"Jesus The True King" Psalm 144

Psalm 144.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.

! 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. 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. Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down. Touch the mountains so that they smoke.

Flash forth the lightning and scatter them. Send out your arrows and rout them. Stretch out your

hand from on high. Rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hands of foreigners

whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. I will sing a new song

to you, O God, upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you. Who gives victory to kings? Who rescues

David, his servant, from the cruel sword? Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners whose

mouth speaks lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. May our sons in their youth be

like plants full-grown. Our daughters like corner pillars cut from the structure of a palace. May our

granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce. May our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands

in our fields. May our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing. May there

be no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall, and blessed

are the people whose God is the Lord. So what makes a good leader of a country? Are they meant to do and

please whatever the culture demands? Are they meant to run a country with a good fiscal mindset? Are they

meant to appease both sides of the political spectrum? Are they meant to appear strong and stand up to

tyrants? Are they meant to see a weaker country that has something they want? Precious minerals, oil, lumber, water,

land, and then take it? Are they meant to perform their job for the betterment of the people in the country

they represent? We are continuing our series, our summer series through the book of Psalms, or through

the last book, chapter, book five of the Psalms. And now we come to this Psalm. And the Psalm we're looking

at this morning, we are given a glimpse into the heart of what a king should look like. In our context,

we will call him either a prime minister or a president. So turn with me to Psalm 144. If you don't have a Bible,

it's very helpful to have one, because you can see if we're actually reading what I'm saying up here is

actually what's in the Bible. It's very important to have your Bible with you or on your phone or

whatever means you have to access scripture. But we're going to look at this Psalm in three ways.

We're breaking it down. And we're going to look at it as point one, the strong and the fragile.

And then we'll move in to the second point, and it'll be the pattern of rescue. And then the last point

will be a people of peace. So the strong and the fragile, pattern of rescue, a people of peace.

So point one. So let's look at the first two verses. Let's look together.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. He is my steadfast

love and my fortress, my strong hand and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge,

who subdues peoples under me. Now it says right at the top of this Psalm that David is the author.

And he is the second king of Israel, just to have a bit of background. He is considered the best

king of Israel, the best king they ever had. One quick read of the history of the kings that

follow him of Israel, and you'd be hard pressed to disagree with this. He is the one who leads the

people of Israel into many battles. This is the one, this is the main reason why when you read this

portion of scripture in the Old Testament, that God does not allow him to make the new temple,

to make the temple, because his hands are covered in blood, in a sense, because he's been to war so many

times. So Solomon, his son, is tasked in the history of building it. David was a powerful king. No nation

could stand before him. But the words he uses here in these first two verses, then following in this

psalm, then in most of his psalms, does not sound like the words of a powerful king at all. He attributes his

success not to himself. He says, blessed be the Lord, my rock, my steadfast love, my fortress, my stronghold,

my deliverer, my shield, and my refuge. How are you in the sense of this? Because when we look around,

we look at leaders and they seem strong, or you read about the kings of old and they seem strong and

mighty. Blessed be the Lord, the one who makes covenant with his people. When you hear this,

blessed be the Lord. David is praising the God who seeks his people. Not a distant God who only demands

for you to be a servant, but one who promises to protect, to care and prosper his people. Not out

of demand, but of love for the people he has chosen. When you read in Exodus, you read of the people of

Israel coming out of Egypt, of slavery. God subdues the most powerful king of that land, of that era,

and brings the people out, not because they did something to deem it, but because of a promise God

made hundreds of years before in a covenant. This is what you think of when you hear, blessed be the

Lord. The Lord is the one who makes covenant with his people. No other God of the world religions can do

this. You cannot say to any of them that you are my rock, my steadfast love, my fortress, my stronghold,

my deliverer, my shield, and refuge. Now, if you've heard me speak before, I do a lot of illustrations

using outdoor analogies. I love being out in nature. And the thing I've done a bit of is whitewater

canoeing or kayaking or rafting. And the thing about this, there are many dangers within the current,

within the rapids that can hurt you as you navigate them. If you do it poorly, you can seriously hurt

yourself. And one of the most dangerous hazards is called the keeper. And what a keeper is, is fast

moving water moving under a submerged rock. And as it comes over the rock, it creates this spinning thing,

this, I'm sorry, this spinning cycle within it. So if you go over that rock or are pulled into it,

