The Assurance of God’s Saving Work
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; may He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.
We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save, Lord! May the King [Commissioned One, Messiah] answer us when we call.”
Once more, David gives us a psalm that is short but memorable. There are two main parts of this psalm: a general blessing on the hearers and a specific request for help for the king from the Messiah, the King of the Universe.
- “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you..”
Sooner or later, every one of us is going to face problems. When trouble comes, it helps to know that the God of Jacob, the Lord of the Universe, will defend us when we call.
- May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; may He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice.” Although the temple in Jerusalem no longer exists and burnt offerings are no longer offered, we can still beg God for help. God will help us because of His mercy and grace.
- “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.” This verse assumes that our hearts’ desires and purposes are acceptable to God. We cannot ask for God to bless anything evil.
- “We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.” This statement assumes that God will definitely save those who call on Him. The psalmist is already planning the celebration when God moves.
- “Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” How can David say this? David is speaking from repeated experiences of God’s deliverance.
- “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright.” No matter what kind of weapons our enemies have, God is more than sufficient for any challenge, and at the end of the day, we will be victorious.
- “Save, Lord! May the King [Commissioned One, Messiah] answer us when we call.” Here David is calling on the King of the Universe, the Messiah, to deliver him as the king of Israel.
APPLICATION: For a haunting musical presentation of this psalm, you can go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFMKDlyiH-U
This psalm is another faith builder. Once more, we can thank all the rotten experiences that David endured, for he could never speak of God’s deliverance if he had not been forced to depend on God.
There’s an old saying, “What makes for good judgment? Bad experience!” Very few of us learn from good experiences; most of us learn from mistakes. But praise God, we aren’t stuck with our messes. God is still a Deliverer and He is more than equal to any problem. Right now we are struggling with one of those thorny problems that we can’t talk about. But God already knows all the facets of the situation and He has a perfect solution. Our job is to keep looking at Him and continuing to seek His guidance.
Two years ago, we returned to the U.S. for a few months, knowing that my husband’s remaining brother was dying with complications from Agent Orange. We had one evening and the following morning with him before he died on August 29, 2021. What we didn’t anticipate was that one of my brothers would be dying from COVID pneumonia as we were leaving the U.S. to return to Ghana. (We went with his blessing and the blessing of his family.) Throughout these harrowing experiences, it was God who kept us steady and centered. Would we willingly endure these experiences again? Nope! But have these experiences enabled us to sympathize with others in their grief and loss? Of course. Our testimony throughout all of this is that God is faithful and that He is our Deliverer.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are facing sticky situations, and we need Your light, Your truth, and Your guidance. Thank You, that You will bring perfect solutions for us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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