of all humanity.
Have you realized God's sovereignty and nearness in your life?
Blessed are the people who have these blessings!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
©Word-Strong_2017
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I won't cover all 150 Psalms, but do selective devotionals through the rest of Psalms.
So if I skip one that you like... let me know and I'll try to cover it!