SPECIAL PRÉCIS ON DAVID’S HIGH PRAYER OF IRON FAITH: A TEMPLATE FOR BOLDNESS AND PEACE IN THE LAST DAYS – (WITH VIDEO)

1. THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “For David says in regard to Him, ‘I saw the Lord constantly before me, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken or overthrown or cast down [from my secure and happy state]. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue exulted exceedingly; moreover, my flesh also will dwell in hope [will encamp, pitch its tent, and dwell in hope in anticipation of the resurrection].

For You will not abandon my soul, leaving it helpless in Hades (the state of departed spirits), nor let Your Holy One know decay or see destruction [of the body after death]. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence.’” – ACTS 2:25-28, AMPC

KEY TERM. “REST.” ‘Kataskénoó’ [κατασκηνώσει]: “From a root word, ‘To tent, encamp, occupy, or reside; to remain or lodge [with].’” NOTE: “The verb conveys the picture of pitching one’s tent, settling down, or finding a secure lodging place. Scripture employs the term to describe both ‘Physical Nesting’ (the birds) and ‘Spiritual Repose:’ (The believer’s hope), uniting the ideas of Protection, Permanence, and Rest under God’s care.”

QUOTATION. “Fear never wrote a symphony or poem, negotiated a peace treaty, or cured a disease. Fear never pulled a family out of poverty or a country out of bigotry. Fear never saved a marriage or a business. ‘Courage did that. Faith did that.’ People who refused to consult or cower to their timidities did that. But fear itself? Fear herds us into a prison and slams the doors. Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?” ― MAX LUCADO, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear, 2012; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘For David speaketh concerning Him’ — Namely, Psalm 16:8-11, where see the notes. ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face’ — In the Psalm, according to the Hebrew, it is, ‘I have set the Lord always before me.’ Our Lord Jesus had a constant regard to His Father in His whole undertaking. He set His Father’s glory before Him as His end, and His Father’s will as His rule, in every part of it. And He foresaw that His sufferings would redound abundantly to the Honour of God, and would issue in His own everlasting joy and felicity. These things were set before Him, and these He had an eye to in all He did and suffered; and with the prospect of these, He was supported and carried on. 

‘He is on my right hand’ — The instrument of action, strengthening, upholding, and guiding it; ‘that I should not be moved’ — Shaken in, or driven from, my undertaking, by the hardships I must undergo. ‘Therefore,’ &c. — On account of the firm confidence I had in Him, that I should be supported in, and carried through all my labours and sufferings, and that they should have a glorious issue; ‘My heart rejoiced’ in the midst of them; ‘and’ my tongue was glad’ — Praised God in a joyful manner. In the Psalm it is, ‘My glory rejoiceth:’ for our tongue is our glory; the faculty of speech is an honour to us; and never more so than when it is employed in praising God. 

‘Moreover my flesh shall rest in hope’ — The grave shall be to my body a bed of repose, and I shall cheerfully deliver it up to be laid there, in hope of a Blessed Resurrection. ‘Because Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell’ — Εις αδου, in the invisible world. For it does not appear that ever our Lord’s soul went into what we call Hell. On the contrary, when it was separated from the body, it went to Paradise, Luke 23:43. The meaning is, Thou wilt not leave my soul in its state of Separation from the body, nor suffer my body to be corrupted. See note on Psalm 16:10. ‘Thou hast made known to me the ways of life’ — To which thou wilt assuredly conduct me; and after all my sufferings here, ‘Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance’ — With manifestations of Thy love and favour, in those upper and more glorious regions to which Thou wilt raise me.”  – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

II. TEACHING

From this rich Biblical Template, those of us who remain with Christ through all of these Last Days Trials shall reap benefits that defy human logic and comprehension. FOUR PROMISES stand out here that I will explore in the following comments. They are, however, ‘Conditional.’

THESIS. The sheer power of King David’s High Prayer was that ‘HE SAW THE LORD CONSTANTLY BEFORE HIM” (from ‘Prooraó’ [Προορώμην], “To behold closely in advance, to always keep in view”).

Selah. So here we go toward the Baseline Key to ‘HOLDING FAST!’ during the tumultuous days that lie ahead.