it keeps you underwater, it spins you, and you lose all sensation of which way is up and which way is

down. And the same can happen in waterfalls. If you go over a waterfall, it creates the same motion that

keeps you under it, it keeps you, pins you underwater. But also in the chaos of the rapids and in the chaos

of the current as it pulls you down, there's these things called eddies. And what an eddy is, is a protruding

rock or a bend within the river as you continue on. And what this happens in this is that it creates a

break in the current and in the chaos in the rapids. And it creates this slow swirling sensation within

the water. And if you get into this eddy, it's like you're in a place of peace. Chaos is around you. But

when you're within it, you can regroup and look at the next set of rapids as you go in and navigate

them as you go down. See, everything David calls the Lord here can be summed up in a place of refuge.

Like an eddy within a rapid, in a situation that is dangerous all around you, you can be in this

place that gives you a sense of refuge. This is what David is referring to the Lord when he says all

these things. My rock, my steadfast love, my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, and refuge.

And then he continues on within these two verses. He attributes to the Lord as the one who trains

his hands and his fingers for battle. His entire strength is what he's referring to here. It's not

his skill that he has acquired over many battles, but the Lord working through him. The Lord is the

one who gives him the strength. And at the end of verse two, he even attributes to the Lord that he is

the one who has made him king above the people that he is king above. He has subdued the people under him.

Everything about his kingship he attributes to the Lord. There's no world leader we can think of that I

actually tried to think about this. Liberal, conservative, or king, or queen in our time.

I can think of who's ever said this, who's ever given all the credit to the Lord. Or if they've even

alluded to this in some capacity, their actions have not shown it. We begin to see the heart of David

as king here. We're given a glimpse into what a heart of the king should be. But where does he get

this perspective from? Where does it come from? Well, in the next two verses, verses three and four,

we see it. Look with me in verses three and four.

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.

Now, the Odyssey, I'm sure many of us here know what the Odyssey is. It was just redone in a movie.

And it's got the movie culture abuzz with it. I haven't had a chance to see it yet. And I've

heard mixed reviews on it. I look forward to seeing it. But I'll wait until it comes out on

Netflix or something like that. But this is a famous Greek story. It's one of the famous,

most famous ones. And it takes place, it was written thousands of years ago.

But it's interesting what movies can do, how they can bring these stories back to life.

They can make them seem like it only happened yesterday. Or if it's a myth and legend,

that it actually happened in real life. Things that seem so ancient to us are a mere breath to the

Lord. Just like in winter when you breathe and you see your breath and then it's gone in seconds.

This is what time is like to the Lord. This is what, when he looks, when we look on history,

it seems so long. It seems like it goes on and on and you can look back and you can never find the

beginning of it. But to God, history is a mere breath. The span of a man's life is mere seconds.

David reflects on this and looks to his kingship in a similar way. He's at the height of success.

Yet he could be killed or die at any time. And he is just, he'll just be another name in history.

Maybe he thinks to himself one day there will be a Netflix show about him.

The strong king is humbled by how fragile he actually is.

So he turns to the Lord as the one who makes him strong.

Because he knows his life is a mere breath.

So in this moment,

David is finding in the Lord a place of refuge

during a season of war and chaos.

Personally,

if I was being pressed in on all sides

about people who wanted to kill me,

I don't think I would have David's perspective here at all.

And I'm sure many of us can think the same thing

as well. If we're being hard pressed

by something in our lives,

so chaotic

and so dangerous as that,

we would not,

I'd be really hard pressed

to think of that we would have David's perspective.

It's quite profound,

his confidence,

you see here in his words.

But at the same time,

it's easy for things to be said

and then the complete opposite happens.

So we look into the next verses

to see how his heart

continues on in this prayer.

And point two,

pattern of rescue.

See, David now looks

at the ways the Lord could rescue him.

So let's look at the next verses.

Verses six to eight.

I'm sorry, five to eight.

Bow your heavens, O Lord,

and come down.

Touch the mountains

so that they smoke.

Flash forth the lightning

and scatter them.

Send out your arrows

and rout them.

Stretch out your hand

from on high.

Rescue me and deliver me

from the many waters.

From the hand of foreigners

whose mouths speak lies

and whose right hand

is the right hand of falsehood.

Last week,

or on Friday,

I had the privilege

of going to the art gallery.

And I haven't been

to the art gallery

like, I don't know,

since like in grade five.

