Save me O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength. Psalm 54:1
David and 600 of his trusted followers were fleeing from the armies of Saul, and had made their way to the wilderness of Ziph. For a time, they moved from place to place to evade Saul, and at last made their refuge in a wood. Jonathan had come to David in the wood, and assured David that even Saul knew that David would someday be king. But the people in Ziph went and told Saul where David was, and Saul set out in hot pursuit. It was at that point that David wrote Psalm 54, including today’s text. Just when it seemed certain that David would be caught, word came to Saul that the Philistines had invaded, and he had to end his pursuit of David to deal with the Philistines. God answered David’s prayer.
What did David ask for? To be saved by the name of God, and to be judged by God’s strength. As we gather on this Lord’s Day to show the Lord’s death, we recognize that God has done for us what He did for David in Ziph.
We are saved through the Name of the Lord Jesus. His Name, Jesus, means Saviour. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. On Salvation’s day we acknowledged this. Today, we continue to acknowledge this as we gather in that same Name to express appreciation to that same Saviour.
Does God judge us today by our own strength? No, because we have none. When we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. No, it is not against our strength that God directs His judgement against sin. As we direct our attention to Golgotha, we see One who was not tarnished and stained by sin, as we are. We see One who was perfect in his life, according to the judgment of Pontius Pilate, one who did not resort to physical strength to evade the cross, but Who submitted Himself to Him Who judges righteously. If God’s judgement were directed against our strength, we could never prevail. But He turned His judgment against His own Son. And the strength of the Lord Jesus was enough to bear that judgment for us.
Today, we rejoice at salvation through His name. Today, we rest in judgment borne by our Mighty Redeemer. -Jim MacIntosh