Psalm 144 Part 2

David was well familiar with death and knew how temporary human life was. Having been responsible for the death of so many men, and having been so near to death himself, David knew how transient life was. It was as fleeting as a ‘breath’ or ‘a passing shadow’ (v4). The same thought came to me many years ago as I sat on a hill watching the sunset and realizing that my father, who had recently died, was like the shadow stretching across the valley and soon to merge with the darkness and be forgotten. I struggled with the meaninglessness of it all. It was there that I determined to not live and die and never know why. I was not going to go out of this world without knowing why I came into it.

 In vs5-8 David used phrases and images from God’s appearance on Mount Sinai (Ex.19:16-20) to give a sense of awe and even terror connected with God’s presence. He wants God to ‘come down’ and be as present in his day as he was when he revealed himself at Sinai. Like David, we hope for the final glorious day when the heavens shall reveal the coming of the King to Judgement, scattering the host of darkness and destroying the anti-christian powers, and then we too shall be delivered from the enemy. In v11-15 David repeats the idea from earlier in the psalm (vs7-8). The presence and destructive work of these foreign liars and false speakers were of great concern to him, and he pleaded with God to ‘rescue’ him.

His conclusion is simple: what was true for David and Israel under the Old Covenant is even truer for the believer in Jesus under the New Covenant! It should be said of believers, ‘Blessed or Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh.’ This is our promise and heritage as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. The prayer ends at the source of the harmony it has visualized. For while it treasures the gifts, it reserves its final blessing for the relationship behind them: that of being the people who know the Lord as their own.