Great Prayers of the Old Testament
Part 32: What Should We Do When the Flood Waters Rise?
Psalm 144:1-15
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared September 23, 2025)
BACKGROUND:
*Today we will study one of the many great prayers in the Old Testament. Anyone who has read much of the Bible knows that the LORD included many of His servant's prayers. The Dake Annotated Reference Bible lists 222 different prayers in the Bible: 176 prayers in the Old Testament, and 46 in the New. (1)
*God surely put a lot of prayers in His Word, and there are some outstanding reasons why. First, God is showing us that He wants us to pray. The LORD is also showing us that prayer is important, that prayer is powerful, and that He wants to answer our sincere, unselfish prayers. God also uses these prayers to teach us how to pray. And that's what King David did in Psalm 144. He shows us what we should do when the flood waters rise. Let's get started by reading Psalm 144:1-15.
*King David opened Psalm 144 with words of grateful praise. F. B. Meyer explained that this Psalm showed David's great appreciation for the rocky caves he left each day to fight his enemies. Every day David asked God to teach him to fight, realizing that all of his needs would be met by the LORD God, and Christians, so will ours! (2)
*King David was a great man of war, because he had to be, -- first against King Saul, then against many other enemies over the course of his very long life. Remember that David had wanted to build a temple worthy of the LORD GOD. He wanted to build this Temple as a permanent resting place for the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Ten Commandments. But in I Chronicles 28:3, the LORD declared, "You will not build a house for My name, for you are a man of battles and have shed blood." (3)
*David was a man of war, because he had to be, and that makes sense, because the LORD Himself is a man of war for righteousness! As Moses sang in Exodus 15:2-4:
2. The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
3. The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.
4. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
*Church: Also remember that the LORD is the "LORD of Hosts." Albert Barnes explained that this name for the LORD God first shows up in 1 Samuel 1:3, where Samuel's father went up yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Barnes also explained that this title of Yahweh shows up in various forms over 260 times in the Old Testament. And the word "hosts" means "army." It's the LORD's heavenly army that includes all the multitudes of holy Angels. GotQuestions.org added that "the name 'LORD of Hosts' emphasizes God’s sovereign control over every power, dominion, force, and realm. (4)
*This name for the LORD God also appears in Romans 9:29 where Paul quoted Isaiah 1:9 and wrote this about the idol worshipping Jews, "As Isaiah said before: 'Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah." This name for God is also in James 5:1-4. There the Lord's half-brother condemned godless rich people, and wrote:
1. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
2. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
3. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
4. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the LORD OF SABAOTH.
*Then in Revelation 19:11-16, we see our risen Savior Jesus Christ coming back to earth to make war. And the Apostle John wrote:
11. Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Praise the LORD!)
*Several commentaries linked Psalm 144 to Absolom's rebellion late in King David's life. That sinful, disgusting, soap opera of treachery is mostly found in 2 Samuel 13-19. John Phillips explained that Psalm 144 is a sequel to Psalm 143. In Psalm 143 David prayed for deliverance from his foes, seemingly in reference to the time of the Absalom rebellion. Psalm 144 is a celebration of praise, best suited to the time when David was back on the throne in answer to his prayer.
*But David must have fretted over his failure to win the affections of the younger generation. There was a strong reaction against the establishment, an impatience at any mention of past glories. The defeat of the Absalom rebellion had not satisfied the feelings of the younger generation. They were not old enough to appreciate how much the nation owed to David. They were tired of hearing about Goliath, and all the rest of it. They wanted change, any change; even Absalom was a change. (5)
*The words David wrote about lying, traitorous evil people have always been true since Cain killed his brother Abel. What was true 3,000 years ago when King David wrote this Psalm, was still true a thousand years later when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. AND IT IS STILL TRUE TODAY! But always remember what God's Word says in 1 Timothy 2:1-8. The LORD desires for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God wants everyone to be saved! But our main focus today is what to do when the flood waters rise in your life.
MESSAGE:
*Have you ever come close to drowning? That is a terrifying experience. Years ago, Alan Jackson had a popular song called: "Way Down Yonder on the Chattahoochee." That song reminds me of home, because the Chattahoochee runs through Atlanta, Georgia.
*It has a few rapids, so it’s fun to go down in a tube or a rubber boat. And I used to do it often when I went to Georgia Tech. One time I fell out and got trapped under this huge rock. The rushing river was pushing me deeper and deeper under the water. And I couldn’t get my breath. I almost drowned. And I believe I would have drowned, if God hadn’t helped me get free. That would have been the worst fate of all, because I was as lost as I could be at the time. But by God's grace, the LORD saved me from drowning, and four years later, Jesus saved my soul!
