Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 28:1 and following. Indeed, the supplications we hear in this psalm have nothing comparable to the trusting prayers that a Christian can address today to his God and Father. Fear of not getting an answer, fear of death, fear of being dragged along with the wicked, and finally, appeal to the judgment of the latter, these are the feelings of the faithful Israelite of the end times. But this intense distress can only bring out more the response he receives and the joy he feels from it. “The Lord is my strength,” he says in verse 7. And in verset 8: “The Lord is their strength.” Because experience is individual before being collective. We remember an episode in the story of David, author of our psalm: Back in Tsiklag, after having almost fought against Israel alongside the Philistines, he finds the city burned and all its inhabitants taken into captivity; his companions talk about stoning him, he is in great distress. And it is then that he “strengthens himself in Jehovah his God” (1 Sam 30:1-6). Experiencing our complete weakness like Him is sometimes necessary to realize that all our strength is in the Lord (2 Cor 12:1-10). Let’s also notice that God’s response produces praise in the believer’s heart. And let’s never forget to express it to Him (Isa 25:1-5)!
Here is the cry of a soul who for the first time tastes the bitterness of abandonment – God remaining for her in silence. Here she is in some measure seized by the fear of death, and her cry rises to God. God’s response to all these exercises is then anticipated with songs of praise, and with seasonal intercessions, which embrace all of God’s people as well as the supplicant himself. It can be noticed that the wicked are regarded here in the same way as unbelieving cities are by the Lord: they do not discern the works of jehovah (Mt 11:20). It is interesting to note the contrast in the Lord’s attitude toward the faithful residue of Israel according to the election and toward the unbelieving nation. Towards her, he “kept silent” (Mk 14:60-61) – the judge’s attitude. But here the Lord answers to the pious man.
For the pious Jew, in the time of the distress that has come upon the nation, asks not to be confused with the wicked. He is so truly immersed in the same distress as these, that if the Lord does not intervene on his behalf, death will engulf him: he asks for the judgment of the wicked; they despise Jehovah and Jehovah will give them back according to their works. – The Psalms do not only provide the residue with the expression of the cry of his distress; but also the testimony that the Lord heard this cry. The heart trusts in the Lord; he found help and thus joy and praise. Then the Messiah is fully associated with the righteous. The Lord is the strength of the faithful; it is that of the Messiah. Once established, the prophetic desire of godly man, according to the Spirit of Christ, is presented to Jehovah, that he may save his people and bless their inheritance (for faith in blessings and covenant relationships is found throughout these Psalms), and that he may shepherd his people and raise them up eternally. For to be delivered, blessed, nourished, lifted up eternally, this is what the faithful expect from the intervention of the mighty Lord.
Compared to the separation of the residue from evil, characterizing the witness of God, the weight of evil weighs more heavily on the heart; it requires judgment and separation of the residue from the wicked. This separation characterizes the whole testimony of God in relation to the coming Messiah, and this fact will help us to grasp the unity of the residue in God’s mind. Not only is the separation of the residue prophetically announced, as in Isaiah 65, but John the Baptist characterizes by it the coming of the Messiah, warning those who have just not to rely on their outward quality as children of Abraham which is worthless (Mt 3:9). This separation was thus accomplished spiritually, only the Lord being rejected and not yet coming into power, the separated were then added to the Assembly as “those who were to be saved”. This explains the language of Peter in Acts 2. 40. The Lord Himself receives them as His sheep (John 10); Paul also bases his argument in Romans 11 on the same fact.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Prayer of a man who sees death up close:
· Imploring God, crying out to God, examples
Ex 17:4 Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, What shall I do to this people? A little more, and they will help me. Jg 6:7 When the children of Israel cried out to Jehovah about Midian, 1 Ch 5:20 They received help against them, and the Hagarenians and all those with them were delivered into their hands. For during the battle they had cried out to God, who answered them, because they had entrusted themselves in Him. 2 Ch 14:11 The Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Ps 34:6 When one looks to him, one is radiant with joy, and the face is not covered with shame.
