| The Christian Life | September 1943 |
From the Lord
Strength and Peace
“The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.”—Psalms 29:11
STRENGTH of character and peace of heart are what the prophet is referring to in our text. One might be physically weak and impotent, yet be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” And, even though a Christian may be surrounded with turmoil, he can enjoy a peace of heart—a deep and enduring peace, the “peace of God” which passeth all human understanding.
But there are conditions attached to enjoying these rich blessings provided by the Lord. Some of these conditions are revealed in the preceding verses of this psalm. Verses 1 and 2 read: “Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, Give unto the Lord glory and strength, Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Here we are reminded that no matter how strong or mighty we may feel ourselves to be, the only proper attitude is to give credit to the Lord for supplying us with needed strength.
And then we are to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” This means that we should be wholly devoted to the Lord. If we are partly for God and partly for self we are not in a position to partake of His strength as we should, and as we need to do in order to be overcomers.
The remainder of the psalm has much to say about the “voice” of the Lord—His voice of authority, and what it accomplishes. That “voice,” the Psalmist says, is “upon the waters,” it is “powerful,” “full of majesty,” “breaketh the cedars of Lebanon,” “divideth the flames of fire,” “shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh,” “maketh the hinds to calve,” and “discovereth the forests.”
These various manifestations of divine authority and power all pertain to His control over physical things. The all-powerful Creator is able to create worlds and control them at His will, but He cannot, because He will not, enter our hearts to give us the strength and peace we need, unless we invite Him and put our full confidence in Him.
God’s authority must be supreme in our lives if we want to enjoy the strength and peace which He gives. He will not share our devotion with, another. He stands ready to help us in every time of need, to flood our hearts with His peace; but first we must give up depending upon self or anything upon which self may set its affections. The strength of the Lord operates in our lives when we recognize the inadequacy of all human sources of strength and lean wholly upon Him. And when we have His strength we have peace—the peace with which the Creator of the universe blesses His people, a peace that cannot be disturbed by passions within or raging storms without; for, “when He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?”