Tuesday 10 January, 2017

1 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! 2 You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.[b] 3 You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. 4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever. 5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty. 6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. 8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. 9 When you appear for battle, you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and his fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. 11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. 12 You will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow. 13 Be exalted in your strength, Lord; we will sing and praise your might.

I love how King David is unashamedly and passionately acknowledging in this Psalm that his success, his strength and his prosperity come from God.

As a man of power, the King of a nation, it would be tempting for David to believe that his achievements are a result of his own doing. Yet he places the reason for his success clearly on to the goodness and blessing of God.

It’s a good thing to be reminded regularly that every good thing we have, every talent, every success comes from God.

Lord, we humbly acknowledge that our success, strength and blessings all come from You. May we always remember that we apart from You we can do nothing of eternal value.

Written by Shelley Witt