PSALMS LESSON 144
We will begin this lesson by giving the 143rd Psalm in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 143
Verse 1. "Lord, hear my pray'r, and to my cry In faithfulness attend;
To me in righteousness reply, A gracious answer send."
Verse 2. "Nor at thy just tribunal call Thy servant to be tried; For
in thy sight, of mortals all, Shall none be justified."
Verse 3. "For foes against my soul unite; My life to dust they tread;
I dwell where darkness veils my sight, And midst those long
since dead."
Verse 4. "My spirit, overwhelmed with woes, Within me sighs for rest;
And desolate, without repose, My heart is sore oppressed."
Verse 5. "Yet I recall the days of old, Thy works of wonder trace;
Thy works which ages past unfold; I muse upon thy grace."
Verse 6. "And now, O Lord, my outstretched hands I lift to thee
again; For thee I long, as thirsty lands For genial showers
of rain."
Verse 7. "O hear me, Lord, nor more delay, For griefs my life
consume; Nor hide thy face lest I decay, Like those within
the tomb."
Verse 8. "When morning lights the eastern skies, Thy mercy, Lord,
disclose; And let thy loving-kindness rise: On thee my hopes
repose."
Verse 9. "Teach me the way where I should go; I lift my soul to thee;
Redeem me from the raging foe; To thee, O Lord, I flee."
Verse 10. "Because thou art my God, I pray, Teach me to do thy will; O
lead me in the perfect way By thy good Spirit still."
Verse 11. "Revive me, Lord, for thy great name, And for thy judgment's
sake; From all my woes, O Lord, reclaim, My soul from
trouble take."
Verse 12. "In mercy bare thy mighty arm, To crush my foes in shame;
Cut off, who work thy servant harm, Devoted to thy name."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 143rd Psalm.
Psalms 143:1 "{A Psalm of David.} Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to
my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, [and] in thy
righteousness."
I love the fact that David said, in thy faithfulness answer me.
He did not say according to my faithfulness. God's faithfulness is
perfect. By saying hear and give ear, it shows how earnest he is in
wanting God to hear his request. David does not claim any
righteousness on his own, he speaks of God's righteousness.
Psalms 143:2 "And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for
in thy sight shall no man living be justified."
David is just like all of us. He does not want justice from God,
he wants mercy. He knows that we all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. Jesus Christ justified each of us with his shed blood
for us. Acts 13:39 "And by him all that believe are justified from all
things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."
Romans 3:20 "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law [is] the knowledge of sin."
Our justification {just as if we had never sinned} is in the Lord
Jesus. Our only hope is that he justified us Himself.
Psalms 143:3 "For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath
smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in
darkness, as those that have been long dead."
Just like David, our enemies are trying to destroy us any way the
can. The greatest adversary that we have is the devil. He does get you
down so far that you are in a hole looking up. Satan will keep you
down and even dead if he can. The thing that does away with all this
darkness and gloom is the Light of Jesus.
Psalms 143:4 "Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my
heart within me is desolate."
David is so down because the enemy has overwhelmed his spirit. To
be so low and depressed would nearly break your heart.
Psalms 143:5 "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy
works; I muse on the work of thy hands."
The comfort that he has, is in remembering the great things that
God has done in the past. There is only one thing that can be good
about looking back and that is in a learning process. This is what
David is doing here. He is building up his most holy faith by
remembering the wonderful things of God in the past.
Psalms 143:6 "I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul
[thirsteth] after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah."
I discussed in a previous lesson how it is very important to have
the palms of our hands open when we reach out to God. This is a way of
drinking in the things that the Lord has for us. He can not give you
anything is your fists are clenched. If you hunger and thirst after
righteousness you shall be filled.
Psalms 143:7 "Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide
not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the
pit."
David thinks here that his life is slipping away. He must have
help soon, or he will die before the help comes. Not only is this
speaking of physical death, but spiritual despair as well.
Psalms 143:8 "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should
walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee."
David is asking, here, to know the will of God for his life. The
darkest hour is just before the dawn. The lovingkindness of the Lord
would cause all this gloom to fade away. David has promised that he
will walk in the will of the Lord, if he just knew what the will of
the Lord was.
Psalms 143:9 "Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto
thee to hide me."
The Lord is our hiding place. He is saying, after you have
delivered me, keep me hidden in you, so that they will not be able to
find me, again.
Psalms 143:10 "Teach me to do thy will; for thou [art] my God:
thy spirit [is] good; lead me into the land of uprightness."
