Psalm 144 (Listen)
144:1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!
Devotional:
He is my faithful love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him; he subdues my people under me. (Psalm 144:2)
I praise and thank the Lord because He is my fortress and deliverer. There is a difference between doing and being. The Psalmist declares God to be his steadfast love, his fortress, stronghold, deliverer, shield, to be his refuge. God is not merely a provider (a doer) of such things. God is all these things and more. He provides Himself to us in many ways, just as He put Himself (Jesus) on the cross for our sins. God not only provided the sacrifice; He was the sacrifice. “Happy are the people with such blessings. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.”
Pray It: Father, thank you for protecting me and for delivering me. Help me find comfort and joy in that truth as I live in a world filled with uncertainty and danger. Amen.
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