Psalm 144

A Bible Devotion from Psalm 144

Blessed Are the People Whose God Is the Lord

3 O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.

12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Psalm 144:3-4 and 12-15, NKJV

Psalm 144 is a bold reflection by David upon our relationship with the Lord, God's faithfulness to us, and ending with a blessing upon the people of God. This entire Psalm is really a quiet reflection of David upon his own life. As is consistent with David, all of the honor goes to God who continually delivered David from danger, but also blessed him greatly.

We should all be asking the same question David asked in verse 3. How quickly we tend to charge God foolishly for what we perceive He has or hasn't done for us. But, like David, we should bow down before a holy and righteous God and cry out, What is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Why did God even bother with us; there is nothing in us that would cause God to desire us!

Yet, God did not forsake us! He sent His only Son to redeem a people for Himself. Our chief end is not to live life to its fullest for ourselves, but rather, Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever! (Westminster Shorter Catechism) David concludes the 144th Psalm with a 4-verse blessing upon all people.

How do we know that we are blessed by God? Do God's children have the most money and live in the most lavish homes? Look at the blessings defined by David in verses 12-14. If we do have wealth in abundance, it is truly from the Lord and not by our own great works. But we don't have to be the most wealthy people in the world to say we are blessed of the Lord. What is listed here shows us that we CAN trust in the Lord for everything and do not need to worry or fear.

The greatest blessing we can ever receive is not a financial blessing or prosperity, but rather to be granted true life in Christ; to become children of God! Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! Psalm 144 verses 14-15

Pray that you would be blessed by God because your God is the Lord!

Next: Psalm 145 - The Eyes of All

More Devotions on the 144th Psalm from my blog, Daily Bible Devotions.

Blessed Be God, verses 1-2

What Is Man? verses 3-4

Bow Thy Heavens, verses 5-8

Sing Praises, verses 9-10

Happy People, verses 11-15