Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 144:5-10
Ps 144:5-10
5 Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. 6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemies; shoot your arrows and rout them. 7 Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners 8 whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. 9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you, 10 to the one who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.
When Jacob was fleeing from the wrath of his brother Esau, he tried to bargain with God by saying if God would make his trip successful and if God would take care of him, then he would serve God all his life. God had already made Jacob’s family his own. God had already promised to take care of him and bring him back safely to the land of Canaan. But Jacob wanted to be in control of things and seemed to doubt whether God would really do his part. It was as though Jacob would serve him if he promised to keep his end of the bargain.
In this Psalm, David is not doing this. David is saying that because God is faithful and because God has already blessed him and because he has promised to continue to do so, he would serve him faithfully, worship and praise him. There was no doubt in the mind of David who was in charge and who had the right to make the deals. He was just so grateful for all God had done and was doing that he would trust him with his future and his very life.
God is still in control. None of us are in a position to try to bargain with God. He makes the rules, sets the conditions and determines both his and our course of action to be followed. Our task is stated in simple terms by the son of David when he said we are to “fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole of man.” He continues by saying that every act will come into judgment before God, whether good or bad. God has promised to bless those who trust him and serve him. He will keep his word because he is by nature faithful and cannot lie.
My Father who is in heaven, hallowed and wonderful is your name in all the earth. You are creator, giver of life and sustainer of all that exists. Help me never forget that you are God and I am a lowly person who has sinned against you and deserve nothing from your hand. Even as your forgiven child, I still find myself doing and saying things that I should not do and see myself falling short of your glory and perfection. Please forgive me, give me courage to continue, strength to become more like you and a will to give up myself and live only for you. Use me to help others. Give me wisdom to know your word and love to speak it in the right way as needed for the occasion. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
