June 18, 2018 Monday

“1 ¶  « To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. » May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; 2  May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; 3  May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah 4  May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose. 5  We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. 6 ¶  Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. 7  Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8  They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright. 9  Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.” (Psalm 20:1-9 NKJV)

            This Psalm of David reads like a benediction that would be offered after a time of worship. Psalm 20 is a declaration that God goes with us through each day and is our salvation and our strength!

            This benediction is a call for God to bless and watch over the congregation as they live their lives within this world. This Psalm is a declaration that God does hear and does save those who belong to Him through the gospel.

            We are reminded that if we belong to God our offerings will be received and then God can bless us and meet our needs. We are tempted to think of this in the Old Testament sense but this reminds us that we are to offer our sacrifice to God also. As Christians our sacrifice could be defined as the United Methodists church does by calling those who join to offer to God “our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service”.

            We are reminded that God is our Lord and our king. We are not to plan and do something for God but we are called to ask God what we should do and then we are to depend on him to be able to do it. One of my “theologies” is that one way to know you were doing God’s will is by doing something that you could not do by yourself but must depend upon God.

            Through Jesus we are able to be forgiven and through the Holy Spirit we can learn how to live and “stand upright”! As we seek to live as God would have us live we are able to serve God in ways that we could never believe. If we call upon God we will receive God’s answer and our call.

            The song calls us to praise God and to lift up His banners before the world. We are thus called to openly and publicly declare our faith in and our love for God. And then as we live our lives we become a witness and a banner of God.

            If God is your Lord and King are you a witness and a “banner” of God? Are you seeking God’s blessing so you can draw closer to God and to be a blessing to others? Are you living your life trusting in God and living beyond your own ability?