... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 144:1-15[1]
[A Psalm] of David.
Blessed[2] [is] the Lord my
strength, Who teaches my hands to war, my fingers to fight. My Goodness, my Fortress, my High Tower, my
Deliverer, my Shield, in Whom I trust, Who subdues my people under me.[3]
Lord, what [is] man, that You
take knowledge of him? The son of man,
that You make account of him? Man is
like vanity. His days [are] as a shadow that passes away.
Bow Your heavens, Lord. Come down. Touch the mountains. They shall smoke. Cast forth lightning. Scatter them.
Shoot out Your arrows. Destroy
them. Send Your hand from above. Rid me.
Deliver me from great waters, from the hands of alien children, whose
mouths speak vanity, and their right hand [is]
a right hand of falsehood.
I will sing a new song to You, O God. I will sing praises to You on a psaltery, an
instrument of ten strings. You give
salvation to kings. You deliver David
His servant from the hurtful sword.
Rid me.
Deliver me from the hand of alien children, whose mouth speaks vanity,
and their right hand [is] a right
hand of falsehood. That our sons [may be] as plants grown up in their
youth. Our daughters [may be] as corner stones, polished [in] the likeness of a palace.[4] Our garners [may be] full, affording all manner of store. Our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten
thousands in our streets. Our oxen [may be] strong in labor. [That there
be] no breaking in, nor going out.
That [there be] no complaining
in our streets.
Blessed people, who are in such a
case. Blessed people, who’s God [is] the Lord.[5]
[1]
David dedicates this Psalm to war: yet, this cannot be the kind of war, as man
ordinarily thinks of war. Our battle is
a wrestling “not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).” This war is about calling the whole world to
repentance and conversion, to salvation in Christ, by the power of the Holy
Ghost. In this war some become so
hardened, through their own fault, that they are cast into the lake of fire;
but, one way or another, all are subdued (Isaiah 45:23-25; Romans 14:11-12;
Philippians 2:10-11).
The unanswered question naturally arises: What is so important about human beings? Why should God be bothered? After all, man is really nothing: nothing of
importance, and nothing with which God should be bothered. David gives no answer. We know the answer: for reasons which we
cannot understand, God loves us.
David contrasts his own deliverance to the giving of the Law
at Sinai (Exodus 19), to salvation from Noah’s flood, and Moses’ crossing at
the Red Sea. David is able to make this
connection, because he can see the Eternal Covenant as one covenant promise, of
which he has been made part.
David breaks out in a new song.
Finally, David sees the kingdom as the result of this war: a
kingdom devoid of empty, lying aliens; a kingdom of sons standing straight and
tall; a kingdom where daughters are the foundations of society; a kingdom of
incredible prosperity; a kingdom without robbery; without war; without
complaining. As with Hebrew poetic
constructs elsewhere, the emphasis is always on the last item in the list:
these six (Proverbs 6:16-19), three and four (Proverbs 30; Amos 1). This is incomprehensible, a kingdom without
complaining, our churches are filled with bickering and complaining. Indeed, David’s complaint is that complaining
needs to end. Truly, this is an
extraordinary kingdom, for David or for us.
“Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”
[2] Previously,
we had thought that this Psalm introduces a new class of Psalms ending with
Psalm 151: The Kingdom Psalms. Today we
are inclined to view all Psalms from Psalm 107 through 151 as Psalms of consummation. Since the mystery of the consummation comes
in two parts, a First and a Second Advent, we tend to overlook the many things
that Jesus taught about Christian tribulation, while at the same time He taught
that the kingdom of God is at hand (See Luke 4:18-21). Christian life is full of conflict, as these
Psalms show, but we have the fullness of the kingdom in the Holy Ghost, not merely
a foretaste or a part of it. God does
not come to us in pieces. These Psalms
find their consummation in the proclamation, “Blessed is the Kingdom of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of
ages.” It is appropriate that this calls
forth the singing of the Beatitudes. We
can no longer see these Psalms as separate from or different than Matthew 5.
[3] It
would appear that David spent most of his combat time in prayer as his fingers
stroked his psalterion (a small harp or zither). Ephesians 6:10-20 details the armament we are
to wear for battle.
[4]
Surely, these vivid figures of speech will bring a smile to our faces. What parents do not want to see their
children standing straight and tall, at attention like healthy plants; and
scrubbed to ruthless perfection until they glow with the highly polished
reflection worthy of the decorative stones in a king’s palace? What mother has not so labored over her
children until they achieve such appearances?
What father has not beamed with pride to see his children looking so,
dressed in their Sunday best, so that they may be presented to God, the King of
All.
[5] If
you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost,
share, or use any of them as you wish.
No rights are reserved. They are
designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely
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