*Our nation knows about floods. In 2024 and 2025 we have gone through at least 3 devastating floods: In Ashville North Carolina, in Wheeling West Virginia, and the latest in South Texas. On top of that, there is a whole list of national worries we could talk about for hours.
*But for many of us, the crises are much more personal than today’s headlines.
-Some of us have lost loved ones in recent weeks.
-Others have discovered traumatic health problems.
-Some have struggled for years to cope with chronic health problems.
-Some marriages are hanging on by a thread.
-Some of our children are on the wrong track.
-And we have deep-seated problems that just won’t seem to go away.
*What should we do when the flood waters rise?
1. FIRST: WE MUST REMEMBER GOD’S HELP.
*It helps us to remember how God has helped us in the past. That's what David did in vs. 1 and the first part of vs. 2. David said:
1. A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle
2. My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.
[1] HERE DAVID REMINDS US THAT THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH.
*In vs. 1 King David spoke with love, thanksgiving and praise. It’s as if he said, "LORD, You have helped me in the past. -- You have done great things for me. You have been my strength. You have taught me the things I needed to know."
*David could look back to the many times when the LORD had been his strength. Think about when young David faced the giant Goliath. And remember what David said to King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:32-37.
32. Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.''
33. And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.''
34. But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
35. I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.
36. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.''
37. Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"
*Then down in 1 Samuel 17:43-47:
43. So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?'' And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44. And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!''
45. Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47. Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hands.''
*If we are Christians, then just like David, we can look back and say: "LORD, You have been my Strength!" The LORD Jesus Christ is strong enough to carry us though any struggle we will face!
[2] WHEN THE FLOOD WATERS RISE, REMEMBER THAT GOD IS OUR STRENGTH. -- ALSO REMEMBER THAT HE IS OUR SALVATION.
*David always remembered that the LORD God Almighty was his salvation. In vs. 2 David called the LORD "my goodness (KJV), or my loving kindness, my mercy, my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer, and my shield." (6)
*David said the LORD was his "goodness." Christians: Where do we get our goodness? It doesn’t come from ourselves. It can only come from God. That’s why Jeremiah 23:6 says His name shall be called: "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
*Jesus Christ died on the cross so that He could take our sins on Himself, and give us His righteousness. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He (that is God the Father) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
*You see, Christianity is never about us earning God's love. It's about us responding to the love God already has for us! It's about us responding to the love God had for us before the beginning of time! King David was looking forward by faith to the promised Messiah. But also remember that David already had a relationship with the LORD through the preincarnate Christ and Holy Spirit. We see this relationship in Psalm 23:1 where David said, "The LORD is my Shepherd." This means I belong to Him, and He belongs to me.
*The LORD and David had a personal relationship. David didn't just know some things about the LORD. He knew the LORD in a personal way. And that's what Jesus Christ wants for all of us today. By turning to Jesus and trusting in Him, by receiving Him as our Lord and Savior, we are born again spiritually with an everlasting relationship in the Family of God. And there will be a family resemblance.
*There will always be resemblance in families, and I'm not just talking about our physical appearance. I'm talking about the way we talk, our mannerisms, our quirks, our habits, and our attitudes. Well, what's true about our earthly families is also true about God's Heavenly family: There will be a family resemblance, because saved people are literally born again by the Holy Spirit into the family of God.
*The Lord explained this to Nicodemus in John 3:3-6, where:
3. Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''
4. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?''
5. Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
*"You must be born again," Jesus said. The reason why is because physical birth can only give physical life. Horses produce horses. Dogs produce dogs. And mortal people produce mortal people. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."
*But "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In other words, "That which is given birth by God's Holy Spirit is spirit. The Holy Spirit produces a new kind of person by a new kind of birth: Spiritual birth that gives us God's eternal life. When we are born again, we get a brand-new nature, so we can, and we should begin to resemble our Heavenly Father.
*Our salvation will begin to show up in the way we live. That's because faith in Jesus Christ changes our values. We begin to love the people we may have ridiculed before. Our habits also begin to change. We begin to feel guilty over the sinful things we used to enjoy. And we begin to enjoy holy, fruitful things that used to seem like foolish superstitions.
*Ray Stedman explained, "When God's life becomes your life, you can expect many changes. It may take a while. There is growth involved. You are like a new baby at first, but watch: you cannot be the same person. You cannot go on the way you were. If you do, you have never been born again. When you get in touch with the life of God, things are going to be different." (7)
*If God is truly our Heavenly Father, then we will begin to think and feel and act the way He does. We should be less selfish and more caring about other people. There will be a family resemblance. And our goodness can only come from God's most excellent goodness!
*One of the best testimonies of God’s goodness and love you will ever hear is from astronaut Jim Irwin. He served as the Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15. Jim was the eighth person to walk on the Moon.
