“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Psalm 59 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.  A Mikhtam of David

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
^[Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
² Deliver me from those who do iniquity
And save me from men of bloodshed.
³ For behold, they have set an ambush for my life;
^[Fierce men launch an attack against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord,
⁴ For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.
Arouse Yourself to help me, and see!
⁵ You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the nations;
Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.
⁶ They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
⁷ Behold, they belch forth with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “Who hears?”
⁸ But You, O Lord, laugh at them;
You scoff at all the nations.

⁹ Because of his strength I will watch for You,
For God is my stronghold.
¹⁰ My God in His lovingkindness will meet me;
God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.
¹¹ Do not slay them, or my people will forget;
^[Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.
¹² On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be caught in their pride,
And on account of curses and lies which they utter.
¹³ Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more;
That men may know that God rules in Jacob
To the ends of the earth. Selah.
¹⁴ They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go around the city.
¹⁵ They wander about for food
And growl if they are not satisfied.

¹⁶ But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

The psalmist says:  Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed.
For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord,
For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity.  For those who are engaged in warfare, in life and death struggles. As David was, it is difficult to ask God for grace for enemies. There is a difference between someone who wants to harm our reputation, or someone who wants to beat us in business and someone who wants to take our life. David acknowledged that the battle is the Lord’s, that it is in His hands. He seeks for God to deliver him from men of bloodshed, rather than for he himself to be the one to fight against them.

The psalmist says:  Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, “Who hears?”  But You, O Lord, laugh at them;
You scoff at all the nations. Because of his strength I will watch for You,
For God is my stronghold.  My God in His lovingkindness will meet me;
God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.  Do not slay them, or my people will forget; Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.  People may taunt us and mock us, saying “Who hears,” when we cry out and pray to God. They believe that because our culture and society agrees with them, because they outnumber us, that they are right.   1 John 4:4 says:  You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  In 2 Kings 6:11-18, there is an account of a time that Elisha faced a great army. It says:   The heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”  So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.  Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.  We, like Elisha need to be confident knowing that even when we seem outnumbered, those who are with us are more than those who are with them. In Matthew 26:53, when He was arrested, Jesus said:  Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?

The psalmist ends his entreaty to God saying:  As for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.   In John 16:33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” Romans 8:31-38 says:  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …  in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.    Regardless of the circumstance, or even the temporary outcomes of things in this world, like the psalmist we should praise God for His loving kindness. God’s promise is that He will never leave or forsake us. Through faith in Christ, believing that He has overcome our enemies, we have the peace of eternal life with Him. We overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  

As for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.  Amen.