No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Psalm 33: 16, 17, NKJV.
Dear Abba, we come with confidence into Your presence today, to hear a Word from You. Please speak to us dear God, for in You, and You alone, is our hope.
Today is our third day meditating on Psalm 33. I was not aware of the many nuggets of truth that are embedded in this wonderful psalm! I had read it so many times before, and never noticed these wonderful gems. Once again, the words of Dr. Gillespie, one of my wonderful professors, in the School of Religion, at my alma mater, La Sierra University, proves true: we need to dig deeper, “the treasure is beneath the surface.” (I hope I quoted him correctly). The act of digging deeper is proving to be a true blessing!
We just have to keep on living, to know that the words of our Scripture for today, are, “true and faithful.” Sooner or later, “the arm of flesh will fail” [us]” (George Duffield), and we realize, that it is only “Jesus” who “never fails.” Let us look at each of these truisms for a few minutes and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts.
“No king is saved by the multitude of an army.” Isn’t that the truth? If the size of an army was what determined victory, How was Abraham and his army of “three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house,” able to defeat a coalition of five mighty kings (see Genesis chapter 14)?
How could Joshua, and an army of former slaves, after being put to flight by the army of Ai, return and defeat them in a most unbelievable manner (see Joshua chapter 8)?
It was because God was on their side, and fought with, and for, them!
“[A] mighty man is not delivered by great strength.” We all know how true that is. Did David the shepherd boy defeat Goliath the giant (see 1 Samuel 17)? His height and strength were not sufficient to deliver him from the arm of omnipotence!
“A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.” In Biblical times, a good horse was considered an asset. We know that in our day, no one would consider taking a horse out to battle! We could not depend upon its strength to keep us safe; nor its speed to outrun bullets, that are becoming outdated, and are being replaced by more sophisticated armament.
But of these truths we can be sure: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46: 1a). “He who keeps you will not slumber. behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (121: 3b, 4). “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (127: 1).
Therefore, let us trust in the Lord!