PSALM 138
I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.
Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
for all of them will hear your words.
Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
but he keeps his distance from the proud.
Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me. The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
After Saul's death, David became king over his own tribe of Judah, but other tribes were reluctant to acknowledge his authority. During the last years of Saul's reign, the nation of Israel was torn by inner turmoil and Saul's deteriorating power.
For seven years after David became king, the nation teetered on the edge of civil war.
The surrounding nations couldn't have been happier. They wanted Israel weak and divided. God's people would pose no threat to the outlying nations to expand their territory at Israel's expense.
Raids into Israel's villages were rarely met with resistance or revenge. And no one worried about Israel's expansion or dominance.
This all changed, however, when David became king over a united people. The Israelites stopped fighting themselves and banded together to claim the land that the LORD God had promised to them. (2 Samuel 5:1-5; 1 Chronicles 11:1-3; 12:23-40
David's first few skirmishes were all met with victory and success. Soon David's army (and Israel's God) seemed unstoppable.
David saw his military victories in pure spiritual terms. God is on his side. God is determined to bless and prosper David (v 8); David prayed for help and God answered (v 3); and David trusted in God for success (vv 7-8).
The gods of other nations proved to be no opposition for the one true God of Israel.
Our God is not only higher and more powerful than other nation's gods, He is also greater than the humans kings, presidents and heads of state and worthy of their praise (v 4). David prayed that God would bring about the day when all the rulers and leaders of the earth would sing of the wisdom and glory of the Lord. That day has not yet arrived; one day King Jesus will receive honor and praise from every creature. (Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 19:11-16).
As David did, you and I can have complete assurance that God will do everything that He has promised He would do:
"The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever." (v 8)
This is the Old Testament version of Philippians 1:6 - "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."
God's primary purpose for me is stated clearly in Romans 8:29 - "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose (me) to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters".
He wants to see me conformed to the image of His Son. This is the purpose-driven life. God's goal is to make me like Jesus--and He will accomplish that goal. Every difficulty, every trial, every hammer blow of God's love in my life is designed to produce the image of Jesus in me.
One of my favorite readings is from AW Tozer:
"Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well. He never discovers anything, He is never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything nor (except when drawing men out for their own good) does He seek information or ask questions. And to us who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope that is set before us in the gospel, how unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely. No talebearer can inform on us, no enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some bidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us.
"For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken," says the LORD, who has mercy on you." Isaiah 54:10
