Year 5, Day 167: Psalm 10-12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Protection

• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

The overarching theme of these three psalms today is the protection that comes from the Lord.  The Lord’s protection comes in a variety of manners and circumstances, but it is something upon which we can rely.  It is a certainty because it is from the Lord.

In Psalm 10, we hear about the protection of the Lord with respect to the poor ad otherwise oppressed.  The psalmist reminds us that the people in the world who are in positions of power naturally take advantage of those positions.  Often they steamroll over innocent people just to get their way.  In fact, at times the people of power in this world seem to go unchecked because nobody will stand against them.  This is why we need the protection from the Lord.  There is only one person who is capable of protecting the average person in the world from the selfish agendas of the powerful.  That person is God.

In Psalm 11 we again have the theme of protection.  The psalmist specifically calls God his refuge.  He makes reference to His mountain where he will be safe.  I especially love the imagery that the psalmist gives us with respect to the human compared to a bird.  What protection does a bird have but to flee?  We are often helpless; but we can know that God is there to protect us.

In Psalm 12 we once more turn to the idea of the poor and powerless being oppressed.  Once more we hear the hope that God is the protector of those people.  After all, as the psalmist says, the wicked prowl on every side and vileness is exalted among mankind.  Who indeed will save us from this generation!

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