For the Christian “every day” is a new opportunity! In this particular sense: “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

David the “sweet singer of Israel” (2nd Samuel 23:1) is so determined to make “each day” count that he resolves to the Lord … “Every day will I bless thee.” (Psalm 145:2)

Not, every day will I grumble!

Or curse!

Or ignore Thee!

“Every day will I bless thee.”

The verb “bless” (in Hebrew “barak”) is intensive in this Sentence, energetically (maybe even emotionally) blessing the Lord!

“Barak” further indicates “bowing down, worshipping” our dear God, our sweet Saviour!

What a noble goal for all us Christians to possess … “Every day will I bless thee.”

David, if he’s the author of the 119th Psalm (the Bible’s longest Chapter), may have gone even farther than blessing Jesus “every day!”

Do look at what I mean… “Seven times a day do I praise thee.” Psalm 119:164, seven times a day!

Now, I am wondering … “How early in the day did David begin this ‘blessing’ the Lord?”

Well, Psalm 119:62 suggests he began as early as possible! “At MIDNIGHT I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.” Can’t get any earlier … the very first minute of the new day!

This kind of blessing the Lord eliminates a lot of negativity from our individual lives! From our corporate (Church wide) lives too!

Now, back to our Text verse once again, only this time including its last (explanatory) Clause … “Every day will I BLESS thee; and I will PRAISE thy name for ever and ever.”

Amen and Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Psalm 144, written by David’s hand (in an earthly sense) and by the good Holy Spirit (in a much more powerful sense) opens with these words: “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” (Psalm 144:1)

I specifically mentioned David (the Psalm being Davidic) because he was such a mighty warrior! Whereas Solomon his son was clearly a man of peace! (They here comprise two pictures of Jesus … David as Jesus conquering Goliath, dying on the Cross to overcome Satan … and then Solomon whose reign was tainted by not one single war, which typifies Jesus as the Prince of Peace, the unique Millennial Ruler on this earth some glorious day!)

Obviously in our Text verse this morning the LORD is being praised, worshipped. “Blessed be the Lord!” But here He is particularly honored as the Source of our “Strength” as Christian “soldiers.” (Just as Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18 begins his great “Whole Armour of Giod” Paragraph with a verse about “Power,” verse 6! Using three different Greek words for “power” or “strength!” Those being “dunamis”, then “kratos” and lastly “ischus.”)

The great God Who imparts to us Strength is also an incomparable Teacher! (Think of what a masterful Instructor Jesus was! His “Parables” alone prove my point.)

So … in Psalm 144:1 the LORD “teaches” us to fight!

Precisely stated … “Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.”

No wonder Exodus 15:3 calls Him “a Man of War!”

One could almost characterize the LORD’S pedological approach here “confrontational.” The Hebrew verb “teacheth” is “lamad,” which literally is an “ox-goad!” The Lord “prods” us to be good “fighters” to His Glory!

I am NOT taking about hurting anyone physically. Neither was Jesus. I am talking about fighting the devil! Fighting sin! Fighting whatever opposes the Righteousness of God in my life, including “laziness, lethargy, selfishness,” among others.

“Hands to war” and “fingers to fight” … two short Clauses hinting at a prolonged war (the former) and shorter, more personal and intensive battles (the latter)!

Jesus taught us … “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Fighting the world, the flesh, the devil … the Saint’s life story!

But not fighting without help … from our dear LORD!

Help in the sense of His Strength!

And help in the sense of His Tutelage! He is the Teacher!

Jesus overcame, defeated Satan two specific times in His earthly Ministry, and in two specific ways … first, through the Word of God during the 40-day wilderness temptation and secondly, through Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane!

So, maybe not only our hands and fingers … but also our tongues (as used when quoting Scripture) and knees (as utilized when praying)!

Wow!

I too, with David, say … “blessed be the LORD!”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Prayer, Biblically speaking, just may be more about God than it is about us! Let me explain.

Psalm 143:1 pleads with our Lord … “In thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.”

Wow!

That whole first verse actually pleads: “Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.”

Hear! (In Hebrew this verb is basically spelled “shama,” and while meaning “to hear” most of the time, 785 to be exact … the word is also legitimately translated “to obey” 81 times, still a lot!)

Give ear! (In Hebrew “azan,” meaning “to understand” but in this sense … “to weigh, to test, to evaluate” something asked!)