And we spent most of our time

in the Canadian section

and mainly the group of seven

because they dominate

the Canadian section.

And the thing about

the group of seven

was a group of seven painters

who spent much of their time

in the Canadian wilderness

in the north of Ontario mainly

and then also a bit in BC.

And they would paint landscapes

of the Canadian wilderness.

And they would spend

most of their time there

painting these scenes

that very few would see

of that era.

Their goal was to elicit

the energy and feeling

you would get

by being in these places.

And many of their paintings

are during storms

or during high winds

and you see it

within the paintings.

You see the energy,

you get the feeling

of what they're experiencing

and what they're painting.

David, here in this psalm,

with his words,

is painting a picture for us

of a battle scene.

But the battle scene

is of the Lord

fighting for him.

You can feel the energy

and the power

when he says this.

Bow your heavens,

O Lord, and come down.

Touch the mountains

so that they smoke.

Flash forth the lightning

and scatter them.

Send out your arrows

and rout them

stretch out your hand

from on high.

Rescue me and deliver me

from many waters.

He's painting a picture

of his words

as poetry does.

You can feel the energy of it

as you read these.

See the king,

this king, David,

the powerful king,

the one who is

in the highest seat,

he subjugates himself

and says it in his first line

that he looks up.

He bows.

He looks up

as a child in a crib

wanting to be picked up

by the parent.

And then the Lord

comes down.

It's never the other way.

He looks up

and the Lord comes down.

This shows us something.

The Lord

that David is praying

to for help

is the Lord

who comes down

for his people.

As I mentioned earlier,

no other God

does this

or can do this.

There's no other God.

this is the only Lord

that protects

the people.

But who are these people

that David needs protection from?

You see,

it says foreigners here.

Some would take this

in our modern age

as an anti-immigration text.

But that's not

what David

is getting at here.

Look again

with me

at the verses.

I'll just read

the one verse

where it says foreigner.

Stretch out your hand

from on high.

Rescue me

and deliver me

from many waters

from the hand

of foreigners

whose mouths speak lies

and whose right hand

is the right hand

of falsehood.

See,

in this moment,

foreigners is another way

of saying

a person from another culture.

David isn't asking

for protection

because they're culturally

different from him.

He's asking for protection

because they're attacking him

and spreading lies

about him

and about the Lord,

about the covenant Lord.

this psalm

is a pre-exile psalm.

The people of Israel

have not yet been conquered

and they have not yet

been brought into exile.

Jeremiah,

who was a prophet

during the exile,

tells the people of Israel

to settle down

in Babylon,

to build homes,

plant gardens,

seek the peace

of the city.

The Bible is not

anti-foreigner.

The Bible is

anti-anything

that tries to take

your eyes

and heart

off

the covenant God,

off the Lord,

the one who is blessed.

These people

are seeking

to eradicate

the people of Israel,

to tear down

their God

and to lift up

their gods

they have made

with their hands.

David cries out

to the only one

who can protect him.

Look what he does next

in the next verses,

9 to 11.

I will sing a new song

to you,

O God.

Upon a ten-string harp

I will play to you.

Who gives victory

to kings?

Who rescues David,

his servant,

from the cruel sword?

Rescue me and deliver me

from the hand of foreigners

whose mouths speak lies

and whose right hand

is the right hand

of falsehood.

David is remembering

a time before

in a moment

when the Lord

has rescued him

and his people

and he holds on

to this memory

and gives him confidence.

He is so confident

he thinks of the ways

that he'll sing

worship to the Lord

after the Lord

has conquered

the people

who are pressing in

on him.

It's the Lord

who will deliver him

and I've mentioned

I believe two weeks ago

about a prayer journal.

I highly recommend these

because it allows you

to see the prayers

that you've written

and how the Lord

has protected you

and worked in your lives.

It allows you

to be focused

on the Lord

and to lift praises up

as you come to church

every week

and on every day

in your own devotions.

It gives you

a heart of praise.

It allows you

to look up

instead of looking down.

So he repeats

here again

in verse 8

sorry in verse 11

what he says

in verse 8.

He says this

Rescue me

and deliver me

from the hand

of foreigners

whose mouths speak lies

and whose right hand

is falsehood.

What's going on here

is that he's repeating

this

that this moment

that he's in

is present.

It hasn't been

accomplished yet.

It hasn't been

resolved yet.

