Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 144.1 and following. Indeed, “Teach me to do what you please” was the prayer in Psalm 143 (verse 10). “Exerce my hands in battle…”, David asks here. The Christian struggle also involves “laws” (2 Tim 2:1-7) and every believer who wants to please “the One who enlisted him” must somehow perform his military classes. Yet it is not on the experience gained, nor on his courage that he counts to be victorious. Jehovah Himself, he declares, is “my strong place, my high retreat… my shield and the one in whom I take refuge” (verse 2). Deliverance from above that will respond to the cry of the residue (verses 5 to 11) will finally open the door to millennial blessings (verses 12 to 15). Let’s never forget that unlike Israel, the earthly people, the Christian’s present blessings are spiritual, “in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3-14). They are therefore – like Christ – beyond the reach of the trials of this world and it is possible for us to enjoy them in the midst of the worst difficulties. Conversely, if everything seems to us to be going well in our health, in our affairs and in our family life, let’s not conclude that our soul is also thriving, nor that we have the Lord’s approval. It could be quite different…
Without this being expressly stated, this psalm gives us God’s answer to the cry we have in the previous psalm. The ascension of Jesus to heaven, then the judgment of all those who have risen up against him, finally his exaltation when he reigns over the earth, all this is proclaimed. Viewed in this way, this psalm outlines all of God’s purpose regarding the earth. The prophet, in a way, follows with his eyes Jesus who ascends to heaven, on this day of the Mount of Olives and Bethany (Luke 24:50; Acts 1:9–11); he sees him sitting high at the right hand of God. In this contemplation, it is to Jesus as Adonai (Lord) that he addresses himself to tell him what God has prepared for him – the rod of power, a people of frank will, and the highest dignities for himself. Then addressing Jehovah, he tells him how Jesus (Adonai) will take possession of the kingdom that is thus prepared for him. This is the structure of this remarkable psalm (Mark 13:32). Moreover, since the kingdom is for the Messiah the reward of his service, the time and all the circumstances of his establishment are reserved for the authority of the Father (Mat 20:23; Acts 1:7).
Considered in conjunction with Ps. 16, this psalm gives us a magnificent vision of Christ’s glorious ascension – God greeted him by saying, “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies for the stepping stone of your feet,” and so to speak Christ replied, “Your face is a satiation of joy; there are pleasures to your right forever.” And if we read this in the light of Heb 10:12-13, we see how Perfectly Proper God’s promise was received by Christ. It fills him with hope, with expectation, which is always the normal response of the heart to the promise. But the Lord did not enter heaven for the sole purpose of sitting at the right hand of power, waiting for the day when He will put His enemies as the stepping stone of His feet; he also entered heaven as in a sanctuary, to perform there now, according to the riches of his grace, a service of priest on behalf of his saints who, still on earth, walk and fight (Heb. 8).
What a wonderful lordship! However, if He is Lord for us, He is also Lord over us. As David says here, “My Lord.” But this has been, and will be more and more practically forgotten: Peter and Jude, both prophesying of the characters of the apostate Christianity of the end, announcing that men will deny our Lord and His authority, and change grace into dissolution (2 Pet 2; Jude 4). Also, it is the Lord who will come to avenge the dishonor cast upon His Name (Jude 14): “Behold, the Lord has come.” It is a capital Scripture, in truth, that this psalm. He is of a nature to occupy and expand the thoughts of his saints who love him and find their delights in inquiring about Him in his temple. For Ps144 blesses the Lord as the source of strength. The motive he alleges for the destruction of enemies is: “What is man?” Why would Jehovah take into account a similar worm and delay introducing the blessing by thus postponing judgment? We therefore await deliverance as the perfect, the true final blessing of Israel: “Blessed is the people for whom it is so! Blessed are the people who have Jehovah for their God! ». This Psalm applies directly to David himself, for he is named in it and recognizes God as subjugating his people under him (God’s people), in a word as the source of royal power. But what we have here is the introduction of the people into the state of submission to Christ, where they will be a people of frank will on the day of their power (Ps 110:3), and will establish a leader in the great day of Jizereal (Hosea 2:2); then Jehovah will completely dissipate the power of his enemies, provide the people with a new hymn, and bless them. The Messiah will certainly be its leader, and this is said prophetically by David himself. For thetrue beloved will be Chief over Israel.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
King’s Prayer:
· God our strength
Ex 15:2 The Lord is my strength and the subject of my praises; He was the one who saved me. He is my God: I will celebrate him; He is the God of my father: I will exalt him. 2 Sam 22:33 It is God who is my mighty fortress, and who leads me into the right way. Ps 73:26 My flesh and heart can be consumed: God will always be the rock of my heart and my sharing. Ps 89:22 My hand will sustain him, and my arm will strengthen him.
