What God can do (Psalm 144)

In this psalm, David is describing a situation in which he was under attack by foreigners (v. 11). This could refer to invasion from outside the country or perhaps he could be describing foreign mercenaries who were helping his opponents, such as Doeg the Edomite who was serving in the army of Saul. Whoever these opponents were, it is clear that David felt in great danger.

It is interesting that he felt this danger despite previous successes. He refers to them at the close of verse 2 as part of his praise of God and acknowledges that the Lord has already given him victories. Yet David knew that previous victories do not automatically give present victory. He was aware that he could take nothing for granted, therefore he prayed to his God for help.

In this prayer, David first focuses on God before considering his enemy, and that is a wise way to approach a problem. If we first focus on the enemy, we tend to assess God’s abilities in light of what the enemy can do. But if we look first at God and his abilities, then we will consider the enemy from what God can do to them. For example, if I think my enemy is subtle, I will probably think that God is wiser than him, which is true, but I may limit my thoughts about God to that. But if I think first of God, then I should think about all his attributes and in light of them realise how small even the most powerful enemy is.

The teacher who defends

David, under attack by an enemy, thinks about God in military terms. There is a lesson here in how we can think about God and make his attributes and abilities relevant to our situation. For example, David could have thought about God as his shepherd and could have used that picture to illustrate how God protects him. Yet to do so would have deprived himself of other aspects of divine comfort. But thinking about the Lord through the more pertinent relationship of a military leader helped David more. Of course, to do this we have to know the many different ways in which God relates to his people. Most of them will be found in the Bible.

As he thinks about God in this way, David realises that the Lord is his instructor and his defender. He combines the literal with the figurative. Literally, David would have used his hands and fingers as he fought. Yet the Lord was not a literal fortress that David could run into. Nevertheless David has no difficulty in combining the visible and the invisible as he describes his relationship with God. And we do that all the time as well.

Thinking about God as David’s instructor about the use of weapons of war does not mean that he did not receive instruction from others. Instead his words are a reminder that everything he learned about using those weapons was under the overseeing eye of God. David had to take on board whatever would have come his way in divine providence. Some things he would have learned by himself, other things he would have learned from other soldiers, and other things he would have learned from instructors.

As we apply his illustration to ourselves, the first detail that we can mention is the teachableness of David. He was one of the best, if not the best, soldier in Israel. Yet he was thankful to God for everything that he learned from others. Surely, teachableness is an essential feature of Christian living. The believer who is unteachable is heading for a defeat.

A second detail is that our talents should be available for God to use. In this illustration, David’s talents are his hands and fingers and God was able to use them how he saw best. When David first gave his hands and fingers in God’s service he had no idea where he would eventually use them. The same is true for us – the Lord is always training us for future service, no matter how old we are or how insignificant our talents may seem.

At the same time as being willing to serve his God David was also conscious of his security in God. He uses a wide variety of pictures to illustrate the safety of which he was conscious – fortress, stronghold, deliverer, shield and refuge. All of them are expressions of God’s steadfast love and all of them will bring about God’s purpose for him. So although he was under attack and in need of constant protection David also realised and affirmed that the Lord would fulfil his purpose, which for David involved extending the bounds of the kingdom of God as it existed in his day. We too can have this perspective when our enemies attack us – we can rejoice in his security and anticipate spiritual victories because of who our God is.

The enemy (vv. 3-8)

It is not clear who is being described in verses 3 and 4. David could be speaking about himself, which would make the verses an expression of gratitude for what the Lord did for David personally. Or they could describe the peoples who would be conquered by David, which would make the verses a statement of confidence by David that the Lord would give victory over powerful opponents. Or they could refer to his current enemies, which would teach us that David, having thought about God, now had a true estimation of his enemies – they are only passing humans. Perhaps he has each in mind, a reminder to us of the weakness of the strongest humans.

Aware that he is unable by himself to defeat his enemies, David asks God to appear in great power and deliver him from his attackers. He uses the imagery of a mountain on fire to illustrate the awesome presence of God. Perhaps he is asking God to repeat for him personally what he had done for the people of Israel nationally at Mount Sinai. If he is, then David has grasped an important aspect of spiritual living, which is that God can do for each of his people in their space something similar to the great things he has done in a wider are for large numbers of his people. So when we read of great things done by him, we can see to God, ‘Please do that for me!’

David becomes specific in what he wants the Lord to do. (1) He wants his enemies routed; (2) he wants personal and complete deliverance – he uses a dramatic image or picture to illustrate what he wants when he asks God to grab him away from the overwhelming situation he was in; (3) he wants physical deliverance from their presence and he wants ongoing deliverance from their slanderous accusations and assessments of him. This is a reminder that God can defeat our opponents and undo the damage they may have done.

What should accompany prayer (vv. 9-11)

We can ask ourselves this important question: ‘What should accompany prayer?’ Here David reminds us that when we pray we should already have resolved to praise God for the victories that he will give. This kind of resolve is common in the psalms as the authors describe their vow or their intention to thank God publicly for answering their prayers. The thanksgiving would take place at the location of public worship (the tabernacle or later the temple). Our prayers should not be tentative in the sense that we are waiting to see what happens before we determine to thank God.

David also uses recollection of previous help from God when he was in danger. Many times in the past he had experienced the Lord’s gracious aid. And he brought them in to give himself comfort as he faced his current predicament. The recollection of what God did for us will help us anticipate a repeat performance by him.

David also shows us a third feature that should be seen in our prayers and that is repetition of requests. He repeats in verse 11 what he had said in verses 7 and 8. Repetition is not a sign of unbelief. Instead it reveals the strength of our anticipation that the Lord can really help us. After all, we want the Lord to show his love, power and wisdom on numerous occasions.

The anticipation (vv. 12-15)

In these verses David imagines what life will be like if God answers his prayers. Answered prayer becomes a door to amazing blessings. The danger they faced would have gone and been replaced by security and prosperity. Such is the beauty and the bounty of the description that one could almost say that the glory of the outcome made the route to it worthwhile.