God our Strength

But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. Psalm 59:16-17

The adversative but at the beginning of verse 16 is important, for it is the psalmist's protest against a viewpoint limited to earthly powers and strategies. Instead, he lifts up his eyes to heaven and beholds God his strength. He refuses to look only at his enemies but remembers the Lord his God. Indeed, he not only remembers but he sings aloud of God's power and of his mercy and steadfast love in the morning.

As we begin each day, do not let the temporal press out the eternal. Do not let the secular dominate the sacred. Do not let the world define your perspective; let God's word do that. For God has been our defense; we can look back on our lives and see many instances of mercy. We can, if we would, remember many times when we have brought our concerns and cares before the Throne of Grace and found mercy and grace to help in our time of need. Above all, we can look back to the cross and see that there God has made provision for every spiritual blessing in Christ and given us good hope through grace.