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Psalm 144:5-6

Psalm 144:5-6 The heavenly archer! Psalm 18 (also written by David) depicts the Lord as a powerful deliverer who saves the King from his prevailing enemies. The Lord is painted as a fearful figure, a divine warrior who comes to earth breathing fire and smoke; He is mounted upon the clouds and flies with the cherubim, soaring on the wings of the wind. There are hailstones and bolts of lightning and mighty thunders in the heavens. David clearly loved this version of God’s presence and viewed the Lord as a mighty warrior who causes fear and scatters his enemies.  Maybe we are too polite at times and tend to treat the Lord with such respect that we dare not ask Him to show His might and to intervene when enemy forces are massed against us. Instead of putting up with the insidious attacks that are daily mounted against us perhaps we should be pleading for the Lord to part the heavens and come down to scatter the enemy? If the Satan has instructed his minions to shoot their arrows at you...
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Psalm 144:4

Psalm 144:4 We are just fleeting shadows! When we looked at  verse 3 of this Psalm, we noted that there was repetition of previous musings of David, in Psalm 8. This verse repeats thoughts from Psalm39:4-5,  “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before You. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” When we are young life seems like a never-ending journey that spans the decades before us. In our middle years we can feel invincible and, of course, we are brainwashed into planning and preparing for those golden years ahead, called retirement, when all mortgages and debts are paid off, when healthy pensions provide a steady income and we can enjoy all the pleasures that we dreamed of when life was just a dull routine of work. In truth, it is not like that, in our later years we are amazed at how quickly time has gone and find that w...
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Psalm 144:3

Psalm 144:3 Who are we? This verse seems to repeat another well-known statement of David, found in Psalm 8,  “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place. What is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?”  Psalm 8:3-4.  If we have any sense of the immensity and grandeur of the Lord our God, if we have any understanding of His power and authority, then we must be humbled to think that He has any time for us humans. Why should He care? What is the point of constantly attending to creatures who fail and who are weak and helpless by comparison, and most of whom ignore Him and rebel against Him? Why Should God care? Even more, why should He indulge us so generously and pay amazing attention to the tiniest detail of our lives? David had no answers, nor do I! And yet, we all have reason to believe that the Lord constantly thinks of us, yes, you and me. He watches over our lives and ...
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Psalm 144:2

Psalm 144:2 Fortress, stronghold, deliverer, shield and refuge! Well, if any verse could sum up the influence of the living God in the lives of those who trust in Him, this is it. Look at the different metaphors that are used here; following verse 1 where David calls Him, “my rock”, he now speaks of the Lord being a “loving God, my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge.” This is a verse that makes us feel safe, doesn’t it? Surely if the Lord can come up trumps carrying all of these titles, then we are secure indeed.  Our God is not a distant deity who casually watches our progress in life, He is a tangible and emotional Being and those who truly know Him can boast that they are loved by Him. All the gods of history and that are worshipped by men and women today tend to be distant and unapproachable, our God is near to us, so much so that we feel loved by Him. Because He is so immense and powerful, then we can claim His protection and care, David...
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Psalm 144:1

Psalm 144:1 The Lord my rock The collection of 8 Psalms that we have been studying are all written by David and they start and end with songs of praise (Psalm 138 and psalm 145). The songs in between all berate the wicked and the enemies of David and of the Lord. David is not credited with authorship of any of the remaining songs in the Psalms. (146-150) As we have previously reflected, David’s entire life had been one of warfare and trouble, in this He reflects the journey of all who trust in the Lord God and who seek to walk the paths of righteousness. We are no different, I cannot name one day when I have not been engaged in warfare, can you?   V1        In this opening verse David sets the tone of what is to follow, he clearly acknowledges the battle that rages around him and lets it be known where his strength and security are found; it is in his rock, the Lord. when all else fails, there is only one place or one person who remains stabl...
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Psalm 143:12

Psalm 143:12 Silence my enemies It’s not difficult to identify David’s enemies and his foes, for history records the facts and tells us their names. In the case of the Israelites, their kings and their prophets, their enemies were always men and women with names, who lived and breathed on this planet and whose lives ran parallel with the righteous.  The identification of enemies for those who follow the Lord Jesus is not so easy, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, “ Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12. So, we are fighting against forces that we cannot see, or hear or touch, these are nameless enemies who do their work in the shadows but who often make themselves known through other human beings!  There are some clues here as to who is on the enemy’s payroll. Their language and behaviour betray t...
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Psalm 143:11

Psalm 143:11 For Your name's sake David here draws parallels between the honour that is given to the Lord’s name and his own personal circumstances! Is this a bargaining tool? The inference is that if all goes well for David then the Lord’s name will be uplifted and exalted, if things go badly then God will be blamed! Perhaps those of us who claim to believe in the Lord and to worship Him should take note; we are constantly under scrutiny and are God’s representatives on earth, whatever happens to us gives people cause to make judgements about Him! That makes us a reflection of His glory, and we should live our lives accordingly. David now appeals to the righteousness of God, if He is fair and just, and favours those who love and obey Him, then let it be seen in experience so that the watching observers will conclude that the Lord acts fairly and correctly for the righteous because He is righteous. If David is delivered from his troubles and freed from his captors, he will be able ...
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