What a picture Psalm 59 presents! David describes himself as hunted and
surrounded by enemies. Yet in the midst
of such menaces he sees God as his strength and fortress, relying on His
steadfast love.
As David prays and presents himself before God
(and us) he is also displaying a picture of the whole people of God. His prayer represents every Christian and the
whole Church, for as surely as Jesus taught us to pray, “deliver us from evil,”
we are truly beset with all kinds of evil.
In this psalm and in the Lord’s Prayer we are calling on God to, “rescue
us from every evil of body and soul, possession and reputation, and finally,
when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from
this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.”
(Luther’s Small Catechism)
This might seem like a somewhat foreign idea
to many of us. We do not feel beset by
danger. Our lives are normal, everyday,
humdrum, and even boring. In truth, we
often go through life oblivious to the enemies that surround us. Jesus said of the devil, “The thief comes to
steal, kill, and destroy ….” (John
10:10) He has not ceased in that work,
and continuously works to pull us from God.
He despises when God’s will is done, and does all in his power to steal
God’s Word from us and kill the hope we have in Jesus. The world and our sinful natures are his allies,
and we find adversaries within and without.
What shall we do? Where do we turn?
To the same place David turned.
“O my Strength, I will watch for you.” Three times (v. 9, 16, and 17) David refers
to God’s strength. This sentiment is echoed
in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me.” We do not rely on our own power or strength,
for we know our weaknesses, and that we are not sufficient to face these
enemies. Our strength comes from outside
of us – through the Word and the Sacraments – when God Himself is our
Strength. This is more than just getting
a boost. This is not like moving a heavy
load and you just need a little help.
God is our strength from first to last, and we are totally dependent on
God’s power to work in and through us.
“You, O God, are my fortress.” Again, this phrase appears three times (in
the same verses). I grew up singing, “A
mighty fortress is our God ....” This
hymn has given me comfort in times of fear, encouragement in times of sadness,
and focused me in times of joy. God is a
like a great rock fortress that defends us from the attacks of our
enemies. This is, at least partly, why
we call the inside of our churches, “sanctuaries.” They are places we can hide for a while to
rest and be refreshed and re-sent into the world in the forgiveness of
Christ.
“My God in his steadfast love will meet me.” Guess how many times David mentions God’s
steadfast love. That’s right:
three! He has saved the best for last,
and here we are directed to look upon God’s great affection for us. His love never falters or fails. It is deep and terrible to our enemies. And nowhere do see how steadfastly God loves
us more than in Jesus’ cross. There
Jesus displayed His strength to us by bearing the sins of all people in all
times to death. He is our fortress for,
having delivered our sin to death, he stands between us and sin’s
consequence. Such great love will not
abandon us. He is steadfast.
O LORD, let me live in
Your strength, be my fortress, and help me to remember Your steadfast love –
the love that moved my Lord Jesus to die for me, and in these things help me
face the world. Amen.
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