Joy for our Protector

Psa 28:7  The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Is it not interesting that Joy goes with protection. We will always have enemies that pursue us and attempt to destroy the gospel we preach and the life we live. There will always be mockers and those that ridicule. We must continue faithful with our Lord because He is always faithful to protect us. We always need to call upon the Rock.

Let me tell you something about my Rock. This rock I stand on is not a pebble but an immovable boulder. I stand on a Rock that cannot be moved. I am on a firm and safe foundation that will never crumble or was away.

My enemies can assault and assail this Rock and it is to no avail. My Rock is my shield and protection. There is no life storm that can remove me from my Rock. My Rock is a sure foundation that cannot be moved.

I can sing praises to my Savior because of the joy in my heart because of His protection. May I always love and be faithful to the Rock of my salvation and the source of my joy.

Hiding

Some Christians

have enrolled in the

witness protection plan.

They are hiding

in plain sight.

JCandler

Speak Up

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 01:11 AM PDT

Psalm 107:2

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy,” Psalm 107:2.

In 2007, I was on a trip with a group of college students from my church. We were staying the night in a hotel in Jackson, Mississippi when we were awakened early in the morning to the sound of screams and chaos. When I made my way out the door of my room to see what was going on, I noticed two girls from our group dragging a child’s body out of a pool and another of our girls performing CPR on another child.

Once the rescue responders arrived and relieved our girls I learned exactly what had happened. Two young children had snuck out of their hotel room and decided to go for a swim. When one of the children got caught in a rope in the pool the other jumped in to help. Both kids were unable to swim and would have drowned if not for the actions of a few girls from our group. The kids’ lives were saved as a result of the quick actions of these outstanding ladies. The story made the news both in Mississippi and back in our hometown in Arkansas because stories of rescue are worth telling.

Redeemed: the Hebrew word for redeemed, padah, brings the idea of rescue or protection. In today’s verse we are commanded that the “redeemed” of the Lord should “say so.” We learn that those who have been rescued and protected by God should speak up and speak out! Has the Lord redeemed you?

If so, then say so! We have been redeemed not only from our enemies, but also from the enemy. We have been redeemed from sin! That is a story of redemption.

Redemption stories are worth telling.

 

JUST ASKING

Do you have a story worth telling?

Nathan Rogers

God’s Protection

 

Psalm 3

“But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head,” Psalm 3:3.

David’s description of God’s protection from his enemies is as an old-fashioned, Irish, bare-fisted boxing match: “thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly” (verse 7). It did not take long for David’s enemies to learn not to fear him; rather, they feared David’s God who protected him. However, the precursor to this psalm was one of David’s favored sons, Absalom, who was taking the kingdom from his father by military coup.

Absalom was a man’s man, David’s kind of man, a handsome warrior-type with nine pounds of hair. At one time David may have even contemplated favoring Absalom to be the next king of Israel. In spite of Absalom’s rebellious spirit, David showed him much favor. All the while Absalom was pretending to serve his father, he was planning treachery.

In this psalm, David was running from his own son, praying to God to save him from Absalom’s destruction. “I cried . . . I laid me down and slept” (verses 4, 5) shows David’s complete confidence in God to help him. However, when David learned that Joab had killed Absalom and left him hanging in a tree, he screamed out in anguish of soul, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Sam. 18:33).

God the Father saw the travail of His Son, hanging on the cross as the sinner, and He was satisfied. At the same time, He knew it was His beloved, Only Begotten, hanging on the tree of death, His perfect sacrificial Lamb.

 

IN OTHER WORDs

Oh love that will not let me go, bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Robert Brock

David (1)

 

Dāwiḏ

While no more inspired than any other Scripture, Psalms 23 is, indeed, one of its crown jewels. “Using common ancient near-eastern images,” writes one expositor, “David progressively unveils his personal relationship with the LORD.” David refers to the LORD as his Shepherd (Jehovah-Rā‘â,), and then in beautiful poetry speaks of what he receives from his Shepherd: protection (Psa_23:1-4), provision (Psa_23:5), and permanence (Psa_23:6).

Let us consider the nameDavid. While the etymology is uncertain, it is commonly believed that Dāwiḏ (H1732) is derived from the root dôḏ (H1730), meaning “beloved, loved one, and even uncle” (e.g., Lev_20:20). Most of its fifty-eight occurrences refer to “the beloved” in Song of Solomon. As David prefigures Messiah (Eze_34:23-24; Eze_37:24-25; Hos_3:5; Jer_30:9), who in turn was spoken of as the Father’s “beloved Son” (Mat_3:17), this etymology seems at least possible.

While there is much detail about this pivotal character—his name appears more than 1,000 times—we can briefly summarize David with seven words:

(1) Son. The youngest of eight brothers, David was the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, grandson of Ruth and Boaz, tracing his heritage back to Abraham and then forward to Messiah (Mat_1:1-17). Anointed secretly by Samuel as the next king (1Sa_16:1-13), this young man was infused with the Spirit and destined for true greatness. (2) Shepherd. Oh, the lessons he learned as a shepherd! Courage, compassion, care, and much more helped mold a leader. (3) Singer. A musician and poet without equal, David penned most of the Psalms, providing unprecedented praise to God. (4) Soldier. Facing Goliath in his youth and later entire armies, David was a true warrior who received his power from God. (5) Sovereign. In a forty-year reign (1010–970 BC), the Hebrew nation reached the peak of its unity and power under King David’s leadership. (6) Sinner. As no one is perfect, David fell into sin, the most grievous of which was adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. The consequences of sin are great, and untold misery came to David’s household. (7) Savior. Not David himself, of course, but the “Son of David,” Jesus Christ, who would save His people from their sins and sit on David’s throne.

Scriptures for Study:Read Psalms 51, David’s great psalm of repentance.