brought glorious victory to the chil dren of Israel. Fear can be infectious to others. If we have timorous hearts, there may well be those about us who will catch the same disease. We read in Deuteronomy 20:8 that when the children of Israel went forth to make battle against the enemies of the Lord, they were given a very unusual command. “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return unto his house lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.” Did you know that your dis couragement can bring cause for worry, anxiety and frustration for your family as well as to other mem bers of your church? It seems so easy to be thinking constantly about ourselves rather than of the needs of others. It’s been well said that ulcers are something people get from mountain climbing over mole hills. I like that. Verse 2 was a very real situation. David did have wicked enemies and foes. It’s quite an apt definition. In verse 3 of Psalm 27, we have a supposition. David assures him self, “Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fea r: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” Here we have a picture of the imagination of the very worst. A lot of us are good at that, too. Perhaps there is reason to be pessimistic in these days. A fellow realistically observed, “Just think, what would happen if the communists took over our land. Can you begin to imagine what a terrible situation would come upon us?” I agreed with him. It would be. But, for Christians, is communism our greatest concern? I questioned the man, “What is the worst thing that could happen?” He thought a moment, and then with a dark out look, he rightly observed, “We could lose our jobs. We might not be able to work where we are now. Any se curity we enjoy would be gone.”
3:3 speaks of the lions, as well as the wolves, which “leave nothing un til morning.” In Psalm 14:4 there is the account of how they delight to “eat up my people as they eat bread.” If you’re a born-again Chris tian, seeking to live for the Lord, make no mistake about i t : the wicked will hate you! They have nothing but contempt for those who would live for God. There is always that enmity between the seed of the wom an and the serpent. When you get right down to it, we see that the church never has had a tremendous effect upon the world as it did in the days when it would have absolutely nothing to do with the world. Un fortunately, times have changed. Verse two, then, is David’s personal testimony. This was sufficient ground to shake off any fear that might come. What about our testimony? Here the Psalmist points out that the wicked are enemies and foes. Here are all of them. What odds to encounter! There are many of them, but only one of David. Listen, “If God be for us, who can be against us ?” He still had the upper hand, for the fact is that one with God is a majority. Do you remember the time Goliath came to flaunt himself in the face of the children of Israel? He cursed the young man who had been selected, and profanely he cursed God. David stood before him and de clared, “I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.” He had al ready been down to the brook, select ing five smooth stones. Just as an aside, it’s my feeling that those five smooth stones must have spelled out the word faith. You know how faith is spelled. Taking the first letter of each word we have: “Forsaking All, I Trust Him!” This is exactly what he did and the Lord, through David,
Influence is what you think you have until you try to use it.
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