RESERVED INHERITANCE
Key Verse: “For You have heard my vows, O God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear Your name” (v.5).
Key Theme: Acknowledgement of God’s start to finish faithfulness.
Key Descriptives of God: Rock; Shelter; Strong Tower; Heritage Giver
We have a short Psalm with no precise context today. The wording of it— “prolong the king’s life” (v.6)— would imply it was later on in life. David seems to have no actual matter of need to be addressed but is reciting the faithfulness of God. He speaks of “WHEN my heart is overwhelmed” lead me to the Rock (v.2)— and how God HAS BEEN a Shelter and a Strong Tower from the enemy (v.3). If the tenses in the chapter have been properly translated it is almost as if David is praying a forward-thinking prayer for something he does not yet need. In doing that he declares an ahead-of-time, “I will trust” (v.4). There is value in learning from everything David did.
LEAD ME TO THE ROCK
This chapter is always special to me because the one song my dad did write called “Lead me to the Rock” came out of verses 2 and 3. We sang it throughout Peru in Spanish as well— as that is where we lived at the time. (I was a teenager). When my dad passed on in 2005 he was honored as the man who brought the things of the Holy Spirit to the nation. He died and was buried in Peru. He was always a rock of strength himself and I remember almost being surprised that this would be a song from him. It seemed like some of the other “needier” people might more identify with needing Him as “Refugio” (shelter in Spanish) and “Torre Fuerte” (strong tower in Spanish). You know, strong believers like my dad didn’t really need Shelters and Strong Towers, I thought. Later on after a few “storms” of my own I better understood that my dad’s strength was not his own but came out of his Shelter. The “Lead me to the Rock” line is so key as well as it showed David had discovered that getting rid of whatever “overwhelmed” him was not really the issue, but that finding Him as the Rock, was always the “cure”.
RESERVED INHERITANCE
From our key verse 5, “For You have heard my vows, O God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear Your name”. This and verse 6 “span the generations”, show us a David thinking legacy, and having been assured of it in some way. We now know he for sure received that blessing but it is possible at that immediate time his children weren’t exactly “doing him proud”. Absalom and Adonijah weren’t an initial encouragement that he was releasing a legacy that would “span the generations”. By Jesus, Himself being called “Son of David” we know his legacy only progressively increased in the coming generations. Part of maturing is realizing we are not just living and contending for ourselves but for our children— and their children, and their children, and their children. Natural inheritance is great but spiritual inheritance is so much greater. My parents being faith missionaries their whole life had nothing to leave us in the natural. However, what they left of spiritual inheritance has been immensely more valuable and I still feel its strength and rewards.
MY VOWS
One of those mysteries I want to inquire of David one day is to explain his “vows”. Throughout the Psalms he will speak of “performing his vows” and he never specifies just what they were. It seems they always had to do with giving thanks or praise to God publicly but little else is told us. Obviously, he at some point or points made some “deal” with God that if God did such and such that he would do his part. Over and over he will make it clear that he is still “performing his vows”. This was not unusual to do in Old Testament times, as we saw that as well from Jacob, vowing to give 10% of all if the Lord would have it go well when he re-encountered his brother Esau. In general, the scriptures do not encourage making these kinds of vows, and especially so if there is any chance of not keeping them, but here David even connects some aspect of his inheritance from God being tied into those vows. As it shows us in the last verse of this chapter, some of those vows were daily. I neither recommend nor don’t recommend David’s vowing but it is another of his unique realities not be ignored. As I said, there is value in learning from everything David did. Public acknowledgment, thanksgiving, and praise of God was a repeated theme and focus for David as was doing so exuberantly. There is something not insignificant in all that as well. Today, as we continue to allow His face to shine upon us may we receive and secure for the future “reserved inheritances”.
Written by: Johnny Enlow
Featured Image by chris ganser on Unsplash
67 DAY COUNTDOWN SERIES
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The 67 Day Countdown Series is brought to you by Johnny and Elizabeth Enlow, founders of Restore7 ministry, as well as international speakers and best-selling authors. Among Johnny’s books are The Seven Mountain Prophecy, The Seven Mountain Mantle, Rainbow God, The Seven Mountain Renaissance, Becoming A Superhero, and RISE. Elizabeth serves as CEO and penned Rainbow God: The Seven Colors of Love and God in Every Season.
