Once Friends Now Enemies Continually...

1 Samuel 18 is the turning point for David and Saul's relationship...once fast friends, here in 18 we read they became enemies continually.  God had surrounded Saul, the Bible tells us, with valiant men whose hearts He had touched.  God had also brought David into Saul's life.  David was a man after God's own heart.  David loved Saul....and the word tells us that Saul had loved David greatly.  What happened to cause the change of heart on Saul's part?  We read this in Chapter 18:

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.† And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.--1 Samuel 18:5-9

David was getting lots of attention...Saul did not like it.  From this point on there were continuous attempts by Saul on David's life.  Further down in Chapter 18 we read:

And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.  But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. --1 Samuel 18:12-16

and by the end of the chapter we read this:

And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him.  And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually. Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.--1 Samuel 18:28-30

David who at one time was a beloved, faithful and loyal servant to Saul had now become his enemy continually. WHY...because Saul knew that the Lord was with David.   How sad!  Saul's turning away from David says much about where Saul's own relationship was with his Lord.   David's godly obedience must have pierced him to the heart causing Saul to see what could have been in his own life if he had obeyed God.  His sin and failure must have loomed large when David was in view.

The same is true for us when we turn away from the godly people God has placed in our own lives and instead begin to surround ourselves with the world.  Sure, we will have lots of reasons for doing what we do, but whatever the reason,  the overruling reason is that their godliness confronts us with the sin in our life that we do not want to see.  Our downhill slide has begun.  Turning away from our godly friends, however, was not the first step in this slide.  The first steps were those taken in the opposite direction of our Father in Heaven.

This passage should serve as a warning to each of us.  Examine your heart...keep it with all diligence.  If you have drifted off course, draw near once again to your God, confess your sin and do an about face. Ask Him to show you what you are running from...what are you loving more than him?

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.--Hebrews 2:1

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”--Isaiah 30:15

Addendum...a word to those who are the David’s in this passage...

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.—Matthew 5:10-12

Conquering the Giants...

 32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”  33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”—1 Samuel 17:32-33; 45-47

The story of David and Goliath is such an encouraging read.  I so want the kind of faith that David displays here!  The kind that “encourages courage and discourages fear”.  

I confess that my heart often fails even before the battle begins. My mind runs ahead of my circumstances and anxious thoughts assail.  I focus on the giant before me and the weapons in his arsenal, instead of setting my mind and heart on the great and awesome God who goes before me and fights for me. 

3 You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

4 Trust in the LORD forever,

For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.—Isaiah 26:3-4

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,—2 Corinthians 10:4-5

As I read through the story I was grateful for the example that David set even as he explained to King Saul why he WAS able to go against the Philistine giant, Goliath. He looks back and remembers the Lord’s faithfulness to him as he protected his father’s sheep from both bears and lions. This uncircumcised Philistine would be like one of them. 

36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."—1 Samuel 17:36-37

Goliath brought earthly weapons to the battle...a sword, a spear and a javelin.  David brought no physical weapons to the battle except those of a young boy...a slingshot and 5 smooth stones. AND THAT was all he needed because David knew that the battle belonged to God. He was weak, but His God was strong and was on his side.  He would conquer this giant, and beloved...He will conquer the ones we face as well. 

Father...I am not sufficient for anything I face here on earth...no amount of  human might, wealth or physical strength is gonna be enough to get me through this vale of tears.  I am running on empty all of the time.  Fill me with Your fullness and increase my faith! I want the kind of faith that does not turn back in the midst of distressing circumstances but goes boldly forward trusting that You will do exceedingly abundantly in them and through them. Oh, for a greater dependence on You and a decreased dependence on me!   Oh, to face the giants in my life not in my own strength but in the strength that Your precious Spirit continually supplies. 

“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.—Zechariah 4:6

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.—Ephesians 3:20-21

2 Chronicles 32:7,8 (KJV)

7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that [is] with him: for [there be] more with us than with him: 8 With him [is] an arm of flesh; but with us [is] the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Psalm 20:6-8 (KJV)

6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. 7 Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

Psalm 33:16,20,21 (KJV)

16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he [is] our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

Psalm 44:3-7 (KJV)

3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. 4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. 5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

This is My Comfort in My Affliction...

