The high praises of God in our mouth . . .
3. BRING HONOR TO GOD. Continuing No. 3.
Men, to save us from focusing on our own weaknesses, we must focus on God’s greatness. The words of the old hymn say it all:
Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy blessèd will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of Thy throne,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
1 Samuel 17:16 states: “And the Philistine (the giant, Goliath) drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.” Twice a day, every morning and evening for 40 days, the evil giant, Goliath came to the Israeli army to demoralize, intimidate, and put fear into their hearts. Each day the Israelis put on a show of courage to try and boost their low morale by “shouting for the battle” (verse 20), but as soon as they faced the taunting from the giant they fled and “were sore afraid” (verse 24).
David, the young shepherd boy who had already been anointed to one day replace Saul as king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13) was indignant at the arrogance and slander of this giant towards the armies of the living God. David had not been subjected to the twice a day intimidation of the giant’s propaganda.
Instead, David lived of a life of the “high praises” of God as he played and worshipped on his harp amongst the sheep. David’s faith in God was enlarged and focused to the point where no giant, no matter how powerful, could ever intimidate him. The armies of Israel were fixed on the greatness and power of Goliath. They more they looked at him and focused on their own inability, the weaker they became.
Men, this is why morning and evening Bible and prayer time are so important for our families if we want to become like David, entirely God-focused and God-identified. Every Christian family faces giants--political, financial, sickness, misbehavior, immaturity, and weakness in both ourselves and others. Instead of allowing the enemy to intimidate us morning and evening by getting our eyes off the exceeding greatness of our God, we must make time for Family Devotions every morning and evening. We will then get our hearts and eyes on the power and glory of the great God we serve. Then, like David, we will be more than a conqueror to any giant we have to face.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell