Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 22:26-34

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 6:1-19; 1 Corinthians 9:1-23 

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me secure on the heights. (2 Samuel 22:34)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Really, David? Your elderly feet like the feet of a deer? You couldn’t even protect your old self from the Philistines and had to be told by your soldiers to just stay home and not get yourself killed (2 Samuel 21:17). 

David believed something that his soldiers would not: God the LORD was at work for the sake of His people. Whether David lived or died, it was the mercy of the LORD that would endure. The perfect Word of the LORD always proves true; He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him, old and young alike. 

David believed the promise that God had made to Adam and Eve, confirmed to Abraham, and restated to him: God would send One who would redeem the world from sin and the death that comes through sin. He would send One who would be King over all the world and live forever. 

The LORD kept His promise and sent to the world David’s greater son, Jesus. Jesus brings the light of forgiveness and life into the darkness of the world. Jesus is the mercy of God in the flesh. Jesus is blameless yet bears our blame and guilt on the Cross. Jesus rose from the grave and will give our dead bodies their resurrection, too. Jesus sets us secure on the heights, washed and fed at His font and table. 

Old David wasn’t delusional, he was filled with faith by the mercy of God. He lived by faith in God’s promise that even his tired old bones would be renewed in resurrection life. His sin would be answered for by another, Jesus, and his way made pure and blameless for all eternity.

Such is your life. The merciful LORD has redeemed you in His Son. Your sin is answered for and your death overcome by the Christ. “This God – His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him” (2 Samuel 22:31). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

This is a sight that gladdens – What peace it doth impart! Now nothing ever saddens the joy within my heart. No gloom shall ever shake, no foe shall overtake the hope with God’s own Son in love for me has won. (“Awake My Heart, with Gladness” LSB 467, st.3)

-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ’s words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.