Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.
--Psalm 144:1 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on August 21, 2013 of Psalm 144; Luke 19:1-27; Esther 9-10.
David opens the 144th Psalm proclaiming that God is his Rock and is to be blessed. In this royal psalm (so called for being written by or about a member of the royalty), David praises God and thanks Him for His hand in David's past victories, asks Him for deliverance from his current enemies and woes, and gives an image of a hoped for future that his faith might bring. This last, a picture of peace and prosperity, includes strong sons, dependable daughters, full barns, and bountiful herds - all great blessings in an agrarian society.
David prays that God rescue him "out of great waters" (please see verse 7). We can surely sympathize with this plea, as we often describe ourselves as barely being able to keep our head above water. We might feel ourselves as drowning in a sea of troubles, bobbing around in the middle of the ocean, lost and overwhelmed by wave after wave of problems that keep coming without a break. When this sense of dread hits, we should follow David's example and ask God to pluck us up out of the waters and rescue us.
David describes his enemies "whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood" (verse 8) when he seeks God's deliverance. This is a rather poetic way of saying they are devious and deceptive. They lie, without hesitation and without conscience. They may smile and say nice things to his face but then turn and stab him in the back. They might hold out their right hand in friendship, and then use it in acts of treachery. Sound familiar? Sadly, we all know folks like David describes. We've all been hurt at one time or another by someone who has their own agenda, who doesn't care what it takes or who gets hurt as long as they get what they want. If we examine this type of behavior closely, we can see it bears the fingerprints of Satan all over it. These people are doing his work, whether wittingly or naively, tempted by his promises of earthly delights and rewards, or deluded by his lies. While these people may be acting as his agents, Satan is our true enemy and not them.
This is why in today's focus verse that David praises God for training his hands for war and his fingers for battle. The Lord equips us for war as well. We face the wiliest of enemies, the craftiest of foes. We need an advantage and Jesus provides that edge. He girds us with armor and sword. He fits us to do battle. He strengthens our body and our will to stand when others try to drag us down, to resist the lures of the great deceiver. All we have to do is have faith and pray, and Jesus will help us fight. He trains our hands for war, and our fingers for battle. Amen.
Lord Jesus, thank You for always standing by our side when we face our true adversary. Thank You for equipping us to do battle against a foe who we cannot not defeat on our own. And on that day when You return, we will share in Your great victory. Thank You, O Lord! In Your beautiful and powerful name, sweet Jesus we pray. Amen.
David prays that God rescue him "out of great waters" (please see verse 7). We can surely sympathize with this plea, as we often describe ourselves as barely being able to keep our head above water. We might feel ourselves as drowning in a sea of troubles, bobbing around in the middle of the ocean, lost and overwhelmed by wave after wave of problems that keep coming without a break. When this sense of dread hits, we should follow David's example and ask God to pluck us up out of the waters and rescue us.
David describes his enemies "whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood" (verse 8) when he seeks God's deliverance. This is a rather poetic way of saying they are devious and deceptive. They lie, without hesitation and without conscience. They may smile and say nice things to his face but then turn and stab him in the back. They might hold out their right hand in friendship, and then use it in acts of treachery. Sound familiar? Sadly, we all know folks like David describes. We've all been hurt at one time or another by someone who has their own agenda, who doesn't care what it takes or who gets hurt as long as they get what they want. If we examine this type of behavior closely, we can see it bears the fingerprints of Satan all over it. These people are doing his work, whether wittingly or naively, tempted by his promises of earthly delights and rewards, or deluded by his lies. While these people may be acting as his agents, Satan is our true enemy and not them.
This is why in today's focus verse that David praises God for training his hands for war and his fingers for battle. The Lord equips us for war as well. We face the wiliest of enemies, the craftiest of foes. We need an advantage and Jesus provides that edge. He girds us with armor and sword. He fits us to do battle. He strengthens our body and our will to stand when others try to drag us down, to resist the lures of the great deceiver. All we have to do is have faith and pray, and Jesus will help us fight. He trains our hands for war, and our fingers for battle. Amen.
Lord Jesus, thank You for always standing by our side when we face our true adversary. Thank You for equipping us to do battle against a foe who we cannot not defeat on our own. And on that day when You return, we will share in Your great victory. Thank You, O Lord! In Your beautiful and powerful name, sweet Jesus we pray. Amen.
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