Strengthen My Spirit

NABRE Psalm 138:3

 On the day I cried out, you answered; you strengthened my spirit.

Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash 

Why is this ponderable?

We think of our spirit as being immune to the physical forces that attack our body. Our body can be killed but our spirit will live on. If that is the case, then there are no degrees of strength by which the spirit can be measured. The spirit cannot be diminished or enhanced. So what is David saying here?

Sometimes when our physical powers are diminished and our enemy is winning, God unleashes the spiritual strength in our souls instead of giving the physical help we desire. Yet this answer to our prayers is both Just and Merciful. It is what enabled the martyrs to endure death without fear.  It is the Spirit of God, enabling us to take up our cross without fainting or backsliding. And it cannot be broken by Satan or any evil force.

Paul explains this well in his second letter to the Corintians 12:8-9 He asks God to remove a physical problem but God replies, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That power is the source of all our spiritual strength and it cannot be diminished by any physical problem.

Sing Before the Gods

NLT Psalm 138

I will sing your praises before the gods.

 

Why is this ponderable?

Today we ponder what David means when he sings praises before the gods. To whom or what is he referring when he makes this exclamation? We know he is singing this Psalm to the Lord on high. We may not have known that this praise of the Lord is not only an expression of  deep devotion but also bears witness to the impotence of idols.

David stands face to face with the Princes of the heathen world. Each believed they had  the patronage and protection of powerful gods that stood above the gods of their neighbors including the Hebrew god. This view does not shake David's unswerving fidelity to Jehovah. He uses this position to symbolically state, "in your face you misguided Princes serving idols; Jehovah is above all other gods and He protects us."

David is not suggesting that these gods really existed; he speaks of them only as figments in the minds of their worshipers.  By exclaiming his thankfulness to Jehovah in the presence of these idol worshipers he affirms his trust in the one true God. In this way he assures his people that they have nothing to fear from hostile nations. At the same time he chides those Princes that place trust in gods having no real power to protect or sustain their kingdoms.