From the Deadly Sword

I will sing a new song to you, my God. Psalm 144 verse 9.

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled, From the Deadly Sword, was written by Tim Gustafson and read by Steven Taber. Psalm 144 verses 1 and 2 and verses 9 through 15. Praise be to the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

And now picking up at verse 9. I will sing a new song to you, my God. On the ten-string lyre I will make music to you, to the one who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David.

From the deadly sword deliver me, rescue me from the hands of foreigners, whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful. Then our sons and their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace. Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields.

Our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed is the people of whom this is true.

Blessed is the people, whose God is the Lord. From the deadly sword, written by Tim Gustafson Sabin Howard's remarkable sculpture, A Soldier's Journey, breathes with vitality and anguish. Thirty-eight bronze figures lean forward across a 58-foot bas-relief that traces the life of a World War I soldier. Completed in 2024, the panorama begins with a heartrending goodbye to family, leads us through the naive elation of departure, and moves into the horrors of battle. Finally, the sculpture returns us home, where the veteran's daughter peers into his upturned helmet, only to foresee World War II.

Howard sought to find the thread that runs through humanity, that human beings can reach great heights, and they can sink to the level of the animal. War reveals this reality. The psalmist David knew well the bloody consequences of war, aware of its tragic necessity to confront evil. In Psalm 144, he praised the God who trains my hands for war.

Yet, he also recoiled from combat, praying, From the deadly sword deliver me. David looked forward to the time when the young won't die in war, but sons will be like well-nurtured plants, and daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace. On that day, there will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets.

Looking back, we remember those who've fallen in battle. Looking ahead, we sing with David, I will sing a new song to you, my God. Would you pray with me? Lord, we remember those who have fallen in battle and pray for a future where peace prevails and no more lives are lost to war. Help us to hold on to the hope for the day when you will establish peace over all creation. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. How has war affected you? What can you do to work for peace?