· God as Spiritual Foundation
1 Sam 2:2 No one is holy like the Lord; There is no other God but you; There is no rock like our God. Ps 18:32 For who is God, if not Jehovah; And who is a rock, if not our God? Ps 28:1 Of David. Eternal Lord! I cry out to you. My rock! do not remain deaf to my voice, Lest you walk away without answering me, I will be like those who descend into the pit. Ps 94:22 But Jehovah is my retreat, My God is the rock of my refuge.
· Injustice
Ps 10:4 The wicked man arrogantly says: He does not punish! There is no God! -These are all his thoughts. Ps 36:2 The ungodly word of the wicked is deep in my heart; The fear of God is not before his eyes. Rom 1:28 Because they did not care about knowing God, God gave them up in their reprobate sense, to commit unworthy things, Eph 2:12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, deprived of the right of the city in Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. 1 Tim 1:9 knowing full well that the law is not made for the just, but for the wicked and the rebellious, the ungodly and the sinners, the irreligious and the profane, the parricides, the murderers,
· People of God
-Possession cherished as a treasure Ex 19:5 Now, if you listen to my voice, and if you keep my covenant, you will belong to me among all peoples, for the whole earth is mine;
-Chosen by the Lord Dt 14:2 For you are a holy people to Jehovah, your God; and Jehovah, your God, has chosen you, that you may be a people who belonged to him among all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
-Raised above the nations Dt 26:19 that he may give you superiority over all the nations he has created in glory, fame, and magnificence, and that you may be a holy people to Jehovah your God, as he told you. 1 Sam 12:22 Jehovah will not abandon His people because of His great name, for Jehovah has resolved to make you His people. Ps 29:11 The Lord gives strength to His people; Jehovah blesses His people and makes them happy.
-Led as a flock Ps 78:52 He made His people leave like sheep, He led them like a flock into the wilderness. Ps 100:3 Know that Jehovah is God! It is He who made us, and we belong to Him; We are his people, and the herd of his pasture.
Prepared for service Luke 1:17 he will walk before God with the spirit and power of Elijah, to bring the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the rebels to the wisdom of the righteous, in order to prepare for the Lord a well-disposed people. Acts 15:14 Simon recounted how God first cast his eyes on the nations to choose from among them a people who bore his name.
-Characterized by the zeal Tt 2:14 which has given itself for us, in order to redeem us from all iniquity, and to make a people that belongs to it, purified by it and zealous for good works.
“The law is written on his heart Hb 8:10 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, I will write them in their hearts; And I will be their God, and they will be my people. 1 Pet 2:9 You, on the contrary, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you from darkness to his admirable light, Rev 21:3, and I heard from the throne a loud voice that said: Behold the tabernacle of God with men! He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.
From all the above, we note that the psalmist shows that it was not so much his own well-being as that of the whole Church that was the object of his concern, and that he did not live or reign for himself, but for the common good of the people. He knew well that he was appointed king for no other purpose. In this, he declares himself to be a type of the Son of God whom, when Zechariah predicts that he would come “having salvation”, there is no doubt that he promises him nothing apart from his limbs, but that the effects of this salvation spread throughout his body. By this example, he prescribes to earthly kings a rule according to which, dedicating themselves to the public good, they should desire to be preserved only for the good of their people. Otherwise, needless to say. For blinded with pride and presumption, they despise the rest of the world, as if their splendor and dignity raised them above the common state of man. Nor is it surprising that humanity is so haughty and smiling trampled at the feet of kings, since most of it is rejected and disdained to carry the cross of Christ. Let’s therefore remember that David is like a mirror, in which God places before us the continuous course of his grace. Only, we must ensure that the obedience of our faith corresponds to his paternal love, so that he will recognize us for his people and his heritage. Let’s understand, therefore, that David clung to the sanctuary thanks to God’s promise, and could rise above the elements of the world, which he used according to the appointment of the Law. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and for centuries of ages. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “confiance and joy in trial.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.