Focus: Triple Defense

Text: Ps.31:2

"Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me."

In this life, we need securities, and as you may know, securities take care of our stress. Stress level rises in us in the absence of securities.

I see three defenses or securities in Scripture, and God desires us to have them.

From our text, we see the psalmist praying and calling upon God to be his security. He says in essence, 'Lord, be to me an house of defense to save me.' The Message Bible says, "Your granite cave a hiding place, your high cliff aerie a place of safety." The psalmist desired for divine security. Isaiah tells about the glory of God serving as a defense for the people of God - the canopy of God's glory.

We have several other psalms where the psalmist declares God to be his defense. That means he did not only pray for God to defend or secure him, he actually experienced God as his personal defense. He says, "MY defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart… For God is MY defence… Unto thee, O MY strength, will I sing: for God is MY defence, and the God of MY mercy… He is MY defence… He is MY defence… For the LORD is OUR defence… For thou hast been MY defence and refuge in the day of my trouble…" (Ps.7:10; 59:9,16,17; 62:2,6; 89:18; 94:22). Job also says, "Yea, the Almighty shall be THY defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver" (Jb.22:25). You can make God your personal defense or guard. He wants to watch over you. He wants you safe with Him. He wants to be not only your defense, but also your defender. So the number one security or defense is God. Until God secures you, you are not safe. You are defenseless without God.

The writer of Ecclesiastes discloses two more securities to us. He says, "For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it" (Ecl.7:12). You can see it clearly that wisdom and wealth are securities. Job talks about God securing you and you possessing plenty of silver - and that's wealth.

When it comes to the security of wisdom, James says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (Jam.1:5). God alone is the giver of wisdom, and without wisdom your life is not secure. In fact, when it comes to the defense of wisdom, the author of Ecclesiastes says "that wisdom giveth life to them that have it." That means that a person without wisdom is nothing but a living corpse. God asked Solomon, 'What do you want me to give you?' And Solomon asked God to give him wisdom. Here is God's response to Solomon: "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment" (1Kgs.3:11). Also, God said to him, "And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both RICHES, and HONOUR: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days" (1Kgs.3:13). Later on, we read in 1Kgs.10:23, "So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for RICHES and for WISDOM." 

So you can see that God alone gives wisdom to those who seek for it, and that wisdom is capable of attracting wealth and honor.

When it comes to the defense of money or wealth, the scripture says, "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth…" (Dt.8:18). God is the giver of the capacity to make money and build lasting wealth.

So here we have it: divine security, financial security, and intellectual security or the defense of wisdom, and you can indeed have all the three. God wants you to be wise and wealthy, and to have Him as your almighty security. These is your triple defense.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter