THE CHRISTIAN WARRIOR
Psalm 18:31-50
“He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
These days, in Christian circles, there is a lot of focus on power. “Through You I can do anything, I can do all things” goes the song “Nothing is Impossible”. “There is power in the name of Jesus”, proclaims the song “Break Every Chain”. “Shout Jesus from the mountains; Jesus in the streets; Jesus in the darkness over every enemy; Jesus for my family; I speak the holy name Jesus; Cause Your name is power; Your name is healing; Your name is life; Break every stronghold; Shine through the shadows; Burn like a fire.”
On the other hand other songs proclaim our weakness. “I am weak but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to Thee. When my feeble life is o’er, time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er to Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.”
The first cluster of songs talks about wielding the power of God for their cause while the second portrays weakness and feebleness in the context of Christ’s strength. They have their place in describing the Christian journey but I want to point out that David’s idea is different.
In the earlier part of Psalm 18 he is the helpless man in need of rescue, not because he is weak but because the enemy is powerful. God comes in power not only to “reach down from on high and take hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me” but also to “scattered the enemy”. Here then is the power of God to defeat the foe and rescue the people of God.
In this second half of Psalm 18, David focuses on the picture of the Warrior, trained by God and strengthened by him. His strength stems from the fact that he is righteous and God delights in him.
“I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.” to the extent that now “People I did not know now serve me, foreigners cower before me; as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.”
This is no picture of weakness and feebleness but neither is it a picture of someone claiming to be able to do anything through Christ, or wielding Christ’s name like a weapon. It is a picture of someone who works hard and trains hard in righteousness, knowing that God delights in him and stands with him. He is one who is faithful, pure and humble before his God. And with confidence he faces his foes.
“For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.”