1. UNSHAKABLENESS. ‘Saleuó’ [σαλευθῶ]: “From a root word meaning, ‘To test or tempt; a Divine trial or proving of one’s faith.’ NOTE: “The verb 4531 portrays motion that unsettles—whether the ground beneath, the heart within, or the heavens above. Across its fifteen New Testament uses it moves from literal earthquakes to spiritual agitation and culminates in the final cosmic upheaval that reveals God’s Unshakable Kingdom.”
2. JOYFUL. ‘Euphrainó’ [ηὐφράνθη]: “To be in a good frame of mind; i.e., given to rejoicing; to make glad or be merry.” NOTE: “Strong’s Greek 2165 appears fourteen times in the New Testament as a verb describing gladness, festive rejoicing, or making merry. The contexts move along a spectrum from righteous celebration at God’s saving work to hollow self-indulgence that ends in judgment.”
3. HOPE. ‘Elpis’ [ἐλπίδι]: “To anticipate with pleasure; confident expectation of good; faith.” NOTE: “Hope in Scripture is not wishful thinking but a confident, Spirit-wrought expectation that God will fulfill every Promise He has made in Christ. ‘It rests on the Character of God’ (Hebrews 6:18) and is secured by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3). While Faith looks back to the finished work of the Cross and Love acts in the present, Hope stretches forward toward the Consummation of Redemption (1 Corinthians 13:13).
4. LIFE! ‘Zóé’ [ζωῆς]: “To live life fully [with expectation of a future eternal life of bliss and glory in the Kingdom of God.” NOTE: “Life is consistently presented as the exclusive prerogative of God. He ‘gives to all life and breath and everything else’ (Acts 17:25). Scripture never permits life to be understood as a merely biological phenomenon; it streams from the Creator and is sustained by His Word (Hebrews 1:3). Accordingly, the decisive Revelation of Life is found in Jesus Christ: ‘In Him was life, and that life was the light of men’ (John 1:4). Because the Son shares the Father’s Divine Self-existence, He can declare, ‘Just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself’ (John 5:26).”

III. MARKS OF A CHRISTIAN

I made the terribly crucial point that such Divine Benefits are not automatic, that there indeed must be a genuine, sustained commitment to honor Christ. Thus the next section deals with what theologians note as the very special Characteristics of a True Disciple.

FOUR DISTINCTIVES. To accomplish this, I resort to an old statistical protocol I learned in my doctoral studies at Bowling Green University in the early 1970s. It is called “Factor Analysis,” a magnificent, parsimonious mathematical tool for the analysis of a broad category of some sort, resulting in what is called: “Reduction to Simple Structure.”

The following remarks are taken from the EDITORS of an online theological blog, Kuza, in a piece simply labeled: “Marks of a True Christian” (Oct. 11, 2024; edited).

OPEN. “‘We live in a society that is more fixated on Aesthetics (Outward Appearance) than what they cannot see (Inward Person).’ We know that Man was created for good works, which God prepared beforehand so we would walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). How can we tell a Faithful Christian from a False ‘Christian’? What should we look out for?

One way of knowing someone beyond their appearance is by observing their behaviour, love for others, and how they deal with hardship or suffering. ‘Christianity is a lifestyle.’ Our outward life reflects our relationship with God. Isn’t it in Scripture where we read that our Faith (our relationship with God) is justified by our works, too(James 2:24)? The following paragraphs will attempt to demonstrate some pointers that we can look out for to measure others and, most especially, ourselves.”

1. LOVE GOD. “Love is not just part of a Christian’s life but the Cornerstone. As the classic hymn goes, ‘And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.’ Love encapsulates the Christian Journey (1 Corinthians 13:13), for the one who loves has fulfilled the Law (Romans 13:8). Paul emphasizes that one defining trait of a true Christian is their love (Romans 12:9). ‘Jesus, in Luke 10:27, teaches that Keeping The Law is: LOVING GOD [AND TRUTH] with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and loving your neighbour as yourself.’ Christ’s disciples are recognized by their love for others (John 13:34-35). Love must be genuine, not hypocritical. The authenticity of our love mirrors the genuineness of our Christianity (2 Corinthians 8:8).”
2. HATE EVIL. “‘The world’s definition of Love often blurs the line between Right and Wrong.’ We sometimes enable sin and shy away from calling it out in the name of Love. Those who boldly call it out, on the other hand, are often labelled hateful, judgmental, unloving, and harsh. However, the fact is that it is impossible to love both God and Evil (Psalm 97:10). Do you hate sin, or do you tolerate it and make excuses for it? ‘A genuine Christian should hate sin and love righteousness (Romans 12:9b).’ Whoever is from God imitates good rather than evil (3 John 11). The Psalmist, in Psalm 101, highlights a life of hating sin and walking righteously. He says he will walk with integrity of heart (Psalm 101:2) and stay away from evil (Psalm 101:4). The Fear of God will manifest through hatred of evil (Proverbs 8:13). This ‘Fear of the Lord’ is not the kind that is of terror or dread, but one of deep reverence and respect for God’s holiness with a desire to live in a way that pleases Him.”
3. JOYFUL & PATIENT. “‘Interestingly, every place in the Bible that talks about trials or tribulations encourages Christians to endure patiently and be joyful in the process.’ It is unnatural to be joyful when faced with hardship. Our flesh would easily tend to fall into despair and wish away the suffering. ‘Tribulation is normal.’ Some we share with unbelievers (sickness, natural calamities, loss and grief), while others are unique to Christians alone (persecution for the sake of the gospel). But God calls the Christian to rejoice in his tribulation. We are not told to rejoice because we do not suffer but because we do. Why? We know tribulation is God’s means to perfect and mature our Faith (Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4). Note that joy here is not a happy face; it is an attitude of the heart.” 
4. PRAYERFUL. “We all have struggles praying consistently. However, a prayerful life should mark the life of all Christians. Pastor John Piper sums it up adeptly, ‘Prayer is God’s way of keeping us in close, conscious, personal dependence on Him.’ Yes, God does work all things according to the Counsel of His Will and knows everything present, past and future. However, our praying affirms God’s sovereignty and our dependence on Him. By asking us to pray unceasingly (1 Thessalonians 5:17), God invites us to make our requests to Him through prayer and supplication (Philippians 4:6). Prayer affirms that we are conscious of God’s steadfast presence with us. Hence, we readily yield ourselves to Him to work His Will in and through us when we pray.”

