Psalm 60

0 To the leader: according to the Lily of the Covenant. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
1  O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
  you have been angry; now restore us!
2  You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open;
  repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
3  You have made your people suffer hard things;
  you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.
4  You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
  to rally to it out of bowshot.  Selah
5  Give victory with your right hand, and answer us,
  so that those whom you love may be rescued.
6  God has promised in his sanctuary:
  “With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
  and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7  Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
  Ephraim is my helmet;
  Judah is my scepter.
8  Moab is my washbasin;
  on Edom I hurl my shoe;
  over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9  Who will bring me to the fortified city?
  Who will lead me to Edom?
10  Have you not rejected us, O God?
  You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
11  O grant us help against the foe,
  for human help is worthless.
12  With God we shall do valiantly;
  it is he who will tread down our foes.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 60:11)

Yes, Lord, grant us help against the foes. Help us as we fight against the enemies of unbelief, cynicism, self-centeredness, relativism, busyness, greed, laziness, immaturity, unforgiveness, and autonomy. As I preach, Lord, help me to overcome people's resistance, not to me, but to You and Your sovereignty. Break through their fears that keep You away. Take away their need to be in control. You alone can set people free to serve You with joyful, trusting abandon.

Postscript

I'm all in favor of seminary education for those who want to serve the Lord, either as professional church staff or as lay people. But there is a danger in thinking of ministry in professional terms. The danger is one of relying on human expertise, forgetting that, in the end, "human help is worthless." We who are so well-trained and educated tend to trust ourselves way too much and God way too little. We need, not less training, but a much more realistic appraisal of our ability to do in ministry what really matters, and a much greater trust in the strength and wisdom of God.

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved