Psalm 108:10-11

Psalm 108:10-11

Who will lead me?

The context of these two verses is not entirely clear, let’s explore their meaning. Verses 7-9 are attributed to the Lord who has “spoken from His sanctuary.” As we have seen, the words He speaks promise the downfall of the nations that surround Israel and the empowerment of Israel’s tribal “greats”, Ephraim and Manesseh and Judah. Now David is speaking once again, it’s as if he is holding the Lord to His word, “If what You have said about the likes of Moab and Edom is true, then who will lead me to take their fortified cities? If what You have said is correct, then how am I going to triumph over these enemies of Israel when You have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?”

Obviously, the kingdom under David is either languishing from the withdrawal of God’s presence or David is suffering from a dose of self-pity! Either way, this is a prayer for God’s help against the enemy and once again we see the ancient servants of God daring to hold Him to His Word. It seems that they have no compunction in reminding Him of what He has promised and basing their prayer requests on His upholding those promises. 

There are two simple lessons to learn from this; firstly, it is important to know what God has promised and that is only achieved by becoming familiar with His Word. Secondly, when we know that He has spoken into any situation, then we have the right to remind Him of His Word and to ask Him to uphold it! 

One of my favourite prayers in the whole of Scripture is the plea made by the disciples in Acts 4:23-31. In it, those early believers remind the Lord of what He had previously announced through David, then in the context of that Word they pray for boldness and power to “perform signs and wonders through the name of Your servant Jesus.” Is it time to hold God to His Word? I’m sure He won’t feel threatened! In fact, He loves us to claim His promises because it is a sign of our faith in what He has spoken. Hallelujah!

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