My Ornamental Cherry Tree tells me that Spring is here!

God, our Shield and Strength!

By Helen Jesze, 2016

“Unto you do I cry, O Lord my Rock, be not deaf and silent to me, lest, if You be silent to me, I become like those going down to the pit (the grave). Hear the voice of my supplication as I cry to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your innermost sanctuary (the Holy of Holies)….

Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my Strength and my (impenetrable) Shield; my heart trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; there fore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him.

The Lord is their (unyielding) Strength, and He is the Stronghold of salvation to (me) His anointed.”

Psalm 28: 1,2, 6,7,8 The Amplified Bible

David wrote many of the Psalms, some while he was still a shepherd boy and later, when he became King over Judah and Israel. Many give praises to God, others are a cry for help. Among his many enemies the main one was King Saul who tried to kill him, and David knew only God could be his help and protector.

Here in the first verse, he implores God to hear his cry, and to answer him. He calls God his “Rock”, meaning God is something solid and stable, unmoving, always remaining the same, a strong foundation on which to build his life. David is so desperate that he says he would be like a dead man, if God would not hear him and answer the cry of his heart.

He goes on to say that he worships God, lifting up his hands in surrender and praise towards God’s innermost sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. He acknowledges that God is the Holy One, the greatest One, the One to be worshipped in the most holy part of the Tabernacle, and the only One worthy of worship. David had learnt many secrets of praising and worshipping God.

Out there while tending his sheep as a young lad, looking out over God’s creation by day, or gazing up at the stars by night, the Holy Spirit whispered words and the knowledge of the greatness of the God who had made them all, into his heart. He sang these truths out in praise, song and poetry, accompanying himself on his harp or lyre, and became so skilful and anointed by the Holy Spirit that the day came when he was called to the palace, to play to King Saul, who at times became violent and troubled by an evil spirit. Only David’s playing could calm him down, as God worked through him.

Not only is David here crying for help to God in his need, but he combines this with worship and extolling the God of his salvation. We too, should not forget to praise our God even when we cry to Him for help, for praise brings victory and breakthrough. As we praise God, we are showing to the unseen world (Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and the angels in Heaven, and satan and his demons in their domain ) that we have confidence that this God will give us victory. We raise up his banner, as years ago in a war, the standard ­bearer held up the flag or standard of the side he was fighting on. When the soldiers saw the banner still waving, they took fresh courage and pressed in again to fight for the victory.

In verses 3,4 and 5 David begs that God would not let him be dragged down with the hypocritical wicked, who while outwardly seeming to be peaceable, yet their hearts are full of malice and evil doing. He comes to see that God will deal with them in His time and His way, and give them the just punishment for their sin. It is easy also for us to look at people who do not follow Jesus, even perhaps those who are ‘evil’, and they seem to carry on their destructive life­style and nothing seems to bother them, while we often have to face such difficult situations. In those times, satan whispers to us that we might as well just give up, for it’s not working. I want to encourage you today if you are struggling with such thoughts that it is worth going on, your God will fight for you, and he will deal with those who oppose him.

Then David comes through with confidence and joy in verse 6, blessing the Lord because he knows God has heard him. He calls the Lord his impenetrable Shield. Something impenetrable is something you cannot get into or throughshield of faith, and as we hold that up to protect us, every fiery dart of the enemy will be quenched and go out.

“Lift up over all the (covering) shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked (one), ”

Ephesians 6, 16 The Amplified Bible

David’s heart trusted in and relied on his God, but it did not happen automatically; it was something that had to be learned, with every experience hammered out on the anvil of his heart and life, until it became a part of him. When he ran from King Saul, hid with his men in the caves of Engedi, fled with a beating heart across the desert, time and time again God delivered him, and these experiences were lessons God was teaching him, and stood him in good stead when he later became king.

We are all in God’s ‘school’ where he is teaching us lessons for this life and the life beyond. Sometimes we have to take the same class again, for we have not learnt or understood what he is trying to teach us; perhaps we have not obeyed or have ignored his instructions, so it’s ‘one more lap round the mountain’. The Children of Israel were on their way to the Promised Land, but a journey which should have taken 11 days took forty years, and they circled Mount Sinai and other places many times. That was never God’s plan but it was their lack of faith, the hardness of their heart and disobedience which produced this result. In the end only Joshua and Caleb from the original company who left Egypt entered the land, all the others were of the next generation.

David says he will sing to the Lord for his greatness. Are you still singing to the Lord or have you lost your song? Has disappointment quenched your song to him? We do not have to be a trained singer to sing to our God! He loves a ‘joyful noise’! When my husband was once preaching in America , he said, “Even if you have a voice like a crow, still sing to the Lord!” A man put his hand up and said, “You spoke about me! My name is Mr. Crow!” Even if it is a sacrifice of praise, this praise can tip the scales to bring you victory.

Have you done arm­-wrestling, where a person will try to force their opponent’s arm down onto the table? If not, we have probably all seen it done. The loser’s arm has gone down or given way. David says in verse 8 that his God is so strong, he is his “unyielding strength”, he will not give way under pressure. His arm cannot be forced down! What’s more, he proclaims God to be the Stronghold of his salvation. A stronghold is a fortress, a place of security, a refuge, a place of predominance. Let this truth sink into your heart right now!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for these words of David which teach and encourage us today! Thank you that Jesus is our Shield, our Strength, our Rock, our Stronghold of Salvation! Nothing can shift or shake Him. He will never be moved!

Teach us to trust and rely on you, Father, as never before, and not to rely on our own strength.

We rejoice that you are so merciful and that you will hold us steady in every time of difficulty and show us your greatness, bringing us deliverance! In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Spring’s come!