Psalm 144:1-8 - God's Greatness and Man's Smallness

Psalm 144:1-8

1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2 My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My stronghold and my deliverer,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me.
3 O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your arrows and confuse them.
7 Stretch forth Your hand from on high;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of aliens
8 Whose mouths speak deceit,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

Message: God's Greatness and Man's Smallness

Time: Based upon authorship and subject matter, Psalms cover a range of centuries. David is mentioned 73 times, Solomon 2, Moses 1, and 50 designate no specific person. It is believed they were compiled around 537 BC. The psalms deal with such subjects as God and His creation, war, worship, wisdom, sin and evil, judgment, justice, and the coming of the Messiah.

What the Lord is Saying:

David's Source of Vitality: A Soldier
This Psalm begins with a praise to the Lord, recognizing that God is the reason for David's greatness. David acknowledges that the reason for his gifts is the Lord has provided. He does not attribute his greatness to himself but he thanks God and God is the one that is great, a rock - Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

David's Source of Vitality: A Sovereign
As David attributes his greatness as a fighter, here he also attributes his greatness as a ruler to the Lord. My lovingkindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me. Everything about David points back to the Lord, "My rock." God is the strong one and however people want to view him or label him, it all points to the Lord.

The Vanity of Man's Person: How Insignificant is our existence
In verse 3 are two words for man -- adam and enosh. O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? Adam denotes mankind in general. Enosh as son of man is a world that stands for man's frailty and weakness. It comes from the word that mean "to be sick" or "to be wretched or weak." Here is the question, given the greatness of God and his great power, how is it that he considers man. What a difference this statement is from society who thinks that God must not simply be thinking of man, but only wanting the best for him at all times. God is often set aside because man has not been made great. But, it is the greatness of God that we need to be about.

The Vanity of Man's Person: How Inconsequential is our experience
The question of why God would consider man is further foreshadowed in these words - Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow. David survey's his life and looks at his temporary time on earth. If we are honest with ourselves and our existence, sure there are good moments when we think we are on top of the world and have done good things, but there are other times that we see our sin and see the evil of our ways. As I survey life, and the shortness of life, how is it that God takes account of me. This is a far cry from our world today where all the focus is on the greatness of man and the greatness of his existence and experience. We are all about enjoying life to the max, not praising our God on high. But, David sees it. He sees the insignificance of man and sees that man is nothing without God.

The Vanity of Man's Plans: Apprehending the Power of God
In verses 5 and 6 is the following: Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains, that they may smoke. Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Send out Your arrows and confuse them. David does not ask for his greatness to be manifested, but he asks for the Lord's greatness to be manifested. Lord, show your power throughout this world. He wanted to people to see the greatness of God and he asks God to work in this way.

The Vanity of Mans Plan: Appropriating the Power of God
Stretch forth Your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hand of aliens whose mouths speak deceit, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.  It is the power of God that will rescue David and will rescue man. Man cannot rescue himself and God recognizes this. All the saving that goes on in this world is attributed to God. It is just some people give him praise for it and some do not. David's confidence was in God.

Promise: David praised God and understand that his position in this world was due to the great God. God is so great, it makes us wonder why he would have anything to do with us at all. But, he does. So, our response is to call on him and ask him to intervene in our lives. His power needs to be manifested on this earth.

Prayer: O Lord, you are the Rock. You are the great One. You are all power. The roles I find myself in and who I am is because of you being so great. I don't comprehend why you see value in me. I don't comprehend why you chose me and saved me. But, you have and I am so thankful. Forgive me for not always showing this thanks. I need you God. I need your help. So send down your power O God and make it known in my world by rescuing me. You are great.