Psalm 18:29  
Run and climb
     Well, now we come to, arguably, the quirkiest verse of the Psalm! Sandwiched between a God who turns darkness to light and One whose way is perfect and whose Law is flawless, is a God who helps David to run through troops and jump over walls! I can only surmise that David the soldier is writing here and reflecting on the occasions when he has experienced the Lord’s assistance in battle. He is giving God the credit for the conflicts that he has won and celebrating victories over his enemies, fully aware that he was protected and aided by his Lord at all times. This commentary on the Psalms began with the express purpose of discovering the nature of spiritual warfare and this verse helps our understanding. The imagery here is of open combat against an enemy army; you will remember that Jesus met a man controlled by demons who called themselves Legion. He ran through them and they ran shrieking - into a herd of pigs! The Christian soldier may expect many forms of conflict, some private and personal, others very public and affecting whole communities. There are places where the Satan draws up a battle line and it requires a great deal of wisdom and courage to advance against his troops. We can never do this without God’s help, do not even try!

So why would a Christian soldier want to scale a wall? Surely this is talking about battlements, fortified towns or cities, an enemy force lurking behind a seemingly impregnable barrier? It takes a brave commander indeed to advance and climb such obstacles, life itself is threatened and once started there is no turning back.  Our homes, communities, even our churches may be hiding behind ancient walls that need to be scaled. The Satan has dug in and the way forward seems to be blocked, but our Commander in Chief, the Lord of Hosts, bids us advance and scale the barricade. Prayer is our first port of call because we cannot proceed without His help. Then of course, we must arm ourselves against the foe, put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, take up the shield of faith, learn to bear the sword of the Spirit – the Word of God, buckle on the belt of truth and wear the shoes of the Gospel of peace. How different this armour is to that worn by worldly soldiers. This is all about character and faith, about putting on the Lord Jesus. Then we may scale the walls and defeat our enemies for they cannot stand against salvation, righteousness, the Word, truth and the Gospel, especially when such an army is in on-going contact with its heavenly Commander. God’s army should not be a rabble of once-a-week Sunday church attenders but a highly trained, spiritual, military force that is always alert, always equipped and always in touch with HQ. It is only the elite soldiers who are capable of running through troops and scaling battlements!

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