Let’s read Psalm 144:1-2 from the New American Standard Bible, “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliver, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.” In these verses David praises the Lord for the being His ROCK (or “strength”) in times of war. He acknowledges that the Lord taught him to fight and with this God-given ability he was able to gain the victory. If you compare this Psalm with 2nd Samuel 22:2-3 and Psalm 18:1-3 you will see that he uses the same words to describe the Lord…the Lord was his ROCK, his FORTRESS, his DELIVERER, his REFUGE, his SHIELD, and his STRONGHOLD. This description of God shows that David gave all the glory of his victories to the LORD alone.

This reminds me of David’s first battle when the children of Israel were being challenged by the Philistine armies and their champion, Goliath. With confidence in the Lord, David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1st Samuel 17:37). As he approached Goliath, he was ridiculed for being so young and inexperienced in battle, but David met his scorn with these precious words, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel….this day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands….the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S and He will give you into our hands” (verses 45-47). This reliance upon the Lord in battle characterized David throughout his life. He fought in many wars and as he approached each enemy he knew that “the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hands.”

Do we realize this truth, dear fellow-believer? Like David we too are in a war, but it is not a war against human armies wielding swords or spears. The apostle Paul described our warfare in 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh (the “body”) we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of the fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” We are in a “spiritual warfare” against those who resist God’s truth by advancing philosophies (like “evolution”) that contradict God’s Word. Since the “weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful,” we need to ask ourselves, “What weapons do we use to defeat the proud reasonings of ungodly men?” I would like to simply quote a passage from Ephesians 6 to answer that question and leave it to my reader to meditate upon it. You will see that just as God was David’s strength and gave him the victory, so the Lord is our strength and He has given us all that we need to stand against our enemies and to defeat them. The portion I’m referring to is Ephesians 6:10-17: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, having GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and having PUT ON THE BREATPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having SHOD YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, TAKING UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And TAKE THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the word of God.” (228.3) (DO)