A problem

that has arisen

within evangelicalism

we call ourselves

evangelicals

reformed Christians

is Christian nationalism.

And there's a trickle

of this in Canada

but obviously

you see it more prevalent

within the states

because it's a part

of their culture.

Now I'm not trying

to get political here

but because this is

a human problem

not a political problem

we're going to look

at it very briefly.

See most presidents

of the states

have had a spiritual advisor.

Billy Graham

who's a famous evangelist

was a spiritual advisor

to many presidents.

But he did it

in a way

that he never lifted

the president above God.

The current president

Trump

has a spiritual advisor

and she has compared

him to Jesus.

He is the one

she says

who will save

the Christian people.

This was said

near the beginning

of the U.S.

and Iran war.

And many Christians

bought into this.

This is a problem

that runs through

evangelicalism.

But we have to say

to ourselves

and think this

when any thought

similar of this

enters our minds

where someone

or something

is lifted above Jesus

we need to pray

rescue me

and deliver me

from the hand

of foreigners

whose mouths

speak lies

and whose right hand

is a right hand

of falsehood.

Now it's easy

to point a finger

at Trump.

He's always in the news.

It's easy to do it.

But I'm not doing it

in a sense

just to point

at a political party.

This is a human problem

of trying to lift

world leaders

above the God

of covenant.

Above the Lord.

It's gone on

for thousands of years

and will continue on

until Jesus returns.

This is a human problem

no matter what side

of the line

you fall on.

So now we move

into the last part

of this psalm.

Point three.

A people of peace.

Look with me

at verses 12 to 15.

May our sons

in their youth

be like plants

full grown

our daughters

like corner pillars

cut for the structure

of a palace.

May our granaries

be full

providing all kinds

of produce.

may our sheep

bring four thousands

and ten thousands

in our fields.

May our cattle

be heavy with young

suffering

no mishap

or failure

in bearing.

And may there

be no cry

of distress

in our streets.

Blessed be the people

to whom such

blessings fall.

Blessed be the people

whose God

is the Lord.

Again we see

the heart

of a king

of a true king

and it's for the people.

the prayer focus

is on family

and the next

rising generation

not on dreams

of empire.

He prays for the sons

to be healthy

and strong.

He prays for the daughters

to be the very picture

of statuesque elegance

and strength.

And after he moves

into this prayer

this section

of peace

after focusing

on the people's families

the people he is above

he looks at material wealth.

but as a blessing

from the Lord

not one that is earned

but one that is given.

And it's wealth

that benefits

the community

not just the individual

storehouse

of those

the Lord blesses.

It's the one that

if you read about

it's talking about

granaries

and fields

and cattle

many of them.

This blesses

the community

because it provides food

in this context.

He prays for a healthy

kingdom

not one of defeat

or cruelty

and ends with

those

who call the Lord

their God

be blessed.

This is the heart

of a true king.

But David is human

and you read

the story of David

and he fails

at this

quite well.

He fails miserably

at this.

He is far from perfect.

But David

points

to the true king

continuing down

his line of succession

the true king

is prophesied

to come

and this king

has come.

It's come

in the form

of a baby

and lived

a perfect life

and that is Christ.

In Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

Paul is writing

in jail

and he says this

have this mind

among yourselves

which is yours

in Christ Jesus

who

though he was

in the form

of God

did not count

equality with God

a thing to be grasped

but emptied himself

by taking the form

of a servant

being born

in the likeness

of men

and being found

in human form

he humbled

himself

by becoming

obedient

to the point

of death

even death

on a cross

therefore

God

has highly

exalted him

and bestowed

on him

the name

that is above

every name

so that the name

of Jesus

every knee

should bow

in heaven

and on earth

and under the earth

and every tongue

confess

that Jesus Christ

is the Lord

to the glory

of God

the Father.

Jesus

after becoming

a servant

lowers himself

from his status

of God

and becomes

a servant

God makes him

the king

of the universe

after he is risen

and ascended

into heaven

he is the one

who points

to the future hope

the hope

of when people

and things

the war

against people

will be no more

if you are here

and Jesus is your

Lord and Savior

have hope

and sing praises

sing blessed

be the Lord

because there is a time

when no longer

things will war

against you

to take your eyes

off of the Lord

but if you are here

and you don't know

Jesus

know that he

had died for you

that he rose for you

and ascended

into heaven for you

he is the king

the true king

and he is the king

that will return

and care

for the people

who are under him