Aug-19-0493-Oh, restore us again!
493_Oh, restore us again! Psalm 60 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us. 2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters. 3 You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger. 4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah 5 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us! 6 God has spoken in his holiness: “With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth. 7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. 8 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast 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 forth, O God, with our armies. 11 Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! 12 With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes. In 1981, the nation of Israel launched one of the most daring rescue operations in history—Operation Entebbe. A group of Israeli hostages had been hijacked and taken to Uganda. The terrorists demanded ransom, threatening to kill the hostages otherwise. The situation looked hopeless. Yet, despite the odds, the Israeli Defense Forces planned a nighttime raid, rescuing and flying out 102 hostages in under 90 minutes. What stood out about this mission wasn’t just the tactical precision, but the confidence the Israeli soldiers had in their identity, their mission, and their leadership. They knew whom they were fighting for, and why. If, instead, they had been confused, uncertain, divided, or estranged from their commanding officer, the outcome would have been an unthinkable tragedy. Sometimes we are ambushed by unexpected attacks on our faith, on the sovereignty and goodness of God, on seeming setbacks to our spiritual goals. We begin to question our strength, our strategy, and even God’s presence. But sometimes the problem isn’t the enemy, or our tactics. It’s the fact that somewhere along the way, we’ve lost our connection with the Lord of heaven’s armies. That’s where David found himself when he penned Psalm 60. Its title marks it as recording David’s victories over the nations surrounding Israel - Philistia, Moab, and Syria, as we read in 2 Samuel 8 and 10. Yet its opening words speak of bitter defeat rather than celebrating triumph. His opening lament is: “O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us.” Something had gone terribly wrong. Instead of blaming his military leaders or the strength of the Edomite army, David looks upwards and inwards. This is a moment of clarity. David clearly sees, once again, how solid is the foundation of those who trust in God - and how