Psalms 144:1-15: a reflection

1Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands to war, and my fingers to battle— 2my loving kindness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me. 3LORD, what is man, that you care for him? Or the son of man, that you think of him? 4Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away. 5Part your heavens, LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke. 6Throw out lightning, and scatter them. Send out your arrows, and rout them. 7Stretch out your hand from above, rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hands of foreigners, 8whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9I will sing a new song to you, God. On a ten-stringed lyre, I will sing praises to you. 10You are he who gives salvation to kings, who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly sword. 11Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners, whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12Then our sons will be like well-nurtured plants, our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace. 13Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision. Our sheep produce thousands and ten thousands in our fields. 14Our oxen will pull heavy loads. There is no breaking in, and no going away, and no outcry in our streets. 15Happy are the people who are in such a situation. Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.

Amid a psalm of praise and prayer, the psalmist pauses in wonder at a startling thought: that God, so great, should care for and think of frail, fleeting man. LORD, what is man, that you care for him, he asks, or the son of man, that you think of him? Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away. The psalmist is struck by the contrast between the greatness of God and the smallness of man. We are frail and fleeting, like a breath, like a passing shadow, here for a moment and gone. And yet God, the great LORD, cares for us and thinks of us. That so great a God should be mindful of such small, fleeting creatures is a wonder. This shows the wonder that God, so great, cares for and thinks of frail, fleeting man. God, so great, cares for and thinks of frail, fleeting you. It is a wonder that God is mindful of small, passing creatures. You are like a breath, yet God cares for you. Marvel that the great God thinks of you and cares for you.

Notice the wonder that stops the psalmist in his tracks. He is praising God and praying for deliverance, when he pauses at a thought: LORD, what is man, that you care for him? He is struck by the sheer contrast between God and man. On the one hand, God is great, the psalmist's rock and fortress and deliverer, exalted and mighty. On the other hand, man is small and fleeting: like a breath, like a shadow that passes away, here for a brief moment and then gone. And the wonder is that this great God should care for, and think of, such a small, passing creature. That God should be mindful of us at all, given how great he is and how small and fleeting we are, is astonishing. This holds both humility and comfort. Humility, because it reminds us how small and fleeting we are: like a breath, a passing shadow, not the center of the universe, not great in ourselves. And comfort, because despite our smallness and brevity, God cares for us and thinks of us; we are not beneath his notice, not too small or fleeting for his care. The great God, before whom we are but a breath, is mindful of us, cares for us, thinks of us. This is a wonder to hold with both humility and gratitude: that we are small and fleeting, and yet cared for by the great God. We do well to marvel, with humility and gratitude, that God, so great, cares for and thinks of us, small and fleeting as we are. Marvel that God, so great, cares for and thinks of you, small and fleeting as you are. You are like a breath, yet not beneath God's notice or care. Hold both humility at your smallness and comfort at God's care. The great God is mindful of you; wonder at it with gratitude.

That is worth taking to heart, for God, so great, cares for and thinks of us, frail and fleeting as we are, and we do well to marvel at it, as the psalmist wondered what man is that God cares for him. We can feel too small and fleeting to matter; but the psalmist marveled that the great God is mindful of man, who is but a breath. God cares for you. When you feel small and fleeting, remember with wonder that God, so great, cares for and thinks of you, not beneath his notice though you are but a breath. Marvel, with humility and gratitude, that God, so great, cares for and thinks of you, frail and fleeting as you are, as amid a psalm of praise and prayer the psalmist paused in wonder at the startling thought that God should care for and think of frail, fleeting man, asking what man is that God cares for him, since man is like a breath and his days like a passing shadow; for the psalmist is struck by the contrast between the greatness of God and the smallness of man, that we are frail and fleeting like a breath and a passing shadow yet God the great LORD cares for us and thinks of us, so that it is a wonder that so great a God should be mindful of such small, fleeting creatures, which holds both humility and comfort, humility because it reminds us how small and fleeting we are and not the center of the universe or great in ourselves, and comfort because despite our smallness God cares for us and thinks of us and we are not beneath his notice or too small for his care, the great God before whom we are but a breath being mindful of us and caring for us, a wonder to hold with both humility and gratitude, so that we do well to marvel that God, so great, cares for and thinks of us.

Lord, amid a psalm of praise and prayer, the psalmist pauses in wonder at a startling thought: that you, so great, should care for and think of frail, fleeting man. LORD, what is man, that you care for him, he asks, or the son of man, that you think of him? Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away. The psalmist is struck by the contrast between your greatness and the smallness of man. We are frail and fleeting, like a breath, like a passing shadow, here for a moment and gone. And yet you, the great LORD, care for us and think of us. That so great a God should be mindful of such small, fleeting creatures is a wonder. Show me the wonder that stops the psalmist in his tracks. He is praising you and praying for deliverance, when he pauses at a thought: LORD, what is man, that you care for him? He is struck by the sheer contrast between you and man. On the one hand, you are great, his rock and fortress and deliverer, exalted. On the other hand, man is small and fleeting: like a breath, like a shadow that passes away. And the wonder is that you, so great, should care for, and think of, such a small, passing creature. This holds both humility and comfort. Humility, because it reminds me how small and fleeting I am: like a breath, a passing shadow, not the center of the universe, not great in myself. And comfort, because despite my smallness and brevity, you care for me and think of me; I am not beneath your notice, not too small or fleeting for your care. You, the great God, before whom I am but a breath, are mindful of me, care for me, think of me. This is a wonder to hold with both humility and gratitude. Take that to my heart. When I feel small and fleeting, help me remember with wonder, Lord, that you, so great, care for and think of me, not beneath your notice though I am but a breath, and let me hold both humility at my smallness and comfort and gratitude at your care, marveling that the great God is mindful of me.