Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

4. The Raised Banner- “But you have raised a banner for those who honor you– a rallying point in the face of attack. Interlude” (4) When an army is overwhelmed they raise a banner as a rallying point to draw all the scattered soldiers together. Then they can mount a counter attack to defeat the enemy as Joab and Abishai did to Edom. Christ is the banner that has been raised upon the battlefield of fallen humanity as a rallying point for those who have experienced broken defenses, earthquakes and hard times: “And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself.” (Jn. 12:32) As we gather around the cross we can mount a counter attack of praise that the gates of hell will not be able to resist.

II CONFIRMING PROPHECY - 5-8

“Use your strong right arm to save us, and rescue your beloved people.” (5)

‘David’ is the word for ‘beloved’ in the Hebrew language. Just as Christ is the ‘beloved’ Son seated at the right hand of his Father we are now the ‘beloved’ people of God through faith in him. He has prom- ised to give us victory over all of our enemies.

“God has promised this by his holiness:” (6)

Nathan, Gad or one of the musical prophets such as Asaph might have spoken these words to David. Prophecy is the Holy Spirit speaking encouragement and comfort to us: “But one who prophe- sies is helping other grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them.” (1 Cor. 14:3) The following prophecy empowered David with fresh courage to face the battle ahead. God speaks of 9 different locations in and around Israel that he has promised to give his ‘beloved.’ • “I will divide up Shechem with joy.”(6) This was a city on the west side of the Jordan river. God enjoys giving possessions to his people! • “I will measure out the valley of Succoth.” (6) This is a fruitful valley east of Jordan river. • “Gilead is mine,…” (7) Gilead is the mountainous region on the east side of Jordan between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. He is God over the mountains as well as the low places. • “…and Manasseh is mine.” (7) Manasseh inherited the northern regions on both sides of the Jor- dan river. • “Ephraim will produce my warriors,…” (7) Ephraim was the most populous of the 12 tribes in- habiting the north, central part of Israel. • “…and Judah will produce my kings.” (7) Judah’s portion of Israel was the central and south- ern part of the land. David and all the godly kings as well as Jesus, the king of kings were all from this tribe. • “Moab will become my lowly servant,” (8) Moab was directly east of Judah on the opposite side of the Dead Sea. Other translations of this verse say: “Moab is my washbasin…” (NIV) this description was a direct insult. • “…and Edom will be my slave.” (8) This must have been comforting to David to hear that the proud nation that had just conquered the land was soon to become a lowly slave. • “I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.” (8) Philistia, located on the southwestern seashore of Israel, was a perpetual enemy of God’s beloved nation. God will triumph over all of his enemies!

III CONQUERING PETRA - 9-12

David’s arrival at the destination of faith was a process that involved four distinct phases:

1. Settle the Question of ‘ Who’- “Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom?”(9)

The major question is ‘who’ will make this happen not ‘how’ will it be accomplished. If God is with us, the ‘how’ is not a problem. The “fortified city” is referring to Petra, the capitol of Edom that was the most naturally defended city of the ancient world. Boice describes: ‘It is approached through a narrow cut in the limestone cliffs that winds inward for about two miles and is called a siq. The cliffs rise upward for thousands of feet on both sides, and in places the passage is so narrow that no more than two horses can pass abreast 2 .’ ‘ Who’ and ‘how’ both use the same letters of the alphabet but are arranged in dif- ferent order. A successful spiritual life puts the ‘who’ first!

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