“Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.”
– Psalm 108:12
Hi James and Ellen,
How often have you asked for help from God – as God the Father, through Jesus Christ – as God the Son? When do you ask for help from God – as God the Father, through Jesus Christ – as God the Son? Why would you want to ask for help from God – as God the Father, through Jesus Christ – as God the Son? David was always asking God for His help. David knew that he always needed God’s help. David would scribe psalm song prayers to God as his way of pleading with God for His help. What is now Psalm 108 in the Psalm Psalter is a prayer psalm song that David scribed to ask God for His help against his enemies. Instead of just getting to the point of asking God what is now verse 12, “Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.”, David begins this prayer psalm song prayer by praising God for His great love and His undying faithfulness. How do you feel when you know that without a doubt you are being blessed by God’s loving, faithful presence? Do you sense in your heart that your faith in God has become unequivocally steadfast in Him? Do you sense that your soul wants to spontaneously break out in song and music to thank God for His amazing, unmerited grace towards you? Do you sense in your spirit that you are hungry to listen to the sound of a musical instrument – such as a harp or lyre, being played to express a genuine appreciation to God for how He is constantly giving you glimpses of His wonderful holy presence? Because David had God totally embedded in the very depth of his heart and soul, David inherently found himself always wanting to exalt or glorify God through the psalm songs that he scribed. Because God had responded to his desperate pleading before, David knew innately that God would again be the force that would trample Moabite, Edomite and Philistine people group enemy armies. Because God had spoken to him before from His holy heavenly sanctuary, David was experientially prepared to hear God’s voice speaking to him again.
Have you ever been spontaneously driven to celebrate God’s majestic wonders? There are times when David implies through his psalm songs that the heavens and the skies are curriers of God’s limitless love and boundless faithfulness. Growing up as a sheepherder, David would have spent days and nights alone under day and night skies. Have you ever seen the Milky Way on a moonless night in a place where no artificial lights mute the innumerable number of stars that make up the Milky Way? During the first three years or so after your grandmaa and grandpaa joined the South America Mission Bolivia field missionary team, the Field Director for the South America Mission field missionary team in Bolivia asked your grandpaa to take on the responsibility of visiting as a minor allocation about every month to six weeks the Chochís, Bolivia evangelical church. Chochís is located on the railroad line that estends from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Bolivia’s frontier with Brazil. A bluff towers over Chochís. During his stays in Chochís, your grandpaa enjoyed watching clouds spilling over the edge of the nearby butte, the dark nights when the moon did not dim the star filled skies and the sometimes distant rumbling, flashing thunderstorms. One long night in Chochís stands out for your grandmaa and grandpaa. Your grandmaa and grandpaa were in Chochís as the leaders of a South America Mission summer team. Your grandmaa and grandpaa spent the unforgettable, very cool night with everyone who was on and who was traveling with the South America Mission’s summer team standing on both sides of the railroad tracks that passes through Chochís waiting for a freight train to arrive at which time your grandmaa, grandpaa and everyone who was on and who was traveling with the South America Mission summer team were to open the door of the boxcar nearest them, toss their bags into the boxcar and then climb into the boxcar before the freight train started moving again – which was in literally seconds. Your grandmaa, grandpaa and everyone else who was on or who was traveling with the South America Mission summer team were kept entertained throughout the night by one meteorite after another streaking through the night sky as the freight train did not arrive until almost daybreak. When your grandpaa was recently in Costa Rica, your grandpaa stayed two nights in a small hotel that is located on Bejuco Beach. The second evening that your grandpaa was at Hotel Dolfin, your grandpaa walked out on the beach to take photos of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. As the sun was beginning to set – even though there were some low lying clouds, the sunset was not very spectacular compared to other sunsets that your grandpaa has seen. But as your grandpaa was standing there, the western sky was suddenly filled with all kinds of brilliant reds and oranges. When your grandpaa turned around – after soaking in the experience of seeing another beautiful sunset, he saw at least three other hotel guests with their cameras standing behind him taking photos of the sunset.
David – as a sheepherder, if he was not already awake, would be awakened by each morning’s sunrise plus he had a front row seat to watch each evening’s sunset. David probably spent his waking moments at night lying on the ground looking up into the sky/the heavens entranced by all that he was seeing. Knowing God as David did puts in perspective how insignificant any kind of life challenge is that you might have. God used enemy armies to remind David of His incomparable ability to paint the sky/the heavens. How is God reminding you of His matchlessness?
Psalm 108 (1128)