Psalm 68:28-31 NLT
“Summon your might, O God. Display your Power, O God, as you have in the past.
The kings of the earth are bringing tribute to your Temple in Jerusalem.
Rebuke these enemy nations-these wild animals lurking in the reeds, this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute. Scatter the nations that delight in war.
Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals; let Ethiopia bring tribute to God.”
This is a prayer for help!
Summon Your Might O God! Display your power as you have in the past! In much of the life of King David he was a warrior, a strong man of battle! His prayer is recognizing God’s power, summoning his strength, and remembrance of the Lord’s deliverance and protection of the past, secure of his presence in the future.
This is a solid foundation to model after; if the Lord has been there for you in past battles, why won’t he be with you in future ones?
Kings will bring you presents! In the ancient days, gifts were given to the king, to honor, to gain a relationship with, and often an alliance. David was confident in his days that God would always honor his covenant with his people, and in the end, the surrounding nations would bring gifts to Jerusalem to praise The God of Israel.
Rebuke the beasts of the reeds! He is speaking of the bullies, the trouble makers, the oppressors and the seducers. Rebuke-in Middle English from Anglo-Norman French and Old Northern French to rebuke was to beat or cut down!
To rebuke, to pray against, to pray for protection from The wolves in sheep’s clothing. The lies and agendas of our government and news media. Riots, shootings, murders, chaos, epidemics and poverty!
Scatter the Nations that delight in war! In the end, nations that have loved warfare and tribute, placing themselves or their gods above the God of Israel, will be humbled and despoiled (violently removed). All we need to do is watch the nightly news! Where does the US stand today?
Egypt and Ethiopia will bring tribute to God! This last line of David’s prayer became prophetic. Egypt formed an alliance under Solomon’s reign when he married the Pharaohs daughter. The Queen of Sheba arrived bearing a fleet if ships of treasure to present to King Solomon.
But this could also point toward Jesus and Christianity as there were Egyptians at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, who, St Hilary declares returned to their own country proclaiming what they had heard and seen and became ambassadors for Christ. The Ethiopian eunuch was the first among the gentiles to receive the gospel.
The God of King David is the God of you and me! He is still by our side protecting us from our enemies and the enemy! He was with you yesterday and He will be with you tomorrow. Put your trust and hand in the hand that can hold the waters of the world in his palm. That’s a big hand…that makes your giants small!
Be blessed today and thank you for joining me. 😘
Sunshine On My Shoulder 