· Insignificant man, insignificant appearance of the
-The tenant of a clay house Job 4:19 How much more among those who live in clay houses, Who originate from dust, And who can be crushed like a vermisseau! ; Job 7:17 What is man, that you may make so many of it, that you may deign to beware of him,
-A worm Job 25:6 How much less man, who is only a worm, The son of man, who is only a worm!
-An atom in the natural universe Ps 8.5 What is man, so that you remember him? And the son of man, so that you may take care of him?
-A grasshopper compared to God Isa 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And those who inhabit it are like grasshoppers; He extends the heavens like a light cloth, He unfolds them like a tent, to make them his home.
-However, he benefits from the continual solicitude of the Almighty Esa 41:14 Fear nothing, worm of Jacob, Weak remnant of Israel; I come to your aid, said the Lord, And the Holy One of Israel is your savior.
· Promise of fullness to those who obey
Lev 26.5 No sooner have you beaten the wheat than you will touch the harvest, and the harvest will reach sowing; you will eat your bread to satiety, and you will live safely in your country. Dt 30:9 The Lord your God will fill you with goods by making all the work of your hands, the fruit of your wombs, the fruit of your flocks, and the fruit of your soil prosper; for the Lord will again take pleasure in your happiness, as he took pleasure in that of your fathers, Ps 132:15 I will bless his food, I will satiate his needy with bread; Isa 30:23 Then he will pour out the rain on the seed that thou hast laid in the ground, and the bread that the earth shall produce shall be tasty and nourishing; At the same time, your herds will graze in vast pastures. Am 9:13 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, When the ploughman will closely follow the reaper, And he who tramples the grape he who spreads the seed, Where the must will flow from the mountains and flow from all the hills.
· People of God, general references
-Possession cherished as a treasure Ex 19:5 Now, if you listen to my voice, and if you keep my covenant, you will belong to me among all peoples, for the whole earth is mine;
-Chosen by the Lord Dt 14:2 For you are a holy people to Jehovah, your God; and Jehovah, your God, has chosen you, that you may be a people who belonged to him among all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
-Raised above the nations Dt 26:13 You will say before Jehovah your God: I have taken from my house what is consecrated, and I have given it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, according to all the orders you have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of your commandments. 1 Sam 12:22 Jehovah will not abandon His people because of His great name, for Jehovah has resolved to make you His people. Ps 29:11 The Lord gives strength to His people; Jehovah blesses His people and makes them happy.
-Led as a flock Ps 78:52 He made His people leave like sheep, He led them like a flock into the wilderness. Ps 100:3 Know that Jehovah is God! It is He who made us, and we belong to Him; We are his people, and the herd of his pasture.
Prepared for service Luke 1:17 he will walk before God with the spirit and power of Elijah, to bring the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the rebels to the wisdom of the righteous, in order to prepare for the Lord a well-disposed people. Acts 15:14 Simon recounted how God first cast his eyes on the nations to choose from among them a people who bore his name.
-Characterized by the zeal Tt 2:14 which has given itself for us, in order to redeem us from all iniquity, and to make a people that belongs to it, purified by it and zealous for good works.
“The law is written on his heart Hb 8:10 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, I will write them in their hearts; And I will be their God, and they will be my people. 1 Pet 2:9 You, on the contrary, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you from darkness to his admirable light, Rev 21:3, and I heard from the throne a loud voice that said: Behold the tabernacle of God with men! He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.
From all the above, we note that thispsalm follows the same current of thought as the previous one: At the end of Psalm 143 in fact, the supplicant asked for the destruction of the enemy; here he speaks with the assurance that God wants to be his strength, his shield and his victory in battle. As a result, he desires the day of battle, and anticipates victory. He relishes in advance the fruits and joy in the kingdom, namely all that characterizes the prosperity of man: sons and daughters, abundance, established peace, and the unanimous verdict of the whole world: “Blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God” (v. 15 and Deut 33:29). It is the spirit of Psalm 18 that blows here. And it is striking to see that it is the language of the true David at the great deliverance that will be made in favor of Israel in the last days and that will introduce the kingdom (verset 15 and Isaiah 64:1). Thus, in this passage, the supplicant knows that this deliverance that he calls for will immediately bring him to the joy of the Messiah’s reign (verses 11-15). Likewise, creation, when freed from the bondage of corruption, will enjoy glorious freedom; likewise the saints can sing well: “Those whom he has justified, he has also glorified” (Rom 8:21, 30). For when the blessed God brings captive sinners out free, his love introduces them into what is more than freedom. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” the glory of God in creation.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.