A Present Help — Strengthened
Psalm 92:10 NKJV But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.
The key word here is horn. The word horn does not mean the appendage of an animal. The word means strength. David is saying, “The Lord God has strengthened me like a wild ox and has anointed me with fresh oil.” The wild ox was known for a large, fierce and untamable nature. God gave David extraordinary strength and power to overcome the situations that he was facing. The word “horn” is used over 110 times in the Bible as a symbol of extraordinary, unusual, and supernatural strength and power.
Psalm 18:1-2 NKJV I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:3 NKJV I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
There is extraordinary supernatural strength and power in our salvation.
Consider the depth of what God is able to do through the salvation that He has provided through Christ. No strength of any spiritual issue is greater than His ability to save, deliver or heal. The strength of God’s salvation is greater than your deepest and darkest sin. The strength of God’s salvation is greater than drug addiction or immorality. The strength of God’s salvation is greater than any sickness, disease or attack against your body, mind or spirit. If you have experienced God’s extraordinary supernatural strength to save, you know that you have been saved from your enemies. Salvation is not weak; it has aggressive supernatural power to conquer whatever the adversary brings against you.
2 Samuel 22:3 NKJV The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.
Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people were looking for a Savior and Deliverer who could rescue them from all of their distresses.
Luke 1:68-69 NKJV “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David…”
Jesus Christ brought far more than physical deliverance from our enemies. He achieved supernatural extraordinary spiritual victory. He defeated sin, death, and darkness with divine authority. When Christ finished the work He came to do, His life, death, and resurrection provided not only eternal life but also daily victory for every believer. The horn of our salvation represents Christ’s aggressive power to break every stronghold and destroy the power of the enemy.
In Ezekiel 9:2-6, God sent six angelic warriors to carry His judgment upon the wickedness in Jerusalem.
Among those warriors is one who carried an inkhorn at his side. At God’s command that angel was sent to make a mark on all those who were righteous. An inkhorn was used in biblical times to hold ink. A scribe would have it by his side so that he would be ready to write. Throughout the history of God’s people, messages from God were written on scrolls and papers. Jeremiah the prophet sent a scroll with the word of the Lord to the king. After the scroll was read, the king cut the scroll with a scribe’s knife and threw it in the fire. Then God told Jeremiah to send another scroll to King Jehoiakim. When a king would send a message, he would have a scribe take the inkhorn and write on a scroll. After the message was written, the king would take his signet ring and touch the inkhorn and imprint his sign on the scroll. It certified that the words were from the king. We have a more certain word, for the Lord God Almighty has given us His infallible and certain Word. The strength of the Bible that you hold in your hand is in the Lord God Almighty Who certifies and stands behind it.
Isaiah 40:8 NKJV The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.
Matthew 24:35 NKJV Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. You can rely on the aggressive strength and power of the Word of God.
When God told Moses to build the brazen altar (Exodus 27:2) and the altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-10), he was told to put a horn on each corner.
Each of the four corners of the altars had a horn that was made of acacia wood.
The horns on the brazen altar were overlaid with bronze.
They represented the strength and power of their sacrifices. The strength of the brazen altar was the power of atonement. The brazen altar pointed toward the atoning work of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, the High priest would offer the burnt offerings on the brazen altar. The blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled and some of the blood was put on the horns of the altar. The strength of the sacrifice was in the power of the blood to cover the transgressions of the people. Under the new covenant, the blood of Christ possesses aggressive supernatural power to cover and bring us into Christ’s victory. The phrase “held to the horns of the altar’’ refers to the practice in Israel where individuals seeking asylum and protection would run to the altar and grasp the horns to escape punishment. Many people used to say, “we are holding to the horns of the altar.” That meant they were aggressively holding on in prayer and were not giving up regardless of how long it took.
God is calling us to aggressively embrace Him in prayer and faith.
When we put our trust in Him, He will renew our strength. In our prayer and worship, we recognize that the horn of our salvation is Jesus Christ. We run to the Lord to find the strength and help we need. He is our glory and our strength.
On the four corners of the altar of incense were horns of acacia wood that were covered with pure gold.
The altar of incense stood before the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat. It was a place where incense was burned every morning and evening. The burning of incense was an example of the necessity for continuous and persistent prayer and worship. Prayer, praise and worship possess aggressive supernatural power. You will be strengthened when you begin lifting your voice and heart to God in prayer and worship.
When Samuel came to anoint David, he took a horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.
When the anointing oil was poured upon David, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.
In Psalms 92:10 David said, “But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.”
David was saying God had strengthened him like a wild ox and he had been anointed with fresh oil. We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit in this place. Thank God that He is present in this house and is pouring His anointing upon us. You need the anointing of the Holy Spirit in your life.
It is the anointing with fresh oil that gives strength to your spirit, soul and body. When the Spirit came upon David, he was strengthened with aggressive supernatural power. The strength that you need comes through God’s word, prayer, and worship. God is calling us to be strengthened with His might in our inner man. God is looking for individuals who are so hungry for Him that they take hold of the horns of the altar and say, “I will not let go until you bless me!”
