PSALM 144

Have you ever seen a “crazy quilt?”

It’s a blanket made from a hodgepodge of randomly cut fabric sewn together with no apparent pattern. You might see a piece of grandma’s apron in it and grandpa’s worn out suit coat. There might be a bit of tablecloth or those curtains you remember.

When I read Psalm 144 it feels like a crazy quilt made of pieces from all the other psalms.

In verses 1-2 we find these themes from Psalm 18:

• The Lord is my Rock
• The Lord is my Fortress
• Teaches my hands to fight
• Nations submit

Verse 3 echoes Psalm 8:

• What is man that You think about him?

Verse 4 rephrases Psalm 78:39

• Human life is like a breath

Verses 5-7 return to themes from Psalm 18:

• Yahweh opening the heavens and coming down
• Lightning as arrows
• Rescue from deep waters

Verses 8 and 11 call to mind Psalm 109 with the condemnation of liars.

Psalm 33, verses 3 and 12 are repeated in 144:9 and 15.

Again we have echoes of Psalm 18 in David’s praise for being rescued from death in verse 10.

The blessings summarized in Psalm 128 are unpacked in 144:12-14 in more detail.

It’s fascinating how much material from Psalm 18 makes a reappearance here since it prophetically speaks of Jesus’ resurrection.

I find this line particularly poignant:

“May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭144‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David would’ve wept bitterly indeed to see each of these sad things come to pass. But perhaps we might consider Psalm 144 to point to themes of a resurrection like Psalm 18 from which it heavily borrows. With that view in mind, the warfare in the opening would suggest the return of Christ and His battle to overthrow the armies of Antichrist. We might also perceive hints of the resurrection and rescue of the Church and the blessings on God’s people during the reign of Messiah.

Just something to ponder that may help us read this psalm with different eyes.

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PSALM 145

This whole psalm is like a testimony service. In case you’ve never been in one, a testimony service is where each person in the meeting tells the rest what the Lord has done in their lives. There is no sermon. The testimonies are the message. To add a touch of fun there can be a “tag” element where each person calls out another person by name to testify when they are finished. Sometimes this is called a “Popcorn” testimony service because people pop up from their seat and share a testimony. 🍿

“Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Young people need to hear the stories of God’s faithfulness to their parents and grandparents. And they need to hear them often.

🚩😄🍿Make Popcorn Testimony Services Great Again!

Each generation needs to understand the context in which they live; that they weren’t born into a blank slate. Young Christians in particular need to understand that they are part of an ancient community that stretches back to the gates of Eden. They need to read and hear honest accounts of God’s faithfulness. Get your young people reading the biographies and stories of great missionaries and martyrs and defenders of the faith. Let them hear the voices of the great cloud of witnesses proclaiming the Lord’s power and His mighty acts.

They do not need to reinvent the wheel or the Church. They must simply be prepared to receive the faith once delivered to the saints and pass it on whole and unaltered to the generations that follow after them. This will not happen by osmosis. We will have to be intentional like David and tell everyone Who our God is. He does that here. David again uses the revealed name and character of Yahweh from Exodus 34 to pass it on to future generations:

“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭145‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

If you’ve walked on the narrow way for a while you’ve learned some things about the Lord and how He acts. Pass those insights on to the next generation in your life. But mostly, let’s pass on the Lord’s revelation of Himself.

🍿