@Hidden In Him it does not matter what you think about me. I want you to put your contribution. I love the way you see spirituality.
This is a great attitude, brother.
We all see different things in the scriptures, and it's important that we all be able to share what we see. I tend to see things from a contextual perspective (I'm a big picture guy), and also from a military perspective because that's just my demeanor in life. But I enjoy how people apply verses to their own lives because it helps me understand them better.
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Haggai 2:8
I like this translation of "Lord of hosts."
Most people don't know what it actually means.
So with that let me give you what I see. This psalm has a military context, as do most of David's psalms. It was quoted several times by the New Testament writers
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears... 6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
and delivers them... 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Who is the man who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. 16 But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
and saves such as have a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 22 But the Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
David faced many battles, but even when it looked like his end might be coming, the "angel of the Lord encamped all around him." That means that the angel of the Lord, as leader of the heavenly "host" stood round about him and his army to keep them from being overrun. It is similar to what Elisha saw when the Syrians came to attack Israel:
14 Therefore [the King of Syria] sent horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So Elisha answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. (2 Kings 6:14-18).
This is why it is wise to fear God. People mistake His kindness for weakness, but one angel alone killed hundreds of thousands of men when Sennacherib, King of the Assyrians, came against Israel a few decades later:
32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it... 34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it
for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ” 35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away returned home, and remained at Nineveh. (2 Kings 19:32-36).
This is why David said in the psalm, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles." It starts with walking uprightly before Him. David was a man of war, so he knew the importance of this, which is why the rest of the psalm stresses it. As he stated, if we would see "length of days," we must keep our tongues from evil, and flee evil and instead pursue peace with others instead (v.13-14). The one who desires peace with others will often also be of a broken heart and a contrite spirit (v.18). But the end of the story will always be this for the righteous: "Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. But the Lord redeems the souls of His servants." (v.21-22). This was true not only of David and his armies, but of soldiers of Christ in our time, and in the end-times as well. There's a close parallel in some ways to what was happening during New Testament times, because just as he stated that "many are the afflictions of the righteous," they too suffered great afflictions and persecution from God's enemies. Yet "the Lord delivers them out of them all." (v.19).
Ultimately we are all soldiers, and soldiers must be prepared to face the consequences of war. Their power, however, is in knowing that their God will ultimately deliver them from everything the enemy throws at them, whether in this life or the next.
