You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. Psalm 18: 28-36, NIV.
Gracious God, we ask You to teach us Your will, and enable us to obey it. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Our Scripture for today is taken from one of my favorite portions of the Bible, Psalm 18. I believe that the strength of this psalm is derived from the circumstances under which it was written. In the NRSV (with Apocrypha) right above the psalm is written:
To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of the song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, He said:
It was under those circumstances that Psalm 18 was written, “when the LORD delivered him!” It is a Psalm of deliverance! Whenever deliverance takes place, a sense of confidence, almost automatically, develops between the deliverer and the delivered. Please observe the boldness of expression employed by the psalmist: “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning[.]” “It is none other but You who brightens up my path! When the darkness of discouragement makes it difficult for me to see the road – You, O LORD, shine Your light on my way!”
“[M]y God turns my darkness into light.” That is not hard for us to understand, if we can remember God’s actions “in the beginning,” when God called light into being and put an end to the darkness that was over the earth (Genesis 1: 3, 14-18). Through His Word, He provides “a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path” (Psalm 119: 105). But He does it in the physical realm as well; God can take some of the darkest situations and turn them into the brightest circumstances. Did He not do it for Joseph? Did He not take him from the dungeon to the throne (Genesis 41: 41-44)? He can also do it in spiritual things. He did it for Moses, who went from a murderer to the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12: 3)!
“With your help I can advance against a troop[.]” How invincible does the psalmist feel under God’s protection? Completely invincible! Most of us have seen this sticker: “God and I are a majority!” In other words, “No one can triumph over God and me! Together, we out-number, out-wit, and, out-maneuver any person, or set of people! With God we are invincible! No army has the tactics, manpower, or leadership, that can defeat God’s purposes! He frustrates the enemy’s plans even before they are implemented! He is the Almighty God!
“[W]ith my God I can scale a wall.” I have never been the athletic type. But I have watched in deep admiration the dexterity of athletes. Every move is painstakingly considered before it is made. Every second is put to optimum use. Every action is carefully weighed before it is executed. During the Olympics, I am usually seated with my eyes glued to the television set, as I watch the athletes who are competing in the decathlon, especially, the high jump. I watch as they bend their bodies with the greatest of precision, sometimes just inches above the pole and gracefully glide over! What a sight! What a feat! The psalmist believes that with God, he can scale the highest fence, reach for the highest star, aspire to the greatest excellence! Because with God, the sky is the limit!
We will continue with this study tomorrow.