 This is my comfort in my affliction,

For Your word has given me life.—Psalm 119:50

This verse always brings the word “content” to mind.  I have probably gone upstairs to my room thousands of times over the years with my bible because it IS my comfort.  His word is what I seek first.  It is what answers my every cry, my every emotional nuance and my every longing.  The following might seem strange, but bear with me. The picture of me with my bible cozy in my bed brings a favorite Robert Louis Stevenson poem to mind...The Land of Counterpane.  It is a poem from my childhood that always brings my heart home.  

The Land of Counterpane

by Robert Louis Stevenson

When I was sick and lay a-bed, 

I had two pillows at my head, 

And all my toys beside me lay, 

To keep me happy all the day. 

And sometimes for an hour or so 

I watched my leaden soldiers go, 

With different uniforms and drills, 

Among the bed-clothes, through the hills; 

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets 

All up and down among the sheets; 

Or brought my trees and houses out, 

And planted cities all about. 

I was the giant great and still 

That sits upon the pillow-hill, 

And sees before him, dale and plain, 

The pleasant land of counterpane.

The word of God brings my heart home. The comfort the Lord brings is designed especially for me. It is individual and one which the world cannot replicate. It is a comfort that when given is so styled that it lifts me above my circumstances, quickens my heart and is like the glow of warm fire in a cold, darkened room.  His word gifts me with the comfort of His sustaining grace, brings the peace of contentment and enables me to endure.  

This has become mine,

Because I kept Your precepts.—Psalm 119:56

Be Merciful to Me, O God, for Man Would Swallow Me Up...

 Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;

Fighting all day he oppresses me.

2 My enemies would hound me all day,

For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

3 Whenever I am afraid,

I will trust in You.

4 In God (I will praise His word),

In God I have put my trust;

I will not fear.

What can flesh do to me?

5 All day they twist my words;

All their thoughts are against me for evil.

6 They gather together,

They hide, they mark my steps,

When they lie in wait for my life.

7 Shall they escape by iniquity?

In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

8 You number my wanderings;

Put my tears into Your bottle;

Are they not in Your book?

9 When I cry out to You,

Then my enemies will turn back;

This I know, because God is for me.

10 In God (I will praise His word),

In the LORD (I will praise His word),

11 In God I have put my trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;

I will render praises to You,

13 For You have delivered my soul from death.

Have You not kept my feet from falling,

That I may walk before God

In the light of the living?—Psalm 56

I am just gonna keep my Bible opened to Psalm 56 for the next few days. Such a heartening, fear quenching Psalm that points us continually to the One in whom we CAN trust and confidently rely on to see us through the trials of this life. 

Mercy is defined in my Thompson Chain Reference Bible as a form of love, especially directed toward the needy or unworthy.  That’s me!  Today, then, in my grief and my sorrow, I will not turn aside to those things that are empty and do not profit. Today, I will seek my God of mercy.  Today, I will give Him all that is in my heart and praise His holy name!  Today, I will remember His divine care and I will consider the great things He has done for me. 

—He has redeemed my soul from destruction.

—He has kept my feet from falling.

—He takes account of all my wanderings.  

—He keeps every one of my tears in a bottle. 

My precious, all seeing, all knowing, merciful God knows what I face and the way that I take, AND He cares.  When I call, He will hear me...He will answer because THIS I know...My God is FOR me. 

Today I will walk before Him in the light of His life and light. He who has begun a good work in me WILL carry it on and perfect it until I walk forever in His light in my heavenly home.

For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.—1 Samuel 12:22

With Desire I Have Desired...Luke 22:15

Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;—Luke 22:15

With DESIRE I have DESIRED...

Jesus had arrived at the central reason why He came to man...to institute a new covenant with men, based on His own sacrifice. Oh how willing You were, Jesus, to give up Your life for mine...to suffer and die for me.  You desired it WITH desire...with single minded devotion to accomplish that for which You were sent.  Give me, Father, that kind of devotion...give me Your right desires. Give me the heart that Paul had...

