Happy Valentine’s Day! Some of us either don’t have someone special to celebrate with on Valentine’s Day, or still may not feel safe spending too much time away from home. This week, I want to talk about Psalm 144. This is a psalm of praise, but it also reminds us of the Lord’s protection and provision for those of us who believe in Him as Lord and Savior.
Verses 1 speak of praising the Lord – thanking Him for preparing you for conflict. Verse 2 reminds us that He is our fortress and you can seek safety, security and shelter in Him.
May the Lord, my rock, be praised,
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.
He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield, and I take refuge in Him;
He subdues my people under me.
Verses 3-8 speak of the Lord’s watchfulness and protection.
Lord, what is man, that You care for him,
the son of man, that You think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
Lord, part Your heavens and come down.
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
Flash Your lightning and scatter the foe;
shoot Your arrows and rout them.
Reach down from heaven;
rescue me from deep water, and set me free
from the grasp of foreigners
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.
Verses 9 – 11 are a reminder that when you praise Him, He will be at your side to protect you from danger.
God, I will sing a new song to You;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for You—
the One who gives victory to kings,
who frees His servant David
from the deadly sword.
Set me free and rescue me
from the grasp of foreigners
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.
Were there any circumstances from which you were rescued this week?
Verses 12 – 14 speak of the Lord’s provision. Life can feel difficult or impossible, but the Lord always sees us through. Right now, we are seeing shortages, but it is possible to find items or methods to make things work. It’s always possible to see refuge in the Almighty God.
Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.
Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.
Our cattle will be well fed.
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,
and no cry of lament in our public squares.
This psalm concludes by reminding you in the last verse that the Lord brings happiness..
Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh.
How has Christ brought you happiness this week?
I’m going to share a little bit about how my week went, in case you’re interested.
I finished another Agatha Christie mystery – The Big Four. I posted a Goodreads review, if you’re interested. I started a book titled Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. If you’ve never heard of him, here’s a quote from the introduction to give a gist of what the book is about. “I’m one of the few members of my generation to never have a social media account, and tend not to spend much time web surfing. As a result, my phone plays a relatively minor role in my life – a fact that places me outside the mainstream experience…”
I also just finished another blanket and am stretching it out so the edges aren’t curling before I donate it to the local veterans home. We’re getting more snow, but it’s not as cold as it was. I started some bulbs this past week (two types of tulips and ranunculus) – I put them in pots so the resident chipmunks won’t dig them up before they sprout…
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