CLOSE. “One who is truly Christian will manifest outwardly the Regeneration process happening inside. ‘The Love of Christ compels us to no longer live for ourselves–as we did before–but for Him,’ who died and was raised for our sake (Galatians 2:20).”

IV. ON LOVING GOD IN THE LAST DAYS

“But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times [of great stress and trouble] will come [difficult days that will be hard to bear]. For people will be lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, [and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God,holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith]. Avoid such people and keep far away from them.” – 2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5, AMP

THE CHALLENGE. So, we can clearly see that Loving God with all our heart, mind, and might is one thing, but doing so in the context of Trump’s Maga America is quite another. To reduce it in the simplest terms possible again:

It is time to get serious about Loving Jesus – unto life, or unto death. And nothing less! Selah.

I will therefore close with a Simple Praxis for how we go about devoting ourselves wholly to Christ ‘as we have never done before.’ I borrow here from the no-nonsense pen of EARL CHAPPELL, a simple Bible teacher from First Baptist Church of Norfolk, Virginia.

His piece is titled: “There is No Jesus in MAGA” (Baptist News, Feb. 28, 2025; edited).

• FOUNDED ON LIES. “From the beginning of this ruthless phase in America in the Election Cycle of 2016: We the people were presented with a candidate who claimed only he could fix our problems, that he would use only the brightest and best in his administration, that he knew more than the highest ranking officers of the armed forces and the top professionals in many other occupations, and that he never had a reason to ask forgiveness.”

• JANUARY 6, 2021. “Just check the change in reactions of those spineless politicians [and churchmen] who accurately described the events of January 6, 2021, then versus their descriptions now. Anyone with a media source on that day witnessed the horror as Capitol police officers were attacked with flag poles, fire extinguishers, hazardous sprays of various kinds and many other implements of personal harm. The gallows erected on which the mob yelled for the hanging of the vice president was not a joke. Several thousand rioters came very close to altering the course of our government that day.”

• THE BIBLE’S INSTRUCTION. “In no place in the New Testament does Jesus instruct us to take over government or to even align ourselves with government authorities. He modeled the existence with which His followers may be associated with the governing authorities, none of which was a ‘Christian’ takeover of government to force its way upon people. In Romans, Paul exhorts Christians to obey the governing authorities, essentially as they administer the laws over the geography of their influence … Perhaps I have been slow to realize the in-your face un-Christ-like nature of the MAGA Movement. It is a movement centered around us as Americans and me as an individual. Politically, it is centered around the person of only one man, who is not anything like Jesus.”

CODA. “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.

Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to STAND FIRM [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]!” – EPHESIANS 6:10-12, AMP

The Greek term for “Stand firm!” here is ‘Histémi’ [στῆναι], meaning in this context: ‘To continue in Covenant with Christ, no matter the cost.’ It is the very same idea expressed by DEITRICH BONHOEFFER:

“‘Costly grace’ is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him.

Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘Ye were bought at a price,’ and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon His Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered Him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.” – The Cost of Discipleship, 1937; edited

This beloved, all of this – and nothing less! For the ‘Way Up’ in God’s Kingdom is always ‘Down.’ 

MEDIA

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/vAH2Tc6oWIc