Angel Armies

 July 21, 2021

Twice in Psalm 80 we hear the phrase “LORD God of hosts,” and twice, “God of hosts.” The psalm is framed by the former, while the latter occurs in the middle of this song remembering Israel’s golden age when they were on the ascendency, and lamenting the downward slide being experienced at the present. It’s always discouraging to remember the glory years, knowing what was, and the depths to which one has descended. I’ve heard many a person extol the innocence of the Fifties, the progress of civil rights in the sixties and seventies, the heady years of Western values when the Berlin Wall came down, only to shake their heads in despair at the collapse of Judeo-Christian values in our present post-Christian culture.

The Message version of the Bible is more of a paraphrase than a translation, but it gets this phrase right when it translates “God of hosts” as “God of the angel armies.” When it seems like we are surrounded by the forces of evil, when it feels like all hell is loosed against us, it is important to remember two things: Our God is the LORD, Yahweh, the Great I Am, the Creator and Master of all that is, both visible and invisible. When his city was surrounded by the enemy and his servant trembled in fear, Elisha prayed that God would open the servant’s eyes. God did so, and the servant saw the enemy surrounded by chariots of fire as Elisha reminded him that “there are more with us than with the enemy.” 

The second thing to remember is that the LORD has us surrounded by his angelic servants who do his bidding without hesitation. He sends them continually to guard his people. “When the enemy pours in like a flood,” the Scripture says, “the battle belongs to the LORD.” From a human perspective, our circumstances may seem hopeless, but if the grave cannot conquer our Lord Jesus, there is nothing that can ultimately defeat us. Instead of yearning for a nostalgic past, we would be better to look forward in hope to the ultimate victory that is ours because our God is the LORD God of angel armies.