“For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Your heart, Jesus, was steadfast and immovable abounding in Your Father’s work.  Your inner demeanor like that of a warrior, Your face set like flint and ready to endure the cross for the joy set before You.  Truly, Jesus, You loved us to the end.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.—1 Corinthians 15:58 

But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!—Luke 12:50

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.—John 4:34

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.—John 13:1

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,—John 17:1

Prayerfulness and Pride...

 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD.—1 Samuel 8:6

16 As for me, I will call upon God,

And the LORD shall save me.

17 Evening and morning and at noon

I will pray, and cry aloud,

And He shall hear my voice.

18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,—Psalm 55:16-18

The message for me as I read through my daily Bible this morning was so simple.  

As for me, I will call upon God,

The bigger question is why after some 30 years of walking with the Lord is it still so hard?  I mean He literally bids us (me) to come. He never gets tired of hearing from us, nor does He blame us for coming too often...in fact, as Matthew Henry has said...the oftener the more welcome. Why is it then that it is still such a battle?  One word...pride.  

Beloved, the God who spoke the world into existence...the One that is all knowing, all powerful and everywhere present...desires us!  Pride is just not rational!  Instead of readily bringing our problems and concerns to Him as we go about our day, we reject His counsel and His rule and forfeit His blessings by going our own way.  We, in effect, doom ourselves to be counseled and ruled by what someone has aptly named, the trinity of stupidity...me, myself and I. 

Praying today that I would heed His Spirit’s gentle reminders and promptings that bid me to “come”.  For then and only then will my soul be satisfied and my heart rejoice.  Only then will I go about my day with joy and be led about in peace.

Father...

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up.  Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud,

And You shall hear my voice.  You have redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.  

The Answer to Grief and Betrayal...

Cast your burden on the LORD,

And He shall sustain you;

He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.—Psalm 55:22

I am so thankful for this verse.  I am especially thankful that it comes in the context of Psalm 55 which is a psalm of David when he was betrayed by both his son Absolom and his close friend and trusted confidante, Ahithophel.  (2 Sam. 15–18)

If you have ever been grieved and betrayed, then you know something of what David is feeling in this Psalm and can relate. The answer for David as to what to do with all the feelings that are flooding his being comes in verse 22.   It is a good one also for each of us today...no matter what we might be facing. 

Cast your burden on the LORD,

And He shall sustain you;

He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.—Psalm 55:22

Beloved...Give God your heart. Lift up your soul to Him.  Cast your burden...your lot...your circumstances...upon the Lord. He promises to uphold you in and through all the struggles of this life. 

One of the cross-reference verses for Psalm 55:22 is this one from Hebrews. This morning it really helped my heart. It is my prayer that it will help yours as well. 

The LORD is My Helper—Hebrews 13:6

The LORD is my helper...All the heartaches, all the trials, all the dailiness and difficulties that accompany life in this fallen world dropped off my shoulders as I read. The. Lord. Is. My. Helper.  There were no words, just tears of overwhelming gratitude and relief.  I am not alone.  I will never be alone this side of eternity.  He is with me and dwells in me. He is my Helper.  Each and every one of His wonderful divine attributes are engaged on my side!  I can RELAX!  I can let down my guard.  I CAN cast all my cares on Him because HE CARES FOR ME.   

7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,

And with my song I will praise Him.

8 The LORD is their strength,

And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

9 Save Your people,

And bless Your inheritance;

Shepherd them also,

And bear them up forever.—Psalm 28:7-9

By Your Patience Possess Your Souls...

 By your patience possess your souls.—Luke 21:19

By your patience possess your souls...what does that mean?  What does it look like?  Jesus in Luke 21 answers the disciples’ question about signs that will occur just before the end of the age.  Jesus predictions are much doom and gloom but in them He reminds the disciples (and us) to keep their eyes on the prize.  To look ahead and look up because all of what they face will turn out for a testimony. Jesus tells them to settle it in their hearts not to meditate beforehand on what they will answer. Inspiration, wisdom and spiritual utterance would be given to them from on high in the hour it was needed and that they would be divinely protected.  Here is the thing...verse 19 doesn’t say by your patience possess your lives but by your patience possess your souls.  Many of the disciples would in fact lose their lives but in losing their life they gained them forever. The same is true for us. 

