Psalm 18:39 You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet. 40 You placed my foot on their necks. I have destroyed all who hated me. 41 They called for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer. 42 I ground them as fine as dust in the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt.
43 You gave me victory over my accusers. You appointed me ruler over nations; people I don’t even know now serve me. 44 As soon as they hear of me, they submit; foreign nations cringe before me. 45 They all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! 47 He is the God who pays back those who harm me; he subdues the nations under me 48 and rescues me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents. 49 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. 50 You give great victories to your king; you show unfailing love to your anointed, to David and all his descendants forever.
If we only read the first verses in this selection, we might feel that David is simply boasting about himself, but he is not. David is actually boasting about the Lord. According to David, God has given him complete victory to the point that David can put his feet on the necks of his enemies, indicating complete victory. God has destroyed all these enemies, even when they have called out to God. Because of these previous victories, foreign nations cringe before David as they lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! For those of us familiar with traditional praise music, these phrases are quite familiar; however, look at them from David’s standpoint. David has grown up in a society largely given over to idol worship, dominated by false gods powerless to help in any fashion. “The Lord lives” is not simply a nice verse but a statement of fact.
What does the phrase “The Lord lives!” mean for us today. Such a short phrase-how can these three words help us? Never forget that God is always putting explosive ideas in small packages. When we pronounce “the Lord lives!” over our problems, we are acknowledging that God is the Think of seeds and flower, acorns and oak trees. One who can sort things out, who can solve them perfectly. When we try to solve problems, we only create messes, and many times, the harder we try, the messier things get.
As I am writing this, we are in the throes of a dilemma. We have just learned that both of us have significant high school reunions coming up in July. In the meantime, we are funding projects that must be completed promptly. We must leave money for people who depend on us. There are also other considerations we must handle in addition. One of my husband’s beloved relatives has entered hospice. Can we make it in time to see him before he dies? I might need to undergo a cataract operation on one eye. Can we arrange that? Which airline will we use and which airports? The more we think about these things, the more confusing everything appears. What we must do is to remember that the Lord lives, and therefore, the Lord can handle all these issues. Surely the One who has created the universe is capable of sorting out our small challenges.
Are you struggling today? Confused? Worried? Remember, THE LORD LIVES! PRAISE TO OUR ROCK! MAY THE GOD OF OUR SALVATION BE EXALTED!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to always remember that You are the One whom we can trust to handle all our problems. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment