God and His People
God has a special relationship with His people. In the Old Testament the believing Jews were His people. Now, the church is His people. He loves us as a people and as individuals. He wants each believer to have a close relationship with Him and with other people who belong to the Lord. David knew this, because He had benefited from the blessings God has for His own. (Psalm 28:8,9) David wanted to show every one of God's people how dependent they were on the Lord. These truths apply to our lives, as believers and church members, today.
The Lord is the strength of His people. We can do nothing, individually or corporately, without His strength. (John 15:5) As an anointed one or leader of God's people, David realized the Lord was His saving refuge. He could always depend on the Lord in times of trouble and attack by enemies. That is why David showed us to pray for God to save His people. This is not salvation, but it is deliverance from the snares of Satan and our other enemies. He prayed for God to bless His heritage. We are the ones to pass on our faith to others and to the next generation, so we need God's blessing. Finally, He showed us to ask God to shepherd us and to carry us forever. (Psalm 23) God wants to do that for all of His flock, because He is the loving Shepherd, but we must still follow the Shepherd and listen to Him. I pray that we will be the people of God He wants us to be.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 29-31.
The Lord is the strength of His people. We can do nothing, individually or corporately, without His strength. (John 15:5) As an anointed one or leader of God's people, David realized the Lord was His saving refuge. He could always depend on the Lord in times of trouble and attack by enemies. That is why David showed us to pray for God to save His people. This is not salvation, but it is deliverance from the snares of Satan and our other enemies. He prayed for God to bless His heritage. We are the ones to pass on our faith to others and to the next generation, so we need God's blessing. Finally, He showed us to ask God to shepherd us and to carry us forever. (Psalm 23) God wants to do that for all of His flock, because He is the loving Shepherd, but we must still follow the Shepherd and listen to Him. I pray that we will be the people of God He wants us to be.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 29-31.