GOD, YOU ARE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood.

See how they lie in wait for me! Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, Lord. I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight! You, Lord God Almighty, You who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors.

They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. See what they spew from their mouths — the words from their lips are sharp as swords, and they think, “Who can hear us?” But You laugh at them, Lord; You scoff at all those nations.

You are my strength, I watch for You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.

God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me. But do not kill them, Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In Your might uproot them and bring them down. For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter, consume them in Your wrath, consume them till they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob.

They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied. But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

You are my strength, I sing praise to You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.

Psalm 59

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Think about God for a moment and who He is in your life.

If asked, what would you say about Him? How would you describe God to another?

As we ponder this question and start to form our responses, let’s take a look at how David answered it in the words of the 59th Psalm. Consider the following:

Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood.

See how they lie in wait for me! Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, Lord. I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight! You, Lord God Almighty, You who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors.

They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. See what they spew from their mouths — the words from their lips are sharp as swords, and they think, “Who can hear us?” But You laugh at them, Lord; You scoff at all those nations.

You are my strength, I watch for You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.

God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me. But do not kill them, Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In Your might uproot them and bring them down. For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter, consume them in Your wrath, consume them till they are no more. Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob.

They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied. But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

You are my strength, I sing praise to You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.

As we have seen many times over in the Psalms, David was up against a lot of adversity from people who wanted to undermine and deceive him to people who wanted to kill him. It wasn’t easy being the king of Israel, that’s for sure.

But as we have also seen over and over, David was able to remain resolute despite the evil dangers around him because he was a man after God’s own heart and placed his full faith and trust in his Father in heaven. It’s no different in this psalm as we find David affirming his confidence and reliance on God to watch over him and keep him safe.

How did David answer the question regarding who God was to him? He did so with a series of “You are” statements. Look back to these places in the psalm and I will preface each with God as this is who David is speaking of:

1. God, You are my strength.

David wasn’t strong enough on his own to withstand the trouble he was up against. We’re not strong enough to handle our difficulties either. That’s why we need a source of strength outside of ourselves to help us through. In 12 step programs, participants are asked to turn to a higher power for help. This is because they don’t have the power to overcome an addiction on their own. We’re all sin addicts at heart and will never come to a point where we can make headway against our wickedness unless we turn to God our higher power who will grant us the strength we need to make it through.

2. God, You are my fortress.

What imagery comes to mind when you think about a fortress?

For me, I think of an impenetrable stronghold where I can reside and be completely safe from harm. My enemies are on the outside trying to attack me but they do so fruitlessly because nothing can penetrate my divine God-enhanced fortress. As the scriptures assure us, “If God is with us, who can stand against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Obviously, David felt likewise and knew he could rely fully on God’s protection.

3. God, You are the God of Israel.

God commanded that there would be no other gods before Him and David stayed obedient to that command, acknowledging the Lordship God had over His chosen people.

Today, we are all under the Lordship of God whether we want to admit it or not. The God of Israel is also the God of us all.

And so who is God? He is our strength, our fortress, and simply God, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Make sure you remember this the next time someone asks and point them to this psalm.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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