June 3, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

David Sings of Victory

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Opening Prayer

Compassionate God, You made me in Your image. Forgive me for the times I act as if I have forgotten this.

Read 2 Samuel 22:31-51

[31] “As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. [32] For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? [33] It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. [34] He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. [35] He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. [36] You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great. [37] You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. [38] “I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. [39] I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. [40] You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. [41] You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. [42] They cried for help, but there was no one to save them- to the LORD, but he did not answer. [43] I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets. [44] “You have delivered me from the attacks of the peoples; you have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me, [45] foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. [46] They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. [47] “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior! [48] He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, [49] who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. [50] Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. [51] “He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

Before we come to the Lord in praise and thanksgiving, we need to look back in honesty and confess where we have failed to obey him.

David sings of victory, in a united nation, under one king, with all the surrounding nations defeated, Jerusalem resounding with praise. He is on top, standing on the heights, all enemies “pounded and trampled…like mud” (43), foreigners cowering before him. He has won the battles, he is secure on his throne, and all this is the Lord’s doing. It is a triumphant moment. But if this song is indeed the king’s joyous public praise of his God, who had delivered him from all his enemies and from Saul (1) early in his reign, then all the chapters we have been reading came after this. “As for God,” he sings, “his way is perfect; the Lord’s word is flawless” (31)–but David has not always listened and he has gone his own way.

After decades of peace and national well-being, he faced new battles, not with foreign foes, but with his son and a new rebel in Israel, Sheba. He also faced battles of a different kind–his need to discipline his sons and control his army generals. We have read of his failures, of his lack of good judgment and his poor relationships. We know of his series of calculated sins after he caught sight of Bathsheba and the way they haunted him. David knew he needed God’s support when he went out to battle, but did he seek the Lord’s strength for the everyday battles in his relationships with family members and in his exercise of authority?

The books of Samuel began with Hannah’s song, in which she prophesied, “The Lord…will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed” (1 Sam. 2:1-10)–and he did. David could sing this song of praise, but he knew the pain of disobedience and the grace of God’s forgiveness as well.

Apply

Read Ephesians 6:10-18 and learn what it means to put on the whole armor of God.

Closing prayer

Gracious Lord, victory is mine only as I trust in You. I put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and in him I seek to stand firm for You.

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