My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 60:6 God has spoken in his holiness: “With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth. Psalm 60:7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. Psalm 60:8 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
After assuring his reader in the last portion of Psalm 60 that there is a place of refuge to run to; that God is a banner for those who seek Him, David then goes on to state God’s actions.
David was a big picture guy, having his eye on the future of God’s plan and did not let the current set back hold him back. This is a difficult lesson, for as we are pressing forward, we will always have setbacks, disappointments, discouragements, and delays. In our battles, we should not be surprised by difficult times entering our lives, even understanding that the Lord Himself is allowing these difficulties. During those times of difficulties, we must be big picture people, looking to the end game, the purpose for which He has brought us into the game.
The regions David refers to in our verses start in the northern portion of Israel, with each region zigzagging back and forth over the Jordan as the author moves his finger south down the map of Israel.
Each of these regions are described as God’s possessions. This fact that David reminds us of is instructive for it reminds us that we are not the owners, but only stewards, and that as the Owner, God will have his way of working His plan with those people in the regions He speaks of.
It is God’s land. Military setbacks are inevitable, but by remembering the land is the Lord’s and the big picture of God’s victory, David finds solace and relief to continue another day. Please understand – David’s current struggle is not being minimized, but in relation to the goal of God, David has found the perspective He needs.
Are you going through a valley, a difficult time, where it appears you have lost major gains in the Christian walk? Consider the big picture, and understand that God has an end purpose for our lives.
Love God and His Son, be patient, look to the big picture and hang on!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 60:4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah Psalm 60:5 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
David is recounting the goodness of God and it is instructive to recognize, that he was experiencing setbacks militarily. Not only military setbacks, but he calls out God in the earlier passage, stating God had been very harsh, making the land quake, tearing it open, making the nation stagger with what they had experienced. Let’s read the previous verses once more and consider what David was going through. Remember – he was claiming God was the One who brought about the following difficulties.
Psalm 60:2-3 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters. You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
David was definitely in a low point, a struggle that was not merely a military issue, but a God issue.
A difficult passage to understand, yet as David ponders the goodness of God, I sense he is speaking of a remnant that will look to God, that a banner has been set up for, for those who fear God and will flee to. Yes the nation (physical) has experienced great trial here, but in the midst of this trial, those who fear God recognize the banner set out in front of them, that they can appeal to, that they can flee to, and hide under the Shadow of the Almighty.
Will all seek out the banner of God? David does not answer this, yet in the midst of difficult time, even times brought about by the Father, He is still our cover, our refuge, our banner to gather about.
Let us remember that in no difficulty or trial, God is not there for us.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 60:1 To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us. Psalm 60:2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters. Psalm 60:3 You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
Many place this psalm in the early years of King David’s reign. 2 Samuel 8:1-8, 2 Samuel 10:1-19 and 1 Chronicles 18:11-13 describe many of the battles referred to in the first verse, and how David and his army conquered vast areas of geography and multiple kingdoms in the area.
And yet, this psalm speaks of rejection, of God’s anger with His people, of the lands quaking and the people seeing hard things. How can this be? Was not King David’s battles against the neighboring nations successful during his early days? Militarily, he dominated the region, expanding the kingdom to the boundaries never experienced by the nation before.
And yet we have this psalm, where it appears God is angry with the nation, that there are setbacks to the victory march. The first verse speaks of their defenses being broken. Defenses? David was on the march, acting offensively in battles. For his defenses to be broken, speaks of loss in battle, of a set back.
The people of God have been made to see hard things, they are staggering about, as if a drunken stupor. And in all this description, David is assigning blame to none else but God. Over and over again in this first three verses, David assigns the actions his military are experiencing to God.
For God is angry. The reason for His anger is not clear but David is in trouble and is begging for restoration.
We sometimes succumb to the thought that the fight of faith is a walk in the park. That we go from victory to victory, with nary a scratch being suffered.
This Psalm reminds us that though the arc of the believers life is of victory, and we may be assured that the church wins in the end, during our pilgrimage, we must be prepared for setbacks, disappointments and losses. There will be times of intense battles, where we not only do not gain ground, but actually are set back on our heels, losing ground, becoming disillusioned, disappointed, and discouraged.
These are times of vulnerability, where we need to be prepared, steeled against the emotional blast of failure. Fellowship with faithful brothers is a strength that we have been provided and we need to take advantage of, not only for ourselves, but to provide to those we know and love.
Yet, there are times when we are alone with God, when it is a battle with Him, seeking to find His will, His desire and to bend the knee to His direction. This time of isolated struggle with God, even as pictured by Jacob in his wrestling with God, brings us out of it, possibly crippled but stronger.
Are you experiencing a wrestling match with God? A time of apparent defeat in your relation with the Master? Does it seem God is angry and you are confused with the reaction of God to your decisions and life choices?
