GOD IS MY HELPER - SO WHY WOULD I NEED ANOTHER?
Notice David's words in Psalm 54 when he was in trouble -
"Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in Thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto Thee: I will praise Thy name, O LORD, for it is good. For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies."
Here we have David calling on God as God - "Save me, O God, by Thy name..." His "name" implies His power, grace, and goodness.
By praying this way, David was applying to God for salvation and deliverance - calling upon all of His power in order to secure it. In a sense, he was saying - "Save me by Yourself alone, O God."
"Judge me by Thy strength" entailed God's vindication for there were "strangers" and "oppressors" - proud and haughty people of violence - who were seeking to crush David.
Despite the dangerous circumstances that he faced, this Psalmist's focus was on his God - "Behold, God is mine helper..." To Him alone did he confide. He was confident that his "Deliverer" would render evil to his "watchers" and deal with them accordingly.
He already saw the victory ahead. His God would indeed deliver him from his present troubles and afflictions. He confidently proclaimed - "I will praise Thy name, O LORD, for it is good. For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies."
Then, as we move over into the New Testament, we see that the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:3-4 further identified this God for us when he said - "Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord... And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." By His resurrection from the dead, Jesus was mightily marked off, defined, and proven - in a striking and triumphant way - to be the very Son of God - or God in the flesh. He was powerfully shown to have a divine nature - "according to the Spirit of holiness."
Yet, in spite of the fact that it is demonstrated over and over again in the Scriptures that God is more than enough for His people, we find in 1 Samuel 8 a very disturbing thing happening. The children of Israel were petitioning Samuel the prophet to "make us a king to judge us like all the nations...Give us a king to judge us... Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."
Note the contrast between these words and the words of David found in Psalm 54 - "Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength...Behold, God is mine helper...I will praise Thy name, O LORD...For He hath delivered me out of all trouble..."
In 1 Samuel 8, we find the people of God renouncing His divine help or government. They were tired of having a Prophet like Samuel as their judge and "mediator" between them and God. Never mind the fact that he heard from God to the extent where none of his words ever "fell to the ground." That was simply not enough for them.
They were tired of the rugged Prophet attire and wanted to have a king like the other nations had who was dressed in a purple robe and was surrounded by guards and officers of state.
Also, this idea of having an unseen King and Head - as their God was for them - had grown old. They wanted a visible monarch.
Despite Samuel's warnings, the people were determined at all hazards to gain their object. They insisted on being like all of the other nations.
Never mind the fact that it was their glory, honor, and happiness to be unlike the other nations in that they had the Lord God Almighty for their King and Lawgiver.
Deuteronomy 4:7 verifies this fact - "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?"
At this point, one very important question needs to be asked - In what way is the church of today just like the children of Israel?
She has the Resurrected Christ in her midst, yet she is constantly looking unto the world for ways to maintain her godly mission to be a "light" in this dark world. She has all the power she could ever need in the Holy Spirit, yet she is constantly seeking and searching for worldly ways to draw people to her services and then to keep them coming.
She may not have blatantly voiced this demand - "Give us a king to judge us" - nonetheless, in her actions, she continuously seeks to renounce Jesus' government and Headship over her life.
It has always been the world's main objective to throw off the concept of the government of God or the view of an unseen King and Head. They don't want to hear about a God Who sees all and knows all or is over all. And the church seems to be following in their footsteps.
How about you? Are you indirectly asking the world to give you what you already have in Jesus? Are you worshipping Him with your lips and calling Him - "King" - yet, in your heart, yearning for a worldly king to rule over you - one who has less restrictions?
"Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength..."
"make us a king to judge us like all the nations..."
Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 - "No man can serve two masters..." In 1 Kings 18:21, the Prophet Elijah inquired of the people of God - "How long halt ye between two opinions?" You cannot be ruled by God and by the world at the same time. You cannot claim to be a Christian - a follower of Christ - yet walk in the ways of the world.
David declared - "Behold, God is mine helper..."
If God is your helper, why would you ever need another?
May God Bless His Word,
Connie
© COPYRIGHT Connie Giordano - All Rights Reserved
Subscribe to Daily Bible Messages at - connie@walkingintruth.org.
