Be Courageous. Be Strong

February 28, 2017

Be Courageous. Be Strong

To the faithful you show yourself faithful;

    to those with integrity you show integrity.

Psalm 18:25

In the second half of Psalm 18, David’s praise turns to a direct conversation with the LORD. His prose is very similar in form to that used by Jesus in his Beatitudes: “God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:7-8).

The psalm makes clear that David relied on God’s grace for his victory. The totality of his victory is understood to relate to Jesus’ victory over sin and death. The psalm models for the followers of Jesus the unique relationship between the authority we have been given by God and our humility as we walk in God’s favor. The Apostle Paul revealed this same relationship when he wrote, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments” (2 Corinthians 10:4). This connection between grace and authority is also established by Paul in his discussion of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:12-18.

David and the New Testament writers affirm that God has given us His grace, His strength, and His favor. As we rest in the assurance of His great love and faithfulness, we can receive His charge: “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.