*And he told about an experience he had when he went to the moon. Jim said: "When I looked out and saw the earth, only as big as a little marble, I thought, 'How big am I? I'm just a speck of dust, if that big compared to the universe. And yet, this little speck has the capacity to know God! To know the One who holds the universe, to know His love, and have His direction.'
*For the first time, I saw -- felt God's love for the earth. I realized then that God loved that little blue marble, that little planet. He loved all the billions of people on it, and He loved me! I realized at that moment that my relationship with Jesus Christ was the most precious thing I had."
*It was an experience that literally changed Jim's life. He left the space program and devoted himself to telling people about the transforming power of Jesus Christ. By the time of his death in 1991, Jim Irwin had told countless people about Christ. Many people came to hear and believe what Jim so regularly said: Jesus walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon." (8)
*1 Peter 2:24 tells us that Jesus "Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed." So, Jesus died on the cross so He could take our sins "in His own body," and give us His righteousness. This is what Jesus does when we receive Him as our Lord and Savior. And when we are saved, we can say with David: "LORD, you are my goodness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer and my shield!"
2. SO, WHEN THE FLOOD WATERS RISE, REMEMBER GOD’S HELP, BUT ALSO RELY ON GOD’S HELP.
*Who are we going to trust? When the worst storm comes, who are we going to trust? We must rely on God’s help, even when it looks like we are going under. That's what David did, and again in vs. 2, he tells us that the LORD is "my goodness (KJV), or my loving kindness, my mercy, my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer, and my shield."
*David was trusting in the LORD. And that’s where we need to keep our trust! We surely can’t trust in ourselves. David reminds us of this truth in vs. 3-4, when he prayed to the LORD and said:
3. LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
4. Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.
*We are too small to always take care of ourselves. Anyone who has reached their 70's or 80's should know that for sure. But many more people have to wake up to this truth at a much younger age. Even babies in the crib know they need their mothers, and hopefully their fathers too. But through it all, the LORD God has to be our greatest source of help. And He will be, if we will put our trust in HIM!
*James 1:17 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." And 1 Corinthians 4:7 asks us "What do you have that you did not receive?"
3. WHEN THE FLOOD WATERS RISE RELY ON GOD’S HELP, AND REQUEST GOD’S HELP.
*We must ask for God’s help, even as David asked for the LORD's help in this Psalm. And as we ask God for help, David shows us 2 things we should pray.
[1] FIRST, CONFIRM THAT GOD IN IN CONTROL.
*That’s what David did in vs. 5-6, when he asked God to "Bow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them."
*Here David was asking God to do things David couldn’t possibly do on his own. Some of us are already in situations we can’t fix on our own. And one day we all will be there. That’s why we need to pray. We need to pray the kind of prayers David prayed: "God, You are able to go places we cannot go. You are able to do things that we can't do. And since all power and authority belong to you, we are coming to you. We need your help!"
[2] DECLARE THAT GOD IN IN CONTROL. THEN ASK FOR THE LORD'S HELP.
*David was facing a flood too, and we see it in vs. 7-8, where the he asked God to: "Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners (or "strange children" KJV), Whose mouth speaks vain words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood."
*Charles Spurgeon explained that this included "Foreigners of every race; men strange to me and You LORD, who therefore work evil to me, and rebellion against You. Those who were out of covenant with God, like the Philistines and Edomites.
*But also men of his own nation with black hearts and traitorous spirits. Oh to be rid of those blaspheming men who pollute society with their false teachings! Oh to be delivered from slanderous tongues, deceptive lips, and false hearts! The devil's children are strange to us: we can never agree with them, and they will never understand us, they are aliens to us, and we are despised by them. O LORD, deliver us from the evil one, and from all who follow his ways." (9)
*But no matter what kind of flood we face, when we see the waters rising, when we are about to be overwhelmed, cry out to God! "God, Please send Your hand from above and deliver me out of great waters!"
*King David was concerned about the flood. He was also concerned about his family, his friends and his nation. We see the king's concern for his people in vs. 9-14. And he began by committing to keep praising the LORD:
9. I will sing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10. The One who gives salvation to kings, Who delivers David His servant From the deadly sword.
11. Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks vain words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood
12. That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style;
13. That our barns may be full, Supplying all kinds of produce; That our sheep may bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields;
14. That our oxen may be well-laden; That there be no breaking in or going out; That there be no outcry in our streets.
*David was concerned about the flood, his family, his friends and his nation. Now God wants us to have the same kind of concern for other people. And He wants us to pray for these people, so we must cry out to God.
