The outcome of battle can determine how history remembers a leader. Adolf Hitler is remembered as a man who led a murderous regime which tried to exterminate those deemed undesirable. He isn’t remembered for pulling an economy out of collapse, winning many military campaigns, or giving impassioned speeches. He is remembered as someone who committed suicide in his underground bunker, having darkened the history books with his sanctioned atrocities.
Wars are often defining moments in the history of a people. 9/11 is such a moment for the USA. It might even be a defining moment for the world for generations to come. The world seemed to be much simpler and safer prior to 9/11. But the war had been raging for years before that. There had been numerous attacks by Muslims around the world. 9/11 just happened to be a big attack on our soil. Planes had been hijacked before. Buildings had been bombed. Civilians had been killed.
Our psalm is divided in two parts, both dealing with victory in war, but from different perspectives. The first half focuses on the results the LORD’s power has on the life and reputation of the king. The second half shows what the LORD’s power did during the victory battle. Both parts of the psalm use the word “you” as the doer of action, and that doer in both cases in the LORD.
In the first part of this psalm the LORD is using David to win do action. He has victories that the LORD has given. His desires are granted. He receives great blessings. He is given long life. He has blessings without measure. He is planted on firm ground. All these blessings come because of the king’s trust in the LORD.
Now this doesn’t mean that if you have these types of blessings, it is because your conduct and character are so lined up with the LORD that He blesses you. Or if you don’t have these things you must be a wretched, unrepentant sinner. But in the life of David, there is a connection between his relationship with the LORD and his victory in battle and the blessings he enjoyed in life. He takes no credit for what happened. If you take the LORD out of these verses, there is a great void. We would be left wondering how these things happened.
While David’s role is emphasized in the first half, it is still the LORD who is doing the definitive action. And so in the second half we see what the LORD did, without bringing David into the mix. During that moment in history, the LORD was bringing about His will through the battles that His people waged. We read time and again about the LORD’s actions in specific, definitive actions that brought victory. He used the forces of nature to win battles. Waters would flood the enemy. Fire would come and consume them. And fire will consume them in final judgment.
One of the worst punishments is the elimination of descendents. And for most of the peoples in that region of the world, this came true. There are no Hittite, Amorite, Moabite and all the other “‘ites” people today. Some people live in those areas, but they are not the descendent of the people driven out and killed by the LORD. Those people withdrew from the history of humankind.
No amount of wickedness can stop the LORD from accomplishing His will. Evil will not succeed. There is no final victory in store for evil. When the LORD showed up, everyone turned tail and ran.
No wonder the writer rejoices in the LORD’s power. Do you recognize and acknowledge the LORD’s power in your life? Or do you take credit for the things that get accomplished, leaving the LORD as an afterthought? I want to encourage you to both see and acknowledge the LORD’s work in your life. Maybe you need to write a psalm of your own.
The Arnold Journey 