Answer! (In Hebrew “anah,” meaning “to respond, to testify” and even rendered as “to sing” 4 times in the Old Testament!)

A threefold plea! Asking God to act!

But now let’s look at the attributes of God invoked here, used as supplements to the request at hand, a request which is not even given in this initial verse!

“In Thy FAITHFULNESS answer me, and in Thy RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

See! Much more important than David the Psalmist’s need or needs … is the uplifting (extolling, magnifying) of God’s Character, His Essence! What He is, Who He is!

God answers prayer because He is FAITHFUL!

Faithful to keep His Word, His Promises included!

And God answers prayer (and far as I know, only prayer) which is consistent with His RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Argue, emphasize … God’s Faithfulness and Righteousness and all His other Traits that come to mind … when you pray!

(Argue in prayer? That’s Bible vocabulary. Job certainly did, and with God’s approval. “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him! that I might come even to His seat! I would order my cause before Him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me and understand what He would say unto me.” Job 23:3-5)

Someone wisely said that prayer is not always getting what I want, forcing God to agree with my wishes! But prayer is bending my will to God’s plan, knowing He is all wise and forever good!

In this Psalm, which really is a Prayer, David did not get to his request until the very last verse, verse 12. Amazing!

But he sure did brag on God a long time … only eventually getting to that request!

Even like this … “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.” God’s Character displayed again in verse 10.

(This verse nearly re-states … “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness … for His Name’s Sake!” Sound somewhat familiar, directly quoting Psalm 23:3?)

Our Lesson today is pure theology!

All about God!

Isn’t that where the emphasis must be placed?

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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If you were in a cave, for whatever reason, what might you do?

Well, David prayed!

The Superscript, often a historical note attached to a Psalm to give us some idea of when or where it was written, says exactly that in Psalm 142. In fact, all of its seven verses, were composed (or prayed) when David was hiding in a cave!

Worshipping while hiding!

Here is the King James Version’s rendering of this “Superscript” … “Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.” Maschil (a transliterated Hebrew word) just means a Psalm of instruction, of wisdom!

David subsequently (in verses 2-7) prays for deliverance, which God did send him!

My point today … pray about everything. More precisely, based on our Text, pray anywhere!

Even when you are depressed, discouraged, defeated, doubtful, wavering, fearful, etc.

PRAY … next time you’re in a cave!

Now I am not talking about prayer as a last resort! But prayer as a first line of defense!

Psalm 120:1 words this idea quite well … “In my distress I cried unto the LORD ….”

Isn’t that wonderful?

But now look at the rest of the verse … “In my distress I cried unto the LORD … AND HE HEARD ME.”

Yes, He can hear … even from the deepest cave, cavern, dungeon or pit ever made!

Hallelujah!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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“Tongues and angels?” Surely today’s Lesson will highlight Paul’s classic observation in 1 Corinthians 13:1 … “Though I speak with the TONGUES of men and of ANGELS, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”

But no, we are going to Psalm 141:3.

It’s just a short prayer, where David wisely asks God to … “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

The “watch,” the “guard,” is surely an angel! Or if not an angel, the Holy Spirit Himself! The human conscience might even be suggested, but it’s not as reliable, I fear.

Actually Psalm 141:3 beseeches the Lord to do two things, both dealing with our spoken words!

Something about our “mouths”and our “lips!”

Meaning … our speech, our conversation, our vocabulary!

“To set a watch” literally means “to appoint a guard” to keep track of our mouths! As I said, likely an angel, a supervisor over our words! Or another idea … maybe it just means the Bible, the Book of God. Which has so very much to say about our talk!

Like … “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Quoting our Lord Jesus in Matthew 12:36.

And (Psalm 141:3) “to keep the door” of our lips means (again literally) “to lay siege” to our words, implying our “language” (7 times it’s translated exactly this way in the Old Testament). Begging … “Lord, police my speech day by day!”

(This sounds like Paul’s desire to bring his every thought into captivity to our Lord! See 2 Corinthians 10:5, questionable thoughts are eventually expressed in words, if not curtailed.

Wow!

Maybe if we Christians imagined that “guardian angel” at the front of our mouths, lips, tongues … we would learn to better “tame” that unruly thing!

Anybody reading here today BOLD enough to ask this of God?

Then, this little (but powerful) prayer answered could be life changing!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

For those of you who are making a list of the “tongue tamer” verses of Scripture … might want to add this one to the total!

Add this one as well … “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

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