SECURE STRONGHOLD
Opening Prayer
Lord, You are my rock and my strength.
Read PSALM 144
1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 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.
3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a fleeting shadow.
5 Part your heavens, Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;
shoot your arrows and rout them.
7 Reach down your hand from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters,
from the hands of foreigners
8 whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
9 I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
10 to the One who gives victory to kings,
who delivers his servant David.
From the deadly sword 11 deliver me;
rescue me from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
14 our oxen will draw heavy loads.
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Blessed is the people of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
No place on earth seems secure these days. How does this relate to our faith in God?
The wagons of the people are hitched to their king. When the king’s life is hitched to God’s covenant, his blessings are their blessings.David is well aware of the uncertainty of earthly strongholds, be they the caves of Adullam or the strongholds of EnGedi (1 Sam. 22; 1 Sam. 24). From personal experience, he knows that God is the only protector worth trusting. He also realizes that he has no claim on God’s protection other than God’s steadfast love for his people, including David himself. This is the foundation of the psalmist’s confidence as he invokes the power of the Almighty to strike down the armies arrayed against God’s people. When God gives victory to the king, it is for the benefit of his people; so he leads them in worship with a new song. On this basis they can look beyond the times of war to the times of peace and plenty (12–15).
As New Testament believers, we are not engaged in the kind of battles that David and his people fought. Nonetheless, we are in the thick of a battle raging within and around us against the unseen forces of darkness (Eph. 6:12). Alone, we are no match for their malevolent schemes and superior strength, but the same divine resources for David are available to us. More than that, the one who is in us is greater than all the forces the enemy can muster (1 John 4:4).
For David it is not just a personal issue but also a national issue. Sadly, secular authorities lack David’s understanding of the spiritual dimension of their calling. Is it perhaps our role as Christians to fill the gap?
Apply
If God were looking for righteous people on whose account to save your country, be they ten or a thousand (Gen. 18:22–33), pray that you would be one of them!
Closing prayer
Lord, give me a new song like David had in order to sing Your praises as I continue my earthly walk with You.
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