Psalm 71

1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced.
2 Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free.
3 Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors.
5 O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
6 Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!
7 My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection.
8 That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.
9 And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.
10 For my enemies are whispering against me. They are plotting together to kill me.
11 They say, “God has abandoned him. Let’s go and get him, for no one will help him now.”
12 O God, don’t stay away. My God, please hurry to help me.
13 Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers. Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me.
14 But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more.
15 I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words.[a]
16 I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord. I will tell everyone that you alone are just.
17 O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
18 Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God?
20 You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.
21 You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.
22 Then I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to you with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23 I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me.
24 I will tell about your righteous deeds all day long, for everyone who tried to hurt me has been shamed and humiliated.

This psalm is without a title, but is thought to be David's...penned when he fled from his son Absalom. Again, it is a psalm asking God for deliverance from great danger.

Today, David gives us a glimpse into who he is...and how he was raised to become a man after God's own heart." He says "O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!"

Some of you can not imagine the blessings of being born into a family of faith. I can. My father was a preacher...from before my birth...and I've never known anything other than living a life of service to God. I'm not claiming to have always done it well. I'm saying there has never been a day when I didn't understand the demands and promises of the Christian life.

And...if I had prenatal memories I could probably tell you I recall hearing the prayers of my mother, while I was in her womb. By the time I had lived to the debauched age of four, my mom sat me on the living room couch and explained that my wickedness had put me on the road to ruin and destruction. Without Christ I was lost forever. Without making light of the story, I fell to my knees weeping and begged Christ's forgiveness. For 57 years I've been trying to live that conversion faithfully every day.

I have to ask...Is there a blessing greater than godly DNA? I don't think so. Before the devil could teach me differently, my parents...and the Holy Spirit...had made the facts of life very clear.

This was the family David was born into. It helps explain how his faith never wavered in the most dire circumstances. People who come to faith later in life have a vastly different experience. They need to deconflict all the ungodly scripting that has gone on in their lives and figure out...often by trial and error...what it means to be a person of faith.

But, you know what? You may not come from a spiritually privileged family, but you can create one for your own children...or grandchildren. You can create an environment that is so powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit that His presence will be imprinted on the souls of those children before they know it happened.

The benefits? Look at David. His son is trying to kill him. He is a refugee in his own kingdom. His physical life hangs in the balance. Yet, he says "my life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long."

He didn't pick up that kind of faith at the last minute. That was bred into him by a godly family. David's faith can be our faith...and the faith of our children. But...we need to begin fashioning the environment today.

Live boldly out there today...