“Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me. O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them? For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow. Open the heavens, Lord, and come down. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke. Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them! Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp. For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword. Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead. May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace. May our barns be filled with crops of every kind. May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands, and may our oxen be loaded down with produce. May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares. Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.”
Psalms 144:1-15 NLT
David is a skilled warrior. This is a point which is often overlooked as he was also a king, poet, musician and prophet. But many times, he led God’s army into battle and had defended God’s people against the foreign nations. He was a competent man. Yet, this psalm shows two things of significance to his prowess. The first is the more obvious one. David was humble. He knew that for all of his skill and accomplishments in the battlefield, it is God who decides the victor. This is knowledge that he had understood as a boy fighting Goliath that he kept with him into his kingship. But the more interesting thing is his idea of the actual fight being waged. It is clear that David believed the larger fight was fought with ideas rather than swords. He notes repeatedly in this psalm, “there mouths are full of lie; they swear to tell the truth but they lie instead.” This is the crux of the battle which David had been fighting from Goliath onward. Goliath was blaspheming God and the Israelite soldiers believed that they should fear him. For all of David’s skills in war, it is hardest to fight the wrong perspective. This change can only be affected by God in the hearts of men. Without it, the enemy keeps coming. This is why God’s refuge is so important to David. God extols peace through truth. His truthful presence and reign is the only place where one can truly be safe, despite their battle prowess.
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