Psalm 144 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
Psalm 144 Short Summary:
In Psalm 144, David, the warrior king of Israel, asked the Lord to fight for their nation and send power from Heaven to defeat their cruel and dishonest enemies. At the end of the psalm, David spoke a blessing over his people and asked God to bless them with prosperity.
Psalm 144 Summary
AUTHOR:
Psalm 144 was written by David.
NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:
No Known New Testament References.
THEMES:
God’s strength is a fortress to the righteous and the fear of the wicked.
David asked God to send a blessing on the nation of Israel.
DEFINITIONS:
Many Waters (144:7) – A person surrounded by many waters, especially tumultuous waters, is in a dangerous position. David used this term to mean he was surrounded by danger, his enemies were like waves in the open sea, threatening to drag him under. See also Psalm 18:16-17.
OUTLINE:
GOD, DAVID’S STRENGTH AND FORTRESS (144:1-11):
David was a king, but also a military man. He credited God with keeping him alive and giving him skill on the battlefield.
He was amazed that God took care of him, because, although a king, he was nothing in comparison to the eternal God.
He wrote, “O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (144:3-4).
With very illustrative language, David asked for God’s power to be displayed against his enemies.
He asked God to touch the mountains and make them smoke (probably a reference to God’s power as seen on Mount Sinai, Exo 19:18). He asked the Lord to send out lightning and arrows to scatter his foes.
David needed a rescue from his adversaries who surrounded him like “many waters.”
DAVID ASKS FOR GOD’S BLESSING ON HIS PEOPLE (144:12-15):
David asked God to make Israel’s sons like strong full-grown plants, and to make her daughters like the beautiful pillars of a palace.
He prayed for their granaries to be full of food, their sheep to fill their fields with lambs, their cattle to be fertile, and their streets to be safe from violence.
The psalm ends with the words, “Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” (144:15).
APPLICATION:
Why shouldn’t we avoid the needs we see in the world? Isn’t it easier to live life minding your own business?
Yes, it is easier, but it isn’t godlike.
We shouldn’t forget that God doesn’t have to care about us.
God doesn’t have to save us. He doesn’t owe us anything.
David acknowledged this when he wrote, “O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?”
God didn’t look at our needs and say, “Well, I’ll just mind my own business, I’m not gonna help them because their problems aren’t my issue.”
Sometimes we as Christians serve others and help them fix their problems because that is what God did for us.
A Christian who isn’t a servant to others, needs to take another look at the One who was a servant to them.
