Psalm 144 — Teaching our Hands
A Psalm off David.
1 Blessed be the LORD my rock,
Which teacheth my hands to war,
And my fingers to fight:
2 My lovingkindness, and my fortress,
My high tower, and my deliverer;
My shield, and he in whom I trust;
Who subdueth my people under me.
3 LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?
4 Man is like to vanity:
His days are as a shadow that passeth away.
5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down:
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them;
Send out thine arrows, and discomfit them.
7 Stretch forth thine hand from above;
Rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of strangers;
8 Whose mouth speaketh vanity,
And their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God:
Upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
10 It is he that giveth salvation unto kings:
Who rescueth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
11 Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hand of strangers,
Whose mouth speaketh vanity,
And their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons shall be as plants grown up in their youth;
And our daughters as corner stones hewn after the fashion of a palace;
13 When our garners are full, affording all manner of store;
And our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
14 When our oxen are well laden;
When there is no breaking in, and no going forth,
And no outcry in our streets;
15 Happy is the people, that is in such a case:
Yea, happy is the people, whose God is the LORD.
I love this image of God teaching our hands to war and our fingers to fight. No warmonger myself, I do get exhilarated by the imagery of David's pen. David, the mighty victor, learned at God's school of victory. Is not Christ the very one who conquered death and burst the bonds of the pit?
Not only is God the source of saving power, he is the fortress and tower of defense. All who approach are subdued - all submit before his sovereignty. A wealth of language pours forth from David to reveal a taste of God's preeminent power. How blessed are we to call on such aGod for help. We can call on his lightnings and arrows. We can call for the vain mouths to be stopped. We can rest assured in God's great and high tower.
So then, what do we do? Do we search for swords and stones for fights? With whom are we at odds? Who is the great nemesis of our life? Is it not Satan, his temptations and our own desires? Less a song of martial delight, this psalm makes me meditate on my own confused and corrupted state. I seek deliverance, not from some foreign army, but from the spiritual warfare that tempts me in both the flesh and the spirit.
God is our high tower, still. Let us not be distracted by nations and politics. Let us rather, by God's good grace, seek victory over the flesh in our spirit.