Peace within Hostility (Psalm 3, Part 2)

Rested (verses 5-6)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps%203:5-6&version=NIV

With our confidence in the Almighty and All-loving God we can rest in the midst of opposition, with nothing to fear. God’s loving care moves us from despair to hope.

Our Loving Father, thank You that we can lie down and sleep in peace. Thank You for sustaining us. Release us from fear of those in who assail us. We abandon our concerns and problems to You.

Delivered (verses 7-8)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps%203:7-8&version=NIV

God’s Son is our deliverer. Therefore we are victorious. We have been delivered from the politically correct pressures of our society. Furthermore we have received God’s blessing. Even though we feel surrounded by opposition, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Deliverance, which Jesus accomplished at Calvary, belongs to God.

O Lord God, arise and deliver us. Deliver us from conflict and misunderstandings And continue to bless Your people.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for them (Matthew 5:44). In the midst of the mockers of our hostile society, we have God’s promised blessing that results from His gracious deliverance.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be with us as the sure defense of Your Church. Defend us against our enemies, preserve us from the persecutions of the wicked, and when our last hour has come, deliver us from all evil, both of body and soul, and receive us into Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.
Martin Luther (1483-1546)