Former Deliverances and Present Troubles.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
44 O God, we have heard with our ears,
Our fathers have told us
The work that You did in their days,
In the days of old.
2 You with Your own hand drove out the nations;
Then You planted them;
You afflicted the peoples,
Then You spread them abroad.
3 For by their own sword they did not possess the land,
And their own arm did not save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
For You favored them.4 You are my King, O God;
Command [b]victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we will push back our adversaries;
Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
6 For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor will my sword save me.
7 But You have saved us from our adversaries,
And You have put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. [c]Selah.
While the writer draws courage from Israel’s past, he is also setting the stage for the rest of the psalm. But that will have to wait until next time, so for now we look at the “stage” as it is. Israel fought a lot of battles, and though they won a lot, there were plenty they did not.
The author here reminds us that it wasn’t for lack of might, or military skill. Indeed, they won several massive battles with very small armies. The story of Gideon is probably the most extreme example, as Gideon took on over a hundred thousand warriors with only 300 men. This underscores exactly the point of this author, the same point God emphasized over and over in their battles: the battle belongs to God.
Never did God want the Israelites to take credit for their wins, lest they forget to rely on him in the future. That is a great reminder for us also, as we are often tempted to rely on our own strength, wisdom, etc. But it isn’t enough, and was never meant to be. As odd as it might sound, God has set us up for “failure”, that is, if we try to go it alone.
Relatedly, we were made for relationships, so “going it alone” is about the worst possible option in any circumstance. But the biggest mistake is when we forget that the battle is not our own. Like we see repeatedly in the Old Testament, when we forget to include God in our life every day, we begin a very slippery descent. Instead, remember that the outcome is in God’s hands, so we need to rely on him, look for His will, and remember Who won the victory.