The only thing I can suggest is that you do not let go. Do not walk away from the One who is challenging you, pruning you, wrestling with you. He is expanding your relationship with Him, extending your impact and preparing you for bigger battles. Ensure your approach to Him is without any known sin in your life (You know if there is sin going on!) and keep chasing in the midst of confusion
He truly is good, and if there is some doubt, hang on, until the clouds disperse!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 59
14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. 15 They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill. 16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. 17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
As we come to a close on this amazing psalm of David, of how this shepherd boy turned fugitive turned to the living God for deliverance, protection and redemption in the face of a murderous, bloodthirsty king, one truth rings out in my mind.
David returns to recounting the activities of those who are hunting him down, describing them as dogs, howling and prowling, growling to get their fill of violence. The continual return of these assassins every night proves of their determination. Of their hunger to kill.
They are growling, making the noise of a starving, ravenous dog, controlled by their base appetites.
David sings. The one in persecution sings. The one who is on the brink of torture or to be laid in a grave, he sings. Even as he is in the midst of this persecution, notice that David speaks of the Lord as having been a fortress for him, is a present day refuge for him. He speaks of the Lords steadfast love being shown to him.
Remember the state of affairs he is in. The assassins are still out there howling and growling – David is presently experiencing the steadfast love of God.
Praise God from whom all mercies flow! He is good and He is good all the time!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 59
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield! 12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter, 13 consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah
David is on the brink of death, with one foot tottering over the grave. He has assassins pursuing him, lurking about, working with spies throughout the nation, hunting him down and seeking his death.
And yet David speaks of his enemies mouth, their lips, and their pride. This fact, at face value confused me, for I would have thought David would bring to God the actions these bloodthirsty men were in the midst of doing against him. Yet reference to their speech is scattered throughout the passage.
Consider
vs 3 fierce men stir up strife against me.
vs 5 those who treacherously plot evil
vs 7 bellowing with their mouths
vs 7 with swords in their lips
vs 7 “Who,” they think,“will hear us?” .. speak out plans of destruction
David is looking for God’s recompence upon those who speak evil towards him. This recompense comes in two forms for David.
The first is that those planning and speaking of his destruction are to be scattered. He is looking to God for their plans to come to nought. The first request is that they not be killed, but to be scattered. The evil plans are to be frustrated and those planning his destruction to wander away from this focus of their existence
The second recompense is for those planning David’s death to be consumed. When I see the word consumed, I automatically think of something used up, to be spent, eaten up. To consume in my culture is to use a finite product to its useful end, with it being of no use (or of no existence) upon consumption.
Is that David’s thought here? Somewhat, but what I understand is that this term in the Hebrew (כָּלָה kâlâh, kaw-law Strongs H3615), speaks also of completion, finishing or accomplishment.
So when David is looking for God to consume them in wrath, what is the message? Is David hinting at the idea that God has placed these men in David’s life on purpose, as training material for the future king, and that God will bring about a completion of the work these bloodthirsty men are allowed to perform, in order to train David?
Is that the message?
If so, this speaks of David’s understanding of God as much more than a singular relationship with himself, but that God is also One who orchestrates the entire creation to perform His good will.
No matter how you understand verse 13, it is difficult. If I have captured in a small way the actual understanding David had, it speaks of David’s faith in a greater way than simply seeking protection and deliverance from God in his present circumstances. David is expressing an understanding of a New Testament believer, with a revelation that few Old Testament saints were privy to.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 59
8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision. 9 O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress. 10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
David, in our last post, spoke of his enemies, those bloodthirsty dogs prowling and howling, speak great swelling words of destruction on the shepherd boy. Everything was mounted up against David, and all appearance of deliverance evaporating in front of his very eyes.
His physical eyes that is. He saw the state of things, his situation. He didn’t minimize the problem. He described it without hesitation and laid it all out in front of the Lord.
When we are in a stressful situation, even a dangerous situation, we mimic David well most times. We speak to God about all the troubles we have, the danger that may (or may not) be out there. All the negative aspects in our life comes out of our heart and into the airspace.
Yet David did not stop there, and neither should we. He recalled who God is, for David claimed God as his..
Strength
David claimed God as his strength, his power , his might. As a young man with the government after him, he must have surely felt helpless. No hope of escape or of a path to freedom and security. David looked to God for his strength.
As an aside, it is very interesting that at the coronation of David, another Psalm was written, with a phrase that is reminiscent of David’s thoughts in Psalm 59.
Psalm 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
David’s experience in Ps 59 may have led to the fantastic passage describing the kings of the earth and the rulers being against the True King. He speaks of the Lord as laughing in the heavens, as both those of the nations and of Israel fight against the Anointed. He reveals to us that this effort to stop the Anointed from His mission must be mock worthy in God’s eyes. How foolish it must seem for anyone to fight against God!
David looked to His strength and realized God was not wringing His hands with fret and worry. His strength was simply shaking His head and laughing! Amazing
Fortress
David claimed God as his fortress. David returns to the concept of elevation or height here, for the term fortress speaks not only of a refuge, but of a high place, a high fort. We visited this concept earlier when David spoke of his enemies rising up against him in verse 1, and David looked to God to protect him, or to lift him up over the reach of his enemies.
