Year 8, Day 281: Psalm 144

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I love the way that David starts this psalm.  The Lord is David’s rock.  It is the Lord who trains David.  It is the Lord who gives him strength.  It is the Lord who rescues David and provides a fortress about him.  David places his faith completely in the Lord.

I also love the introspectiveness that this brings about.  Look at where this leads David.  “What is man that you are mindful of him?”  Human beings are here and then gone.  We live for a short time and then we hand life over to the next generation.

This is unlike God.  God was here for all the generations before us.  He is still here.  He will be there for all the generations after us.  He is consistent and true.

This brings me back to where I started – well, David, really.  What are human beings that God thinks about us?  Why would an infinite God care for such a temporal being?  Why does God give us His attention and His care?

The reality is that God does all of this because He desires relationship.  He knows that we are flawed.  He knows that our lifespans are measured in such short lengths.  He knows that He has to continually start over generation after generation.  He also knows that His perspective is better than ours.  While we wonder why He does it – because we can’t see what’s in it for Him – He already knows the value.  His priorities are different.  He is holy, meaning that He finds value in things differently than we do.

There is another dimension at work, too.  While we only know the temporal life, God knows the eternal.  He has a plan for us to know the eternal, too.  God desires to bring us into eternal life with Him.  This is why He wants relationship.  His perspective allows Him to find value in something that is completely unlike Him.  Rather than look down on creation, God tries to lift us up to His level.  Rather than see us as minions to be used and forgotten, He invites us into His work.  Rather than see us as we view ants or cattle, God desires to call us His sons and daughters.  What an inspiring reality to which we have been invited!

<><