I have said so often in these lessons, how important it is to do
the will of the Lord. We can not do the will of the Lord, unless we
know what that will is. David is asking God to teach him how to do
God's will. The very best way to learn to do the will of God is to
study His Word {Bible}, and pray that the Holy Spirit will teach you
more fully what the Scriptures are saying to you. God has a perfect
plan for each of our lives. To be truly happy in our life, we must
learn what that will is and then fulfill God's will in our lives.
Psalms 143:11 "Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy
righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble."
Jesus is the Quickening Spirit which brings new life in the
spirit. The breath of life is a gift from God. The gift of new life is
from the very same place. This is new life that David is asking for.
It will not only be good for David to give him new life, but it will
show the world the mercy and love that comes through new life in
Jesus.
Psalms 143:12 "And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy
all them that afflict my soul: for I [am] thy servant."
David declares his loyalty to the Lord, when he says he is God's
servant. He is just asking God to stop his enemies from destroying
him.
We will continue this lesson by giving the 144th Psalm in metre.
Chapter 144
Verse 1. "O Blessed over be the Lord, Who is my strength, and might,
Who doth instruct my hands to war, My fingers teach to
fight."
Verse 2. "My goodness, fortress, my high tow'r, Deliverance and
shield, In whom I trust; who unto me My people makes to
yield."
Verse 3. "Lord, what is man, that thou of him Dost so much knowledge
take? Or son of man, that thou of him So great account dost
make?"
Verse 4. "Man is like vanity; his days, As shadows, pass away. Lord,
bow thy heav'ns, come down, touch thou The hills, and smoke
shall they."
Verse 5. "Cast forth thy lightning, scatter them; Thine arrows shoot,
them rout. Thine hand send from above, me save; From great
depths draw me out."
Verse 6. "Me free from hands of children strange, Whose mouth speaks
vanity; And their right hand a right hand is That works
deceitfully."
Verse 7. "A new song I will sing to thee, O Lord, on psaltery: And on
a ten-stringed instrument Will praise sing to thee."
Verse 8. "For he it is that unto kings Deliverance doth send; And he
his servant David doth From hurtful sword defend."
Verse 9. "Me free from hands of children strange Whose mouth speaks
vanity; And their right hand a right hand is That works
deceitfully."
Verse 10. "That, as the plants, our sons may be In youth grown up that
are; Our daughters, like to corner-stones, Carved like a
palace fair."
Verse 11. "That to afford all kind of store Our garners may be filled;
That our sheep thousands, in our streets Ten thousands they
may yield."
Verse 12. "That strong our oxen be for work, That no in-breaking be,
Nor going out; and that our streets May from complaints be
free."
Verse 13. "O blest the people who are found In such a state as this;
Yea, greatly blest those people are, Whose God JEHOVAH is."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 144th Psalm.
Psalms 144:1 "{ [A Psalm] of David.} Blessed [be] the LORD my
strength, which teacheth my hands to war, [and] my fingers to fight:"
My strength, my Rock, my salvation; Bless the Lord who brings
this to me. David knows where his strength came from to fight the good
fight of faith. Hands show ability to work. In this, it appears it is
the ability to fight the enemies of David, who are also the enemies of
God. The fingers are more detailed than just mentioning the hand, so
this would possibly have to do with skill, as well as ability.
Psalms 144:2 "My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my
deliverer; my shield, and [he] in whom I trust; who subdueth my people
under me."
These are showing the character of the Lord. He is goodness to
the extreme. Notice, that David uses the word, my, in connection with
each of these traits. David is fully aware that the victory he has
experienced, is through the Lord. He says, I trusted Him and He came
through for me. It is the Lord, through David, who subdued the enemy.
Psalms 144:3 "LORD, what [is] man, that thou takest knowledge of
him! [or] the son of man, that thou makest account of him!"
Now, we see a strong contrast between what David has just said
about God and man. There really is no comparison. Man is God's
creation. That is why He is mindful of man. God made man in His image.
That is another reason He is mindful of man. God wants a family
composed of man, that is even another reason God is mindful of man.
Man is made a little lower than the angels. He is the end of God's
creation. God made the world, and all that is in it, for man. Then to
ask me what is man in comparison with God? There is no comparison
possible. God is the ultimate in intelligence, in power, in wisdom, in
understanding, in goodness, in mercy, in ability. Man is the least in
all of these same things. The only greatness that man has is in
association with God. We have been made His sons through the shed
blood of His only begotten Son.
Psalms 144:4 "Man is like to vanity: his days [are] as a shadow
that passeth away."
He is but an allusion. Man's life on this earth is but a vapour,
and gone.
