But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.-Psalm 59:16
David knew and understood that if he constantly reminded himself of God’s strength and God’s love, then he would not find himself trying to rely on his own strength in his times of trouble. That is what David meant when we wrote “I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of love”. David’s way of reminding himself of God’s strength and love was to sing songs about God’s strength and love. In fact this is probably the best way to remind yourself of God’s strength and love, because songs, like poetry, tend to speak our hearts and when something speaks to our hearts, then we tend not to forget about it. David then ends this verse with a great image of what God provides for us when we rely on his strength. He says that God is your fortress and your refuge. God as your fortress is where you can run to to fend off the attacks of the devil. God as your refuge is where you can go for protection and rest from everything that is going on around you. The key thing to remember is that you are not to spend all of your time hidden in God’s refuge and God’s fortress, but once you have had your strength renewed you are to go back out into the world, because that is where you will do the most good. And that is why the last words of this verse are “in times of trouble”. Once the “times of trouble” are over it is time to leave the safety of the refuge and the fortress and go back on the offensive. Remember this you cannot defeat your enemy, the devil, while being on the defensive all the time. Use what God has provided for you to build your strength back up so that you can take the fight to the enemy, instead of waiting around for the enemy to bring the fight to you.