“O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us. You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters. You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger. Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go forth, O God, with our armies. Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.” (v1-3,9-12)
This Psalm seems to be written during a period of defeat in battle, probably early in King David’s reign. The battles spoken of in this Psalm (v6-8, not quoted) were won by Israel, but that’s not to say that there weren’t some setbacks that were not recorded in the somewhat condensed historical records.
David is quite clear on the key point of this Psalm – God is the one who wins the battles and vanquishes the foes, the efforts of men to save themselves are in vain. (v11-12) Now that may be true in a physical battle, but it’s the one and only possible truth in a battle of spiritual forces – mankind cannot be their own salvation from sin and death, only God (Jesus) could accomplish that.
I know this passage is a little cliché, but please bear with me: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Eph 6:10-13) Both David and Paul knew that we could not hope to stand up against and conquer our enemies without God – it is a fool’s errand.
Father God, You promise that the enemies who rise up against us will be defeated before us – they come at us from one direction but will flee from us in seven. The only way this is possible Father, is through submission to you. Without our willing surrender, we cannot stand firm in battle, securely clad in Your armor. Without You going before us into battle, we cannot prevail. Father, since we are born of You and not just this world, please help us to overcome this world – being born of You is the true key to victory. Only when we believe that You Jesus, are the Son of God who destroyed death on the cross, may we overcome the enemies that seek to devour us. We humbly submit to Your sovereignty and leadership in our lives, knowing that without You we are powerless, and we give You all of the glory Father. (Deu 28:7, Jas 4:7, 1 Jn 5:4-5, 1 Pet 5:8 par)
~ Conqueror in Training