Psalm 28
English Standard Version (ESV)
Of
David.
28 To you, O Lord,
I call;
(A)my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you (B)be silent to me,
I become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 (D)Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I (E)lift up my hands
(F)toward your most holy sanctuary.[a]
(A)my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you (B)be silent to me,
I become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 (D)Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I (E)lift up my hands
(F)toward your most holy sanctuary.[a]
3 Do
not (G)drag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
(H)who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
4 (I)Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
(J)render them their due reward.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of theLord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
with the workers of evil,
(H)who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
4 (I)Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
(J)render them their due reward.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of theLord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed
be the Lord!
For he has (L)heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and (M)my shield;
in him my heart (N)trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my (O)song I give thanks to him.
For he has (L)heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and (M)my shield;
in him my heart (N)trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my (O)song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is
the strength of his people;[b]
he is (P)the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless (Q)your heritage!
(R)Be their shepherd and (S)carry them forever.
he is (P)the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless (Q)your heritage!
(R)Be their shepherd and (S)carry them forever.
Recently our pastor had a
sermon on where our strength comes from.
His illustration was taken from Luke 22:31-34, (A)Satan demanded to have you,[a] (B)that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but (C)I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you
have turned again, (D)strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter[b] said
to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both (E)to prison and (F)to death.” 34 (G)Jesus[c] said, “I
tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times
that you know me.”
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2022:%2031-34&version=ESV)
The point of his sermon that stuck out to me is that we should not try to
do anything on our own strength but on the strength that comes from the
Lord. Peter thought he was strong enough
to follow Jesus, even when Jesus was not the most popular person around, yet
when he could not have communion with Christ, he fell away. It is true for us as well when we fail to
have communion with our Lord and Savior.
When we try or think we can do it on our own, that is when satan
attacks. Yet we know that the second
part of that prayer was answered when Christ said that He prayed that Peter
would strengthen His brothers when he returned to the fellowship with the Lord. Peter did just that, he strengthened his
brother once he had a solid communication with the Lord.
As I read this scripture I also thought about the woman that was about to
be stoned because of her adultery. It
was evident that she had sinned, everyone knew about it and she was about to be
stoned to death for it. Christ though
stopped the stoning and the men left.
Once everyone was gone Christ told her to “go and sin no more.” Many times we walk around and people really
don’t know our sins. They may know some
of our faults or flaws but they don’t know our heart and our thoughts. Other times our sin is evident and everyone
knows. That is when Christ says, like to
the woman, “go and sin no more”. Now
that is really easy to say but without the strength and companionship in
Christ, it is impossible to do.
Our Father doesn’t ask us to do anything on our own and David knew
that. David knew that the only way he
would make it through his trials was through the Lord and the strength that
only He can give. He prayed that he
wouldn’t fall into the trap of this world and that is exactly what we need to
do. We don’t have to be going through a
trial or a temptation in order to call for His strength. We need to do that daily. We need to recognize that our strength comes
from the Lord and we can do nothing on our own. When we do the battle because Christ will be
fighting it for us.
There is only one way that we can resist evil around us and that is
through communion with our Father by seeking Him with all our hearts,
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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