Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 Samuel 22:1
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 21 closed, we saw David and his men have victory on four separate occasions over the Philistines. Of course, this was far from the first time that this had happened for during our study of David we have seen time and time again how he triumphed against adversity.
That adversity began all the way back when he was just a young boy when he stepped forward to defeat a terrifying, giant warrior named Goliath. It continued as a jealous Saul attempted over and over again to kill him, causing David to flee and avoid capture as Saul relentlessly pursued him. Then David and his men defeated the Amalekites who had plundered and kidnapped all of the women, children and livestock of Ziklag, a town he had been given by the Philistines who he had partnered with after Saul refused to give up his quest to have David killed.
After Saul’s death, David still had to deal with a remnant of his followers going against Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, and Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son who Abner had appointed as king in place of his father. This was followed by the defeat of the Jebusites and David establishing his throne and assuming control of Israel and Judah from Jerusalem.
Wins against the Philistines, Moabites, Arameans, Edomites and Ammonites helped form the framework of the Promised Land that God had granted Israel but David was still yet to face his most heartbreaking challenge…one that came from his own son. For you’ll recall that Absalom betrayed his father by conspiring to overthrow him and take over the throne. Absalom’s actions again put David on the run but like Saul, Absalom’s efforts to kill David ended when he was killed by Joab after getting his hair caught in the branches of an oak tree.
Indeed, when looking back at his life, David could see where the Lord had helped him overcome a great deal of challenge. And as Chapter 22 begins, we see the end result of this accounting.
For David opens this chapter by singing to the Lord a song of praise and thanks, composed in response to how the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies. We will be looking at this song in great detail over the next few messages but I want to focus on this matter of singing praise to the Lord first.
Question: When was the last time you sat down and accounted for all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon you?
I’m convinced that if we would just take the time to count all the blessings we have received from God…like David considering his many victories over his foes…then we would consistently led into a spirit of praise and thanksgiving unto the One through which all blessings flow.
And so this Lenten season, won’t you join me in reflecting on life and counting all the ways the Lord has blessed us throughout, using those blessings to compose our own personal song of praise and thanksgiving…while responding to God’s word which instructs us to:
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:19b-20
In Christ,
Mark
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