Psalm 144 - Taunts and Lies

Psalm 144:1-10, 12-15 NIV

Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. 

He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer,

 my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,

 mere mortals that you think of them? 

They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow. 

Part your heavens, Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. 

Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy; shoot your arrows and rout them. 

Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters,

 from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.

I will sing a new song to you, my God;

 on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

 to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David. 

Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants,

 and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. 

Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. 

Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields;

 our oxen will draw heavy loads. 

There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets.

Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

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Psalm 144 is another psalm of David. He seems to be established in his fortified city, likely Jerusalem. The enemy threat is from foreigners. 2nd Samuel mentions some of the foreign nations David fought against when he became king.

2 Samuel 8:11-12 NIV

King David... he had subdued: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

The mouths of these foreign enemies are full of lies, David says twice in Psalm 144. What were they lying about? Were they taunting the Israelites, saying that Yahweh, their God, could not save them? A taunt like this is recorded in the days of the Assyrian invasion in 2nd Kings. These are the words, the lies, of the king of Assyria, through his high commander.

2 Kings 18:32b-35 NIV

Choose life and not death! “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

In the face of such lies uttered by the enemy, the king counters with faith in Yahweh. The people of God always meet lies with faith. The faith of David speaks of a God of love and war. God prepares David for battle. God protects and rescues His people from enemies. God firmly establishes His son, the king of the Jews, over the people. David is confident that God is with him. He is therefore ready to stand against the enemy attack.

Even though he and his people are only mortal, the everlasting God, creator of heaven and earth, is on their side. So confident is David that be proclaims he will sing a new song for the Lord when Yahweh comes down and delivers Israel from their enemy. David will sing of happy times, full of health, beauty and prosperity. Under the blessings of the Almighty, Israel will live in peace and security. Blessed are the people whose God is Yahweh.

Enemy lies come not just from mortal opponents. They come from inside us too. The father of lies, the devil, taunts us with lies that shame us, make us paranoid, and cause us fear or resentment. These lies, when unchecked with truth, can make us miserable and even send us on a path toward destruction. Think of teens who cut themselves as the struggle with low self esteem. Think of men and women who are unemployed and think of themselves as failures. The lies of the evil one lead them to think they'd be better off dead. They die slowly through alcohol and drugs. Some commit suicide. There are countless examples, but one source of all the many lies that take human lives, Satan, the accuser.

When you are battling a head full of lies, whether they are uttered by classmates, colleagues or the devil himself, turn your thoughts to the truth. God is love. Love is the greatest power in the universe. God loves you. God is with you and is preparing you to stand in His strength against the enemy. The power that created the universe, that raised Jesus from the dead, is at your side. He will give you the victory enabling you to sing with joy a new song. Blessed is the one whose God is The Lord.