By Kevin Harris, pastor of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Wollongong, NSW
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
Psalm 52:7
Doeg betrayed David and murdered a whole village of Levitical priests. God promises to destroy Doeg in verse 5, and the righteous will laugh in derision in verse six as they say the words of verse seven.
Although we are unclear on the details, it seems Doeg was a wealthy man who hoped his money would rescue him from God’s wrath. How foolish Doeg was to run for safety to the abundance of his riches rather than to God!
It seems that in western civilisation, most people spend the best years of their life gathering a nest egg for their retirement. If they accumulate enough, they breathe a sigh of relief and retire in style.
It is right to save. But how foolish it is when we look to the government, our superannuation savings, or our skills to make it through our journey on earth. God alone must be our strength.
Like a flimsy child grips the strong hand of his father, so we must entrust ourselves to the strong hand of Almighty God. He will never fail us.
Father, I am weak. You are strong. I need You to give me the power to live in triumph over sin. On my own I cannot defeat my fleshly lusts or resist the pull of the world. I’m definitely no match against the devil. But You can squash him like a bug. I need You to put Your strength in me. I ask this in the Name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
This article was written by Kevin Harris Dapto pastor of Illawarra Community Baptist Church.