In War and Peace

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

In this Psalm David begins by praising God as his Rock and His Love, Who protects him in battle and gives him victory.  David praises Him as being far higher than mortal man and asks Him to come down and show Himself powerful in providing victory.  We then come to the verses above where David sings a song of praise to celebrate and anticipate that.  In the rest of the psalm David goes on to ask for the blessings of peace to follow: strong and healthy sons and daughters, full silos and multiplying sheep and cattle, peace in their streets and their hearts.  David then concludes with a proclamation of thanksgiving:

15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

    Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

May we continue with such a heart of thanksgiving as we enter into Advent.