May 18, 2022 -- Psalm 144:1-2 -- God the Blessed, Our Shield

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Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
Psalm 144:1-2 ESV

A few days ago I was watching a young mom who was in conversation with her friend. Her little one was moving like a tiny calf loosed from its stall ready to jump and move and explore. In fact the little one had just been freed from the playpen.. While they were intensely talking the mom casually redirected her unsteadily-walking 18-month-old so she didn’t bang her head against the coffee table. The mom didn’t break her conversational stride at all when the toddler reached for the hot coffee mug, mom just picked it up and put it up out of reach. Think of how often the LORD, the Blessed, shields us, His children. We likely have no idea how many things He has put out of reach, how many times we might have hurt ourselves and He kept our feet from stumbling.

When we, as believers, do experience battles and hardships, it is His Good Spirit Who leads us (Psalm 143:10). So, we need not be afraid. We do not have to be afraid because He trains our hands for war and our fingers for battle. In Christ we have all we need for life and godliness. Dear family in Christ, be bold in your witness to the work of our God. He is Your shield. His Good Spirit leads you. Christ will receive the reward for which He has come, an inheritance of nations, people drawn to Him. What joy is ours to be able to point others to Jesus Christ—the Captain of our Salvation.

GLORIOUS JEHOVAH, MY COVENANT GOD,
A ll thy promises in Christ Jesus are yea and amen,
and all shall be fulfilled.
Thou hast spoken them, and they shall be done,
commanded, and they shall come to pass.
Yet I have often doubted thee,
have lived at times as if there were no God.
Lord, forgive me that death in life,
when I have found something apart from thee,
when I have been content with ephemeral things.
But through thy grace I have repented;
Thou hast given me to read my pardon
in the wounds of Jesus,
and my soul doth trust in him, my God incarnate,
the ground of my life, the spring of my hope.
Teach me to be resigned to thy will,
to delight in thy law, to have no will but thine,
to believe that everything thou doest is for my good.
Help me to leave my concerns in thy hands,
for thou hast power over evil,
and bringest from it an infinite progression of good,
until thy purposes are fulfilled.
Bless me with Abraham’s faith that staggers not at promises through unbelief.
May I not instruct thee in my troubles,
but glorify thee in my trials;
Grant me a distinct advance in the divine life;
May I reach a higher platform,
leave the mists of doubt and fear in the valley,
and climb to hill-tops of eternal security in Christ
by simply believing he cannot lie,
or turn from his purpose.
Give me the confidence I ought to have in him
who is worthy to be praised,
and who is blessed for evermore.
"DIVINE PROMISES" THE VALLEY OF VISION: Puritan Prayers and Devotions, page 240.

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