Psalms 144:5 "Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the
mountains, and they shall smoke."
At the mere presence of God, even the mountain smokes. The
heavens, the earth, the sea, and all of God's creation is at His
command. If He says, bow, they must bow.
Psalms 144:6 "Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out
thine arrows, and destroy them."
As terrible as the weapons are that our country has accumulated
to fight a war, they would be nothing compared to the weapons at God's
disposal. Even the lightning moves at His command. The volcano
erupts, when He commands. The earth Quakes at His command. It would be
of no consequence at all for the Lord to destroy all on the earth. He
created them, He could destroy them, by just speaking the Word.
Psalms 144:7 "Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me
out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;"
God, with all this power, can certainly destroy a few enemies of
David. The strange children mean people of other nations. The great
waters, symbolize large groups of people.
Psalms 144:8 "Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand
[is] a right hand of falsehood."
The right hand has to do with the spiritual blessings and is the
hand of preferential treatment. The Hebrews that received the right
hand inheritance were granted twice the blessings as ordinary. Those
who speak vanity, here, are liars. Their hand that should be such a
blessing was, instead, a curse.
Psalms 144:9 "I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a
psaltery [and] an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto
thee."
He has jumped from these who deal in falsehood to the fact that
he stands for truth. These praises that David will sing, will be a
happy song of redemption. He is so happy, that he will accompany
himself on the 10 stringed instrument. Whatever he is speaking of
could be similar to our guitar.
Psalms 144:10 "[It is he] that giveth salvation unto kings: who
delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword."
Salvation for everyone is received in the very same way, whether
you are a king, or a peasant. It is a free gift from God by believing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. This same Saviour of the king is the very
same One who delivered David.
Psalms 144:11 "Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange
children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand [is] a
right hand of falsehood:"
The deliverer, will be the One to do this for David, as well.
These foreigners who are liars, and who bring curses, instead of
blessings are the ones David wants to be rid of.
Psalms 144:12 "That our sons [may be] as plants grown up in their
youth; [that] our daughters [may be] as corner stones, polished
[after] the similitude of a palace:"
This, to me, is speaking of the training and upbringing of the
boys as a tree planted. It must grow straight and strong in its youth,
if it is to be the upright strong-rooted plant, or tree that it should
be. Jesus is the chief Corner-Stone. This mention of the girls as
corner-stones means that they are to secure the walls together. They
help to hold the framework of the palace together. The fact that they
are polished would mean that they are pretty to look upon, while being
useful to holding the home, or palace, together.
Psalms 144:13 "[That] our garners [may be] full, affording all
manner of store: [that] our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten
thousands in our streets:" Psalms 144:14 "[That] our oxen [may be]
strong to labour; [that there be] no breaking in, nor going out; that
[there be] no complaining in our streets."
This is speaking of abundant blessings that come from God alone.
This is speaking of families who operate by God's plan and have plenty
from the labor of their hands. Even their oxen cooperate with the plan
and work, not destroy.
Psalms 144:15 "Happy [is that] people, that is in such a case:
[yea], happy [is that] people, whose God [is] the LORD."
This just shows the happiness, peace, and joy that comes from
following closely with the LORD.
Questions 144
1. Whose faithfulness is David depending on?
2. What does David call himself in verse 2?
3. Instead of justice, what does David want from God?
4. Quote Romans chapter 3 verse 20.
5. What does justification mean?
6. Who is the greatest adversary that all of us have?
7. What does away with all the darkness and gloom?
8. In verse 4, what is really down about David?
9. What comfort does David have?
10. What is the only reason for looking back?
11. When we reach out in praise to God, what position should we have
our hands in? Why?
12. If you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you shall be ______>
13. What reason did David give for God hearing him speedily?
14. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the __________.
15. When is the darkest hour?
16. What must David know to walk in the will of the Lord?
17. Who is our hiding place?
18. What is the best way to learn what the will of God is?
19. What must we do to be truly happy?
20. Who is the Quickening Spirit?
21. What does David call the LORD in verse 1?
22. The LORD teaches his hands to ___.
23. What does he call the LORD in verse 2?
24. Quote Psalms chapter 144 verse 3.
25. Compare God and man.
26. What are man's days likened to in verse 4?
27. What happens to the mountains at the presence of God?
28. Who are the strange children?
29. Their right hand is a hand of _________.
30. What would their 10 stringed instrument be like today?
31. In verse 12, we read that the sons should be like what?
32. In the same verse, what are the daughters to be as?
33. What blessings are mentioned in verse 13?
34. Quote Psalms chapter 144 verse 15.
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