Jesus here then, is exhorting both his disciples and us to hold fast to His word, to persevere through trials, to trust God to guard our hearts and to keep us through faith.  He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, and He has also given us the Spirit as a guarantee.  

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.—1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 I and My Father are one."—John 10:27-30

Beloved...those that are truly His are His forever...No one...not even ourselves...can snatch us out of His hand. Our perseverance and patience under trials does not save us, but it does prove that we belong to Him.  True believers will persevere. Jesus here is using these warnings to exhort us not to fall away or lose heart under persecutions and trials. God is with us and will sustain us through them all.  He will keep those that are His from stumbling.  Be patient, look ahead to the prize...walk through the trials and persecution that come in the power of His Spirit.  By your patient endurance empowered by the Holy Spirit you will gain your souls.  

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;—Philippians 1:6

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

"For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:31-39

And Hannah Prayed...

 But the prayer of the upright is His delight.—Proverbs 15:8b

But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 “Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”—1 Samuel 1:15-16

Hannah’s Song of Gratitude to God...

And Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the LORD;

My horn is exalted in the LORD.

I smile at my enemies,

Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

2 “No one is holy like the LORD,

For there is none besides You,

Nor is there any rock like our God.

3 “Talk no more so very proudly;

Let no arrogance come from your mouth,

For the LORD is the God of knowledge;

And by Him actions are weighed.—1 Samuel 2:1-3

Beloved...There is so much we can learn from Hannah.  As I read the Spirit of God’s words today, not only about Hannah but also through Hannah, I felt trapped and overwhelmed by time constraints. My heart truly wanted to spend hours right there in those first few chapters of 1 Samuel gleaning whatever the Lord had for me in these passages. They were for me! They have been for me (according to the notations in my Bible) since 1998.  Sadly, I didn’t have hours, but I was able to spend the remainder of the time I had, writing and meditating on the verses above.  I also bookmarked the page in my Bible so I could reread it later this evening...

Notes on Hannah...

—Hannah was a woman of great sorrow and in chapter 1 we find her pouring out her soul before the Lord.  If we take away nothing else from this humble and submissive woman of God, let us commit to following her example when our own hearts become overwhelmed.  

Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

Selah—Psalm 62:8

—Hannah referred to herself as the Lord’s maidservant.  Similarly, Paul, in his NT letters to the various churches, refers to himself as the Lord’s bondservant.  Scripture tells us that as a man thinks in his heart so is he. Oh, to have this same mindset!  To think and refer to myself  as a maidservant of the Lord.  After a while this truth would rule in my mind and my heart and pride and arrogance would take a back seat. 

—Hannah not only poured out her heart to God in sorrow but also in joy. In chapter 2 we read her beautiful words of gratitude and thanksgiving.  She rejoices in God’s salvation and takes both joy and comfort in His sovereignty.  Read the words, however, that come JUST BEFORE Hannah’s prayer of gratitude. 

24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.—1 Samuel 1:24-28

In a short time, Hannah would be fulfilling her vow to the Lord by leaving her just weaned, very young son with Eli, the priest at the Tabernacle of the Lord.  How much more of a testimony are Hannah’s words now knowing the depth of sorrow that must also be in her heart as she prays this prayer of worship and thanksgiving! How much strength is added to her acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty when we know that in the next few moments she would be relinquishing her precious son...her gift both from the Lord and to the Lord...forever.  

—Hannah trusted God and prayed with confidence because she understood that whatever sorrow of heart might be coming...she WOULD  endure because her heart could still...always and truly...rejoice in the Lord. In Him..in His favor...her “horn” would be exalted.  In Him, she could and would smile at her enemies...she belonged to God. He was her strength, her song and had become her salvation. If God were for her who could be against her.

1 Vindicate me, O God,

And plead my cause against an ungodly nation;

Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!

2 For You are the God of my strength;

Why do You cast me off?

Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!

Let them lead me;

Let them bring me to Your holy hill

And to Your tabernacle.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God,

To God my exceeding joy;

And on the harp I will praise You,

O God, my God.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God;

For I shall yet praise Him,

The help of my countenance and my God.—Psalm 43

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:6-7

For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,—Philippians 3:3

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.—Psalm 18:1-3

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls—

18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The LORD God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.—Habakkuk 3:17-19