Morning Meditation on Psalm 144

Save me (us), and deliver me (us) from the hand of strangers, whose mouth talketh of vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity:
That our sons may grow up as the young plants, and that our daughters may be as the polished corners of the temple;
That our garners may be full and plenteous with all manner of store; that our sheep may bring forth thousands, and ten thousands in our fields;
That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no decay, no leading into captivity, and no complaining in our streets.
Happy are the people that are in such a case; yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God. Psalm 144:11-15

In reading this from the Psalter in the Book of Common Prayer, I noticed how it dovetails with my prayer time from earlier this morning. My two oldest children were preparing to head back to school after a week of spring break, and my heart was full with longing for them to be strengthened in their own susceptible spirits.

There is a “grip” that the strangers’ hands can have on our children, whether those people be acquaintances in real life, or whether they enter our domain through the portals of television, books, video games, etc. As parents we can look back on our own upbringings and remember many distinct ways we were touched and shaped out of innocence and into a wider knowledge, some of it elevating and some of it carnal, and sometimes in unpleasant and inappropriate ways. If we are honest, we know we cannot stop this process, nor would we want to, as our children must become wise adults as we strive to be ourselves. But it is a difficult journey to walk as a parent, and I find this passage soothing. I believe God desires to make our sons as plants—vigorous, moving out into the world to create new life, to start new homes, to take dominion in honest and upright ways that glorify their Maker; and our daughters to be virtuous, strong, supportive and gracious, just as the pillars of a temple are both useful and pleasant to look upon. There is no denying that the allure of a beautiful young woman is a fact of nature, I am not being sexist. I just desire for my daughters to stand upright, to radiate righteousness, and to find a good use for themselves, neither denying their beauty nor exploiting it.

I love the verses about the abundance in the fields, too. Although modern readers often convert their meaning to have more relevance to their careers and material needs for today, which I think is also appropriate, I personally desire to have actual pastures with healthy, prolific flocks, and I wish more people today wanted that. I wish our food sources were local, wholesomely raised, and engaging all our faculties and those of the wider community.