4. WHEN THE FLOOD WATERS RISE, REQUEST GOD’S HELP. AND REJOICE IN GOD’S HELP.
*Yes, we must ask for God's help. But thank the Lord, we can also rejoice in His help! King David reminds us of this truth in vs. 15 where he said, "Happy is the people whose God is the LORD!"
*God has helped us in the past. Jesus Christ even died on the cross for our sins! And even when we go through the disasters, we can rejoice, because we know that God is going to help us. He is also going to use us to help other people. And no matter what happens in this world, "Happy is that people, whose God is the LORD!"
*Daniel Cave certainly proved this to be true. In 2005, Daniel was on his very first skydiving jump in Washington State. On the way down, his parachute failed to open. Daniel didn’t fall 35 feet or 350 feet. -- He fell 3,500 feet to the ground! That’s almost three quarters of a mile, but Daniel miraculously survived!
*While he was still in the hospital, Daniel was interviewed by Matt Lauer from the Today Show. And Daniel said that he experienced extraordinary comfort as he prayed on the way down. Daniel told Matt Lauer about his prayer this way: “I said, ‘OK, well, I trust you. I believe in you. And if there's any way, I'd love to see my family again. -- So help me out here.’”
*Then Daniel said, “I just felt – I got to say, I just felt like the biggest hug in the world and just this warm embrace. It was the most amazing thing ever. And at that point, I thought, either way, this is going to turn out good, soooo... -- And here I am. I don't know how.”
*Daniel came away with only a broken leg, a broken jaw and some internal injuries. He said, “I can't explain why I'm not just mush.” (Daniel also said that his first skydive was his last skydive.) (10)
*But listen again to how he felt God’s presence on the way down. Daniel said: “I just felt like the biggest hug in the world and just this warm embrace. It was the most amazing thing ever.” God was with Daniel. And if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then:
-Whatever you go through,
-Wherever you are,
-Whatever task God calls you to undertake,
-Whatever trial you have to endure,
-Whatever stumble you make,
-Whatever delights you enjoy or heartbreaks you suffer -- then God the Father, and God the Son will be right there with you by His Holy Spirit who lives in you!
*But if you have never prayed to receive our crucified and risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as YOUR Lord and Savior, that is the most important prayer you need to pray! Call on Jesus to save you right now, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) DAKE ANNOTATED REFERENCE BIBLE - Dake Publishing - https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/prayernew/222-prayers-of-the-bible/
(2) Adapted from THROUGH THE BIBLE DAY BY DAY "A Devotional Commentary" by F. B. Meyer - Psalms 144:1-15 - GOD’S PEOPLE ARE HAPPY 5 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(3) Sources:
-Adapted from EXPLORING PSALMS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications Grand Rapids - Psalm 139: "From Everlasting Thou Art God" - Downloaded from "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
-THE JEWISH VIRTUAL LIBRARY: "The Jewish Temples: The First Temple - Solomon’s Temple" - https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-temple-solomon-s-temple
(4) Sources:
-Adapted from ALBERT BARNES' NOTES ON THE BIBLE by Albert Barnes - Published in 1847-85 - 1 Samuel 1:3 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-GotQuestions.org - What does the Bible mean when it calls God the "LORD of hosts"? - https://www.gotquestions.org/Lord-of-hosts.html
(5) Sources:
-GotQuestions.org - Question: "Who was Absalom in the Bible?" - Answer - https://www.gotquestions.org/who-was-Absalom.html
-Adapted from EXPLORING PSALMS by John Phillips - "Psalm 144: A Happy People" - Kregal Publications Grand Rapids - Downloaded from "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
-JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 144 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(6) Sources:
-BROWN-DRIVER-BRIGGS' HEBREW DEFINITIONS - Published in 1906; public domain- Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-STRONG'S HEBREW AND GREEK DICTIONARIES - from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D. - Published in 1890; public domain. - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(7) Online sermon: "Born of the Spirit" by Ray C. Stedman - Series: The Gospel of John - John 3:1-16 - Message No: 8 - Catalog No: 3838 - Date: May 15, 1983 - http://www.pbc.org/system/message_files/4182/3838.html
(8) Sources:
-Adapted from "In Other Words" - Winter 2001 - Produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry - www.iows.net
-Dave Dean, "Now is Your Time to Win," p. 122 - Source: Sermons.com sermon "There's God In Them There Hills" by James Merritt - Psalm 19:1-14 - Collected Sermons, James Merritt, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 0-000-7892
(9) Charles H. Spurgeon, THE TREASURY OF DAVID, Psalm 144:7, Published in 1869-1885; public domain - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(10) Skydiver's desperate prayer answered - Felt 'warm embrace' as he survived spiraling plunge to Earth - Posted: August 16, 2005 - 5:00 p.m. Eastern - © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
