Hi John,
I went and re-listened to your message that Vince just posted on Youtube (Unveiled Faces – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvWOHRh4nGY)
It’s a great message and very worth listening to again….. In that video, you asked me about something I shared from reading Psalms recently. I had noticed that David often referred to his “enemies” and how much he asked the Lord to deliver him from them. Of course, he had physical enemies, but I was asking the Lord what that would be in our time, and I heard something like, “Your enemies are spirits, or voices” (that trouble you and keep you from the real me, is what He meant. It’s an internal thing now. I didn’t do the greatest job of explaining that in the video, so I thought it may help to explain what the Lord was showing me about this.
For example, two Psalms that stood out to me were Psalm 27 and 31 (and many others in that section). In Psalm 27, David starts out declaring that the Lord is his light and his salvation, and the strength of His life, and who should he fear (but God)? Then he says in verse 2 ,”When my enemies came upon me to ‘eat my flesh’ (devour me), they stumbled and fell because of God.” That’s what spirits (voices) do. They devour us and make us fearful and send us into retreat. Then David says in verse 5, “For in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in His pavilion,” so that David would dwell in the house of the Lord forever, and be set upon a rock. And so that his head will be lifted up above his enemies all around him. And THEN he will offer in God’s tabernacle sacrifices of joy, and he will sing praises to God.” And in verse 12, David says, “Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty,” and he ends by saying, “Wait on the Lord! Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart.” These spirits are lying and cruel. But God has the strength we need.
Another good Psalm is 31, where David starts with, “In thee O Lord do I put my trust, let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in thy righteousness” and “Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy, thou hast set my feet in a large room. . . . But I trusted in thee O Lord. I said, Thou art my God. My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Lord, make your face to shine upon thy servant”
These are just a few of many Psalms, where I can replace the word “enemies” with the words “spirits” or “voices”, and it puts it into the now. We are dealing with influences all the time. People, voices, spirits, all trying to separate us or back us up from the One who is our rock and our salvation. And David always met it with praising God, and trusting God, and speaking out the praises of his heart to the Lord.
Anyway, I hope that makes a little clearer what I was trying to say. It reminded me of how you taught us that we can substitute the words “holy Ghost” for the law, statute, etc., in Psalm 119, and that was so helpful.
I finished a song called “Unveiled Faces” to kind of go along with your message on the same. Hopefully, I can sing it before too long. 🙂
Gary