Psalm 144:9-15 "I will sing a new song
unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing
praises unto thee. (10) It is he that giveth salvation unto kings:
who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. (11) Rid
me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh
vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: (12)
That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may
be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: (13)
That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may
bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: (14) That
our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out;
that there be no complaining in our streets. (15) Happy is that
people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the
LORD."
I'm going to start backwards with these verses this morning. We all want to find happiness in the world, don't we? We are looking for Eutopia or that magical land where everything goes right with no problems to confront. We want everyone to do well and find fulfillment in life. Those are wonderful thoughts, but we all know that does not exist on this earth. Jesus told us very specifically that we will have tribulation in this world. But in that same context, He told us to be of good cheer for He has overcome the world. You will find that in John 16:33. I choose to believe Jesus. How about you? We can be of good cheer because He is the Victor! And in Him, we have victory over life.
But now back to the Psalm. The writer tells us that we find happiness in life when we come to the understanding that God, the only True and Living God, is their sole source of power and ability. When we can come to the realization that the Creator of heaven and earth is the very One upon Whom we rely, there is great contentment, joy, and happiness. Verse 15 speaks of being happy in "such a case". I believe "such a case" refers back to verses 9 and 10. When we bring ourselves to the place where we sing unto the Lord with new fervency and commitment, when we sing praises unto the Lord, when we can truly understand that all deliverance is found only in Him, we can find true happiness and joy. We can "be of good cheer" through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Even in the time of tribulation, trials, conflicts of life, we can find this fulfillment as we bring our hearts and minds to the place of worship and praise. Yes, we are to make the full effort to extend beyond ourselves to honor the Lord at all times. Sometimes, it flows freely. But if we are honest with ourselves, there are times we must force our minds and our mouths to praise Him.
I have looked at verse 15 and then up to verses 9 and 10, but there are some promises that are found between those verses. There are promises given for our sons and daughters, for our livelihood, our attitudes, our safety, and our society. Could it be that the remedy for some of our problems is found in total praise unto our Lord? Could it be that, even when we do not really feel like it, that if we force our thoughts toward praise unto the Almighty, we will find contentment?
I'm going to start backwards with these verses this morning. We all want to find happiness in the world, don't we? We are looking for Eutopia or that magical land where everything goes right with no problems to confront. We want everyone to do well and find fulfillment in life. Those are wonderful thoughts, but we all know that does not exist on this earth. Jesus told us very specifically that we will have tribulation in this world. But in that same context, He told us to be of good cheer for He has overcome the world. You will find that in John 16:33. I choose to believe Jesus. How about you? We can be of good cheer because He is the Victor! And in Him, we have victory over life.
But now back to the Psalm. The writer tells us that we find happiness in life when we come to the understanding that God, the only True and Living God, is their sole source of power and ability. When we can come to the realization that the Creator of heaven and earth is the very One upon Whom we rely, there is great contentment, joy, and happiness. Verse 15 speaks of being happy in "such a case". I believe "such a case" refers back to verses 9 and 10. When we bring ourselves to the place where we sing unto the Lord with new fervency and commitment, when we sing praises unto the Lord, when we can truly understand that all deliverance is found only in Him, we can find true happiness and joy. We can "be of good cheer" through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Even in the time of tribulation, trials, conflicts of life, we can find this fulfillment as we bring our hearts and minds to the place of worship and praise. Yes, we are to make the full effort to extend beyond ourselves to honor the Lord at all times. Sometimes, it flows freely. But if we are honest with ourselves, there are times we must force our minds and our mouths to praise Him.
I have looked at verse 15 and then up to verses 9 and 10, but there are some promises that are found between those verses. There are promises given for our sons and daughters, for our livelihood, our attitudes, our safety, and our society. Could it be that the remedy for some of our problems is found in total praise unto our Lord? Could it be that, even when we do not really feel like it, that if we force our thoughts toward praise unto the Almighty, we will find contentment?