2 Samuel 22:26-35
26 With the one who is faithful You show Yourself faithful,
With the blameless one You prove Yourself blameless;
27 With the one who is pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
28 And You save an afflicted people;
But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You humiliate.
29 For You are my lamp, Lord;
And the Lord illuminates my darkness.
30 For by You I can run at a troop of warriors;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
31 As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the Lord is refined;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32 For who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
33 God is my strong fortress;
And He sets the blameless on His way.
34 He makes my feet like deer’s feet,
And sets me on my high places.
35 He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
David’s Song (4)
The way of the Lord is perfect
How God rewards a person depends on the attitude that person takes toward God. That is the meaning of the verse, “With the one who is faithful You show Yourself faithful, with the blameless one You prove Yourself blameless; with the one who is pure You show Yourself pure, but with the perverted You show Yourself astute” (v 26-27). David praises the name of God by comparing Him to various things. (1) The Lord is the “lamp” who shines in the darkness of life. The Lord is the One who shows us direction and gives us hope for the future. (2) The Lord gives us the strength to leap over a wall. A wall is a word that evokes the image of battle, but it can also be interpreted as various difficulties. Christians, through supernatural power, overcome hardships and bring visions to fulfillment. (3) The Lord is a “shield” for all who take refuge in Him. To take refuge in the Lord means to walk in trust of the words of Scripture. The words of Scripture are perfect and pure. This reflects that the Lord Himself is perfect and pure. (4) The Lord is a “mighty fortress.” There is no god besides the Lord, and there is no fortress as mighty as He is. Expressions such as “He makes my feet like deer’s feet” and “He trains my hands” represent the qualities needed to win in battle. David was once a young boy whose weapon was a sling, but in the end, he became a warrior strong enough to bend a bow of bronze. In the same way, the Lord trains us to win in the “battle of God.”
Lessons for us
In our lives, there are trials that we cannot handle by our own strength. What is important for Christians is to receive supernatural power through faith and use it as a weapon in battle. (1) To trust in the Lord means to read the Bible, which is the word of the Lord, and to put its teachings into practice. This is why daily devotion is so important. (2) The way to receive supernatural power is through prayer and obedience. When we have fellowship with the Lord through prayer and walk in obedience to His voice through Scripture, we will be filled with a power that we ourselves cannot explain. Today, let us praise the greatness of the Lord in our own words.
Today's prayer
Almighty God, You are my shield and my fortress. Today, I will continue to walk with You as my shield. Please fill me with Your strength. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.