Psalm 17:9 “… hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.”
As it says in Psalm 91:1,2 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:2 I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'”
[For David, these enemies were actual people; for us it is sometimes people acting like our enemies, but it is always our spiritual foes, Satan’s forces of demons and devils, who regularly use people to attack God’s children.
As it says in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
This opposition is real, it is powerful, it is beyond our abilities to withstand and overcome. We know that Satan’s goal is to rob us of joy, to destroy our testimonies, families, churches and lives, and if possible to kill, as he is doing in the Middle East and parts of Africa with attempts by terrorists to wipe out all Christians in their area. We need help desperately!
Praise be to you, Lord, that you do want to hide us in the shadow of your wings. You are our rock, our salvation and our high tower. You call us to take shelter in you–just as David is doing in Psalm 17 by pouring out his heart to you and asking for help–so that we will never be shaken.]
Psalm 17:10 “They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance.”
[People used by Satan are certainly callous—I read recently that a young man publicly executed his own mother for opposing his joining ISIS! And when you hear the pronouncements of those who oppose biblical truths and standards, there is huge arrogance as they exalt their own intellect above the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. As pawns in Satan’s plans, mercy and grace are foreign concepts to them.
May this not be true of us! May instead we submit our intellect, our will, our lives, our possessions to God, asking Him to use it all for His glory and honor, for His plans and His desires. And He will then include us in His plans and ,in the end, share His honor with us.
