A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus: Psalm 144

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

Psalm 144

The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.

Charles Spurgeon

One of my favorite autobiographies is the story of Darlene Diebler in Evidence Not Seen. Darlene spent four years in a Japanese prison camp deep in the jungles of the Dutch East Indies during World War II. It’s an incredible story of faith. One story she shares is about Dr. Jaffray, a mentor who was like a father to her. While they served on the mission field together, he often encouraged her with his wisdom and kindness. When they were captured by the Japanese, they, along with some of the other missionaries, were kept together. Eventually, though, they removed Dr. Jaffray and sent him to a men’s camp. When he was being taken away from their group, Darlene shares, “After they loaded the men into the truck, Dr. Jaffray leaned toward me and said, ‘Lassie, whatever you do, be a good soldier for Jesus Christ.’” Darlene said in her book, “The echo of those words was to sustain me through the awful days ahead.” And many awful days she endured, yet she shares that often in the darkest moments, the Lord would bring to her mind Dr. Jaffray’s words. Dr. Jaffray’s words were not his own, but were actually Paul’s words to Timothy in his second letter (2 Timothy 2:3). The imagery of soldiers, weapons, and fighting are repeatedly used in Scripture to represent our walk with the Lord. And here in Psalm 144, David, a seasoned soldier, says, “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (144:1). The Lord is in the business of raising up trained soldiers for Himself. His soldiers are trained, armed, obedient, focused, and cared for and strengthened by the Lord.

Trained

The Lord calls us into His kingdom and service, and along with those privileges, we are brought under the Lord’s training. To be trained means to teach in order to make fit for a task; to make qualified or proficient; to form by instruction, discipline, or drill; to make prepared. The Master Himself is making us fit for the tasks He has called us to. David said it was the Lord who trained his hands for battle. This is a great benefit to the believer, that our omniscient Lord is the One who takes us into His training, knowing intimately our strengths and weaknesses and how best to prepare us for our part of the spiritual battle the Church is engaged in. This training comes by His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), by discipline (Hebrews 12:11), and by suffering (Romans 5:3-4). I cannot help but think of someone I know, who is at Drill Instructor School in the Marine Corps. There will be a lot of information he will have to be taught. There will be lots of physical training, which will be intense and painful at times. There will be specific requirements that will have to be met for him to be successful. He will be trained, but he will also have to be an active and committed participant. How active and committed are we to the Lord’s training of us? Are we diligently giving ourselves to the Word of God? When the Lord is training us through harder experiences, are we committed to learning and growing in the grace of God? A good soldier of Christ Jesus is trained by the Lord, and he is committed to the training.

Armed

A soldier entering the battlefield unarmed would be both shocking and tragic. We would never send a soldier out to fight unarmed or go into battle ourselves without protection or weaponry. We, as God’s soldiers, are commanded to put on the full armor of God. We are engaged in a spiritual battle every day. We face several strong foes: the world, our own flesh, and the devil. And we are not to be ignorant of his schemes. So we must be prepared to stand firm by putting on the full armor of God, being strengthened with His might (Ephesians 6:10-20). God gives both the provision and the power for us to wage war, but we must put on that provision and depend on His power. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, and the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of every lofty thing raising itself up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Each morning when we rise, we need to clothe ourselves for battle. Are we girding ourselves for the battles we face daily? God’s soldiers are trained and armed.

Obedient

In Luke 8, a centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus on behalf of his sick slave, whom he highly regarded. Feeling unworthy to have Jesus enter his house, the centurion sent his friends to Jesus with this message, “Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭8‬). The centurion, by the experience of his profession, knew that there is a chain of command. A soldier follows the orders of the one in command of him. We have been enlisted as a soldier of Christ Jesus by the Lord (2 Timothy 2:4). Our life is directed by the One in authority over us. We have an obligation to obey Him. He is the one giving the orders. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The evidence of our love, our loyalty, our abiding in Him is whether or not we obey His commandments. That does not mean we will keep them perfectly or that we must earn His favor and love by our obedience. But if we say we have been enlisted in His service, if we say we love Him, we will keep His commandments. Are we readily, willingly, and quickly obeying God’s will for our lives? God’s soldiers are trained, armed, and obedient.

Focused

What is the focus of the soldier? What does he concentrate his attention and effort on? Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:4 that a soldier doesn’t entangle himself with affairs of everyday life so that he might please the one who enlisted him. The soldier’s aim is to please the one who called him into service. And our aim as believers is to be pleasing to the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:9). The believer concentrates his attention and effort on pleasing the Lord. This means laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us so that we can run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Christ. Each day we rise, we look to the Lord for our marching orders. How will our day, our speech, our thoughts, our actions be carried out so that they please the Lord? The Lord’s soldiers are trained by Him, armed with His armor, obedient to His will, and focused on pleasing Him.

Cared For and Strengthened

Coming back to Psalm 144, David as a soldier of the Lord, had confidence because his Mighty Warrior cared for him. David identifies the Lord as his rock, steadfast love, fortress, stronghold, deliverer, shield, and the One in whom David takes refuge. While the Lord is training His soldiers, it is actually God Himself who subdues the enemies of His people (144:1-2). Though He is the sovereign ruler of the heavens, He comes down to His people and has regard for them (144:3-4). As their Mighty Warrior, He stretches His hand from on high and gives the deliverance. He is worthy of a new song showcasing His help and strength in His people’s time of need (144:7-9). So while He is training His servants to be good soldiers, armed, obedient, and focused, it is really His strength, His care, His love, and His protection which enables the soldier to be what God has called him to be and to obtain the victory. He cares for us and will carry our burdens for us (1 Peter 5:7). He calls us, not to be strong in ourselves, relying on ourselves, but to be strong in Him and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10). Truly, “Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!” (Psalm 144:15)

Trained

144:1-2 Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

Let’s pray:

▫️We would submit ourselves to the Lord and His training.

▫️His Word would be profitable to us for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, that we would be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We would be diligent to partake of His Word.

▫️The Lord would discipline and train us and it would yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).

▫️Our suffering would train us and produce in us perseverance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3-4).

Cared for and Strengthened

144:3-4 O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Let’s pray:

▫️We would rejoice and rest knowing that though we are like a breath and our days like a passing shadow, He has regard for us.

▫️We would cast our cares on Him and feel confident in His care of us (1 Peter 5:7).

▫️We would be strong in Him and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10). Whatever situation is overwhelming us right now, we would depend on Him knowing that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Armed

144:5-8 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them! Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

Let’s pray:

▫️The Lord would rescue and deliver us today from temptation and evil. He would provide deliverance in the distressing situation we currently face.

▫️We would take up the full armor of God so that we would be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:13).

▫️We would always be armed and ready to stand firm in the Lord by guiding ourselves with truth, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, taking up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17).

Obedient

144:9-11 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword. Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

Let’s pray:

▫️We would demonstrate our love for our Lord by our obedience. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15).

▫️We would obey the call to arm ourselves with the Lord’s armor, the armor of light (Romans 13:12). We would obey the command to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14).

▫️We would praise Him for His mercy and grace that called us into His service.

▫️When He acts on our behalf, we would sing Him a new song, glorifying Him again for who He is.

Focused

144:12-15 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace; may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets! Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

Let’s pray:

▫️We would aim to please Him (2 Corinthians 5:9). Knowing His benevolent care of us would motivate us to live for Him in gratitude.

▫️Our lives would reflect that God is our Lord. The choices we make, the attitudes we have, the words we speak would give evidence that He is Lord of our lives.

▫️He would bless us as we walk in obedience to Him.

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Photo credit to othentikisra

Search This Blog

Savoring the Scripture