Psalms 18
31 For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
Ephesians 6
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
The experience of 2 great men, David and Paul – that God empowers, He enables His children to be victors
Many Christians have trained themselves to expect defeat, disaster. This is the devil’s design and not God’s. Both David and Paul speak of the empowering of God’s people so that their immediate experience should be one of deliverance and victory.
David is old when he speaks of His experience with God. This is almost identical to David’s prayer in 2 Sam 22.
Ps 18: 28 – 32 speaks of the supernatural power of God and the fact that God Himself is our defence. Not only is He strong but He grants me strength, says David.
TRAINED FOR WAR
But verse 34 shows another aspect of being empowered. Here we find the man of war. Our Ephesians text provides a detailed explanation of this.
PURSUING YOUR ENEMIES
Not only did David find that God is His rock of defence, but he was enabled to “pursue his enemies” (verse 37), and “overtake them”. This is true empowerment! Weapons of defense are crucial and we must know what it is to hide in the “Rock of our Salvation” before we can go on the offensive. The greatest enemies which you are to pursue and “overtake them”, are the sins of your own heart. Repentence and trust in Christ must be part and parcel of the victorious life. David (and Paul) are using military language to describe the spiritual battle.
HIND’S FEET
In the midst of the battle training and military metaphor is a unique description of the other side of empowerment. Consider verse 33 – “makes my feet like hind’s feet”. The delicacy and instinctive ability of this mountain deer to climb the rocky crags and stay stable, sure-footed, and high above the rest of the world, is given by the same God who trains your hands to war. He makes his servant to be nimble, able to adjust to new heights – “sets my feet upon high places.” And in verse 36, “my feet did not slip”
HOWS IS ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE?
Must we climb up to get there? No, Ps 18: 35 declares that He “gives the shield of victory” to His servants and that God “stooped down to make me great”. This is the Christmas, the Gospel story.
Illustration: An old (American) Indian chief constantly spoke of the Lord Jesus and what He meant to him. “Why do you talk so much about Jesus?” asked a friend. The old chief did not reply, but slowly, deliberately gathered some sticks and bits of grass. He made a circle of them. In the circle he placed a caterpillar. Still silent, he struck a match and lit the sticks and grass. They watched the caterpillar. As the fire caught around the circle, the trapped caterpillar began to crawl around rapidly, seeking a way to escape. As the fire advanced, the helpless caterpillar raised its head as high as it could. If the creature could have spoken, it would have said, “My help can only come from above.” Then the old chief stooped down. He extended his finger to the caterpillar which crawled up his finger to safety. The serious chief said, “That was what the Lord Jesus did for me! I was lost in sin. My condition was hopeless. I was trapped. Then the Lord Jesus stooped down in love and mercy and He drew me out of the horrible pit of sin and shame. How can I help but love Him and talk of His wondrous love and care?”
The Hebrew word “hen” is often used for God’s showing of underserved favour, grace to one who is lower than Him. “The Lord show grace unto thee”, etc. His “stooping down”, His grace, is to lift us up. If we choose to stay down in our sins then His grace has not reached us.
When David wrote these words he had seen something of God’s character, the God who “stooped down” hundreds of years later to become man, for us. The apostle Paul, in his magnificent incarnation passage states, “Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:5-7). C. S. Lewis wrote, “The Son of God became a son of man, that sons of men might become sons of God”.
To lift something up we must first bend down. The religious leaders – the Priests, Pharisees and Scribes, in Jesus’ day, were men who stood erect, upright and proud. It is doubtful if they ever understood the concept of a stooping God.
But the concept of a God who stoops was not new – for it is embedded firmly in the creation story. In it we see God stooping down to breathe life in to his first created child – Adam – in a form of mouth-to-mouth life infusion. This kiss of life to man necessitated a stooping God. In fact the God who stoops can be found throughout history, from Genesis to Revelation.
Yet, the ultimate act of condescension was when God stooped down to become a man. He was as Wesley put it – “Love divine all loves excelling – joy of heaven to earth come down”. Love stoops to find us– to lift us– to restore us– to welcome us and to rejoice over us. Jesus gives the kiss of eternal life. As you repent and trust in Him He will do as He promised – “come in and sup with you”.
Philippians 4
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.