November 26
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GOD IS OUR SALVATION AND VICTORY
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation. 20 God is to us a God of salvation;
And to GOD the Lord belong ways of escape from death.
21 God certainly will shatter the heads of His enemies,
The hairy head of one who goes about in his guilt.
22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 So that your foot may shatter them in blood,
And the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.” -Psalm 68:19-23
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Verse 19 is praise to God for keeping up with our fallen nature. David recognizes that only in the Lord God it is possible for us to free and receive our redemption. Verse 20 according to enduring.com commentary speaks much of the ark coming to Jerusalem, but that only happened after David defeated Israel’s surrounding enemies. David thought of how God rescued him in those conflicts. In doing so He used the somewhat uncommon but wonderful phrasing of Yahweh Adonai (GOD the Lord). Verse 21 gives an illustration of God’s victory. David used an image from Genesis 3:15 where God promised that the Messiah would strike a fatal head wound against Satan. The victory would be total, with God’s people walking as winners over the field of battle. Poole comments on verse 21 regarding hairy head because in ancient times, many people used to wear long and shaggy hair, that their looks might be more terrible to their enemies.
Studylight.org comments on verse 22: David remembers God’s promise that the Israelites will be delivered and recovered from the depths of the sea, which means great danger. Numbers 21:33 mentions the great conflict with Og of Bashan and Exodus 14:22 illustrates the passage through the Red Sea.”The depths of the sea” is a proverb for imminent risks. Maurer, taking this view, makes the sea mean the Mediterranean on the west, as Bashan is on the east. Amos 9:3 then explains the language. But it is plainly Israel that is brought “from the depths of the sea” by ‘the God of salvation, her God, unto whom belong the issues of death’ (Psalms 68:19).
All the people of God must remember that we cannot take salvation in our own hands and bear all our burden. God is the only source of our salvation and victory.
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REFLECTION
• Why do we humans often think that we have any contribution in our salvation?