ON THE VANGUARD

PSALM 18 part 2
“I pursued my enemies and overtook them, without turning back until they were destroyed. I crushed them, so that they can’t get up; they have fallen under my feet.”
Psalm 18:37-38

Picking up from where we left off yesterday, we continue on in looking at the essentials of a warrior as named by David while he trained those who would become known as his mighty men. We have already discussed the need for the removal of pride, continued passion, and the walking in discipline and their relationship in many ways to the same type of physical Boot Camp seen in our military training today. So then we move to the fourth essential.
This fourth piece is found in Psalm 18:29, where David states, “With you I can run through a whole troop of men, with my God I can leap a wall.” It is in this verse that David is breaking down an essential that I know even I miss at times. We have to put ourselves in a position where we see ourselves doing the impossible. With the pride of the men removed they began to realize how little they personally could do. But here David was encouraging his men to see what they can do with God as their strength. Does not the Bible state in Luke 1:37 that nothing is impossible for God? So in teaming up with God, David wanted the men to see through His eyes what they could do. With God as their strength the warriors would be able to advance on their enemy, running through a troop of men and leaping over a wall. David was encouraging the faith of his men and pushing them to see the limitless potential they had when they allowed God in.
Fifth, the essential of knowing their weapons had to come into play. I have seen enough military movies to know that a soldier must be able to breakdown and rebuild his weapon. This comes from knowledge of the weapon. However, it is not only the ability to take apart and rebuild that they need to know, but also what type of weapon to use when. In verses 30-32, David begins to talk about the weapons given to them by God. The WORD of Adonai has been tested by fire, Adonai becomes a SHIELD for refuge, Adonai is a ROCK, and Adonai is the strength we are to GIRD ourselves in. Adonai is our weapon, and knowledge of Him and how to use the tools He gives us carries the same ability for us spiritually as a physical soldier who studies his weapons. But let me state that this knowledge of Him should be a deep knowledge verses a shallow one. We need to know Him deeper than just knowing who He is.
The final essential is found in verses 33-36, where David writes about the results of the training in Boot Camp. It is in this training he has come to understand that God makes him swift, sure-footed, and able to stand. David’s hands are now trained for war, and his arms can bend a bow of bronze. He shares with his men how God is a shield, and how he is held up. It is God’s lesson in humility that David notes makes him great. And finally, God lengthens the steps taken and supports his ankles. Before Boot Camp, David did not know these lessons. Now, after being trained, he sees the benefit of his training as he sees who he is in God. This is a lesson I find myself coming back to now. I find myself having to understand that, as John 15 says, I can do nothing without Adonai. I need His training in my life.
Maybe it is not a coincidence that military Boot Camp lasts six weeks, and here David has given us six essentials. It is only after the training that the soldier is then released from camp and placed where the need is great. And this spiritual lesson is no different, for it is following these essentials that David writes, “I pursued my enemies and overtook them, without turning back until they were destroyed. I crushed them, so that they can’t get up; they have fallen under my feet.” If we enter into battle untrained, we may get lucky. But remember how much our enemy knows as well. He is a roaring lion looking for one to devour (I Pet 5:8). Let us be trained graduates of Boot Camp so that when we enter the field we do not have to trust in luck, but rather have faith in the fighting God is doing through us.