In Psalm 92 - a song for the sabbath day - the writer joyfully declares and celebrates the Lord’s character and ways as the one who is “for ever exalted”. And his supremacy and faithfulness lead to this statement:
“My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
My ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.”
All that stood opposed to the writer in this life, all that was a sore point of contradiction within the soul, has been in principle overcome and defeated.
The seeing and hearing of this verse might refer to the physical reality of enemies in the original context, but it’s right and helpful for us to pursue its line of thinking into all that the gospel so clearly discloses to us. The powers of sin and chaotic disorder, the terrors of evil and death, have been engaged and overcome by our Lord Jesus Christ.
At times this might be an overlooked aspect of the gospel; where that’s the case we do ourselves a huge favour in reconnecting with it. Jesus our Messiah has won a great victory; it remains to be enacted in its fullest scope but its definitive nature is not in doubt. In his death on the cross, sin was condemned by God. As evil reached its height, in plunging the Lord of glory to the depths, it over-reached itself and was dealt the death-blow. The ragged lunging of shame was tamed, its imposter’s mask once and for all removed.
In Christ, by faith in God’s Son, we are more than conquerors. We share in all that he won through suffering. The gospels portray our Saviour as the great champion of his people, steadfast on the field of battle, even to the death of the cross. They are there not simply to provide us with information but to give the surest consolation and to pour strength into our enervated souls.
What this all means is that we can have confidence in facing what stands against us, in owning our weaknesses and naming our shame. We are not removed from them; we still battle hard and, at times, feel like hoisting a white flag in surrender. But those experiences do not negate the victory of Jesus. Somehow, in the strange and glory-filled wisdom of God, that triumph gets seen in and through our weaknesses.
And what becomes plain as we take courage from his promises is that “this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Cor. 4:7). What we have seen and heard - that our enemies have been routed - becomes in some way visible and audible to those whose lives remain shrouded in darkness. And, please God, that realisation might be the first rays of the dawning in their hearts of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)
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Safe in the shadow of the Lord,
beneath his hand and power,
I trust in him,
I trust in him,
my fortress and my tower.
My hope is set on God alone,
though Satan spreads his snare,
I trust in him,
I trust in him,
to keep me in his care.
From fears and phantoms of the night,
from foes about my way,
I trust in him,
I trust in him,
by darkness as by day.
His holy angels keep my feet
secure from every stone;
I trust in him,
I trust in him,
and unafraid go on.
Strong in the everlasting Name,
and in my Father's care,
I trust in him,
I trust in him,
who hears and answers prayer.
Safe in the shadow of the Lord,
possessed by love divine,
I trust in him,
I trust in him,
and meet his love with mine.
(Timothy Dudley-Smith b. 1926)