Walking In Truth Ministry | P.O. Box 383016 | Duncanville | TX | 75138
"Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in Thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto Thee: I will praise Thy name, O LORD, for it is good. For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies."
Here we have David calling on God as God - "Save me, O God, by Thy name..." His "name" implies His power, grace, and goodness.
By praying this way, David was applying to God for salvation and deliverance - calling upon all of His power in order to secure it. In a sense, he was saying - "Save me by Yourself alone, O God."
"Judge me by Thy strength" entailed God's vindication for there were "strangers" and "oppressors" - proud and haughty people of violence - who were seeking to crush David.
Despite the dangerous circumstances that he faced, this Psalmist's focus was on his God - "Behold, God is mine helper..." To Him alone did he confide. He was confident that his "Deliverer" would render evil to his "watchers" and deal with them accordingly.
He already saw the victory ahead. His God would indeed deliver him from his present troubles and afflictions. He confidently proclaimed - "I will praise Thy name, O LORD, for it is good. For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies."
Then, as we move over into the New Testament, we see that the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:3-4 further identified this God for us when he said - "Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord... And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." By His resurrection from the dead, Jesus was mightily marked off, defined, and proven - in a striking and triumphant way - to be the very Son of God - or God in the flesh. He was powerfully shown to have a divine nature - "according to the Spirit of holiness."
Yet, in spite of the fact that it is demonstrated over and over again in the Scriptures that God is more than enough for His people, we find in 1 Samuel 8 a very disturbing thing happening. The children of Israel were petitioning Samuel the prophet to "make us a king to judge us like all the nations...Give us a king to judge us... Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."
Note the contrast between these words and the words of David found in Psalm 54 - "Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength...Behold, God is mine helper...I will praise Thy name, O LORD...For He hath delivered me out of all trouble..."
In 1 Samuel 8, we find the people of God renouncing His divine help or government. They were tired of having a Prophet like Samuel as their judge and "mediator" between them and God. Never mind the fact that he heard from God to the extent where none of his words ever "fell to the ground." That was simply not enough for them.
They were tired of the rugged Prophet attire and wanted to have a king like the other nations had who was dressed in a purple robe and was surrounded by guards and officers of state.
Also, this idea of having an unseen King and Head - as their God was for them - had grown old. They wanted a visible monarch.
Despite Samuel's warnings, the people were determined at all hazards to gain their object. They insisted on being like all of the other nations.
Never mind the fact that it was their glory, honor, and happiness to be unlike the other nations in that they had the Lord God Almighty for their King and Lawgiver.
Deuteronomy 4:7 verifies this fact - "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?"
At this point, one very important question needs to be asked - In what way is the church of today just like the children of Israel?
She has the Resurrected Christ in her midst, yet she is constantly looking unto the world for ways to maintain her godly mission to be a "light" in this dark world. She has all the power she could ever need in the Holy Spirit, yet she is constantly seeking and searching for worldly ways to draw people to her services and then to keep them coming.
She may not have blatantly voiced this demand - "Give us a king to judge us" - nonetheless, in her actions, she continuously seeks to renounce Jesus' government and Headship over her life.
It has always been the world's main objective to throw off the concept of the government of God or the view of an unseen King and Head. They don't want to hear about a God Who sees all and knows all or is over all. And the church seems to be following in their footsteps.
How about you? Are you indirectly asking the world to give you what you already have in Jesus? Are you worshipping Him with your lips and calling Him - "King" - yet, in your heart, yearning for a worldly king to rule over you - one who has less restrictions?
"Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength..."
"make us a king to judge us like all the nations..."
Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 - "No man can serve two masters..." In 1 Kings 18:21, the Prophet Elijah inquired of the people of God - "How long halt ye between two opinions?" You cannot be ruled by God and by the world at the same time. You cannot claim to be a Christian - a follower of Christ - yet walk in the ways of the world.
David declared - "Behold, God is mine helper..."
If God is your helper, why would you ever need another?
May God Bless His Word,
Connie
© COPYRIGHT Connie Giordano - All Rights Reserved
Subscribe to Daily Bible Messages at - connie@walkingintruth.org.
Walking In Truth Ministry | P.O. Box 383016 | Duncanville | TX | 75138
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