For our God to be our fortress in the way David is thinking, is to be beyond the reach of our enemies. Danger may be present and visible, but if we are looking to God for protection, we are looking for His ability to keep us out of the reach of our enemies influence and capture.
This begs the question regarding how believers experience suffering and persecution. Yet we need to recall that the protection God provided His Son was deliverance out of death, not from it. This refocus of deliverance is what gives the believer the ability to endure, for the protection God provides may include physical, emotional or mental suffering. This does not negate the protection God provides, and if we see this as a lack on God’s part, we need to refocus our faith.
He is the protector and our fortress!
God
David finally claims the God of Israel as his God. He is not one of many, but the only one in front of God now, and has the attention of the King of the universe. This, if it were not so common in David’s life and throughout the New Testament, should shock us. That the eternal God of creation, the One who is over all things, may be considered to be My God.
Beyond this astounding fact, David claims that his God has a steadfast love for him. How audacious! How presumptive! Who do you think you are David?
But this is not the point! It has nothing to do with who David is, but who our God is. This speaks of the nature and character of the Creator / Redeemer.
His nature is to love. To express steadfast love. His love is not the type that considers if the recipient is worthy of His love. Does He count all the good as opposed to the bad of the recipient, and then judges whether He will shed His love on him? This isn’t the God of the Bible. When we were without strength, even as enemies, He died for the ungodly.
David is getting his eyes off himself and back on who his God is.
One last item to consider in this passage.
David speaks of meeting with God in a previous passage, and now recalls this time he needed for a huddle, for a review. He speaks of God, out a steadfast love, meeting with him, to review the conditions he is experiencing and to see the state of affairs he is in. How this worked out with David is unknown, but we can confidently say that He has come down, He has met with us, He has experienced our condition on earth and He has lived through it!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 59
6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. 7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips– for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
David’s enemies, those bloodthirsty men, came back each evening, diligently searching for their victim, howling like dogs! Howling as a frustrated hunter, these men of blood are reduced to the actions of a mere animal, growling and howling to gain some advantage. They are seeking an advantage to find their victim, hunting throughout the city, disturbing others and bellowing with thier mouths.
For these men to “bellow” is descriptive, for it includes the image of belching, of vomiting up a sickness that is internal to each of these hunters.
Is it not true that a man’s speech reveals his heart? That which is in a man comes out in his speech. For these men, to vomit out a message reveals their heart. How true the words of the Master when He taught such a hard truth!
Mark 7:21 -23
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
And what was the message these hunters spoke?
“Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
Their speech further confirms the state of their heart, for they are claiming that no one will hear them in their efforts to chase down and kill the innocent shepherd boy. Their question (out of their heart) is revealing that in their opinion their is no God, that there is no one that could hear them making their plans of death, that though they speak with daggers in their lips (murderous words!) they are safe from any repercussions.
As we consider this, let us remember that those with murder in their hearts did not only exist in the time of David.
Again I refer my gentle reader to the Lord’s message above, speaking of the source of murder, and that it is a heart issue.
from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder
In Matthew 5, He provides us the truth of how anger is equivalent to murder, how we all have this tendency resident within us.
Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
My friends, consider this sobering truth, that our hearts, though redeemed, continues to have a darkness that needs to be resisted through the power of the Spirit of God.
And we must remember, those outside of the Body of Christ need rescuing from this horrible existence. May the Lord guide us to meet with those who are in need of the gospel today.
Though they may speak murder, we are to speak peace.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 59
3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD, 4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Awake, come to meet me, and see! 5 You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
David continues in our passage speaking of his enemies as lying in wait for his life. These enemies have been previously described as bloodthirsty, and in following verses as fierce, even as dogs. They are on the hunt for a victim, but not just any victim. They aren’t seeking blood of just any victim. They have their eye on the future King of Israel. They are looking for innocent blood, blood that has no cause of death in it, but that he is the future king.
David is speaking relatively, for he is not claiming sinless perfection in front of God, but that in relation to the current king of Israel, he has brought no reason for this persecution. He has committed no sin against the current king. He has no way to remedy this situation, for the entire cause of this persecution is sourced out of a man of jealousy, an insecure man who has walked away from God. David has no opportunity of resolving this conflict since Saul will not seek peace.
Saul wants David’s blood. And David wants God to come see.
Now of course God sees the situation. He clearly sees the situation, from every conceivable vantage point and in every possible way. But David is asking for a conference, a time to get together for a “huddle”, a time of communication and review. David needs to get his head straightened out, to hear of the situation from God, to know of God’s accompaniment with him in this endurance run.
David even goes so far as implying that God is asleep and that He needs to rouse Himself. What audacity of the man to speak to God in such a way.
And yet when trials come our way, do we not question God’s attention. It is so common for us to claim that God is missing, that He is somewhere else, or that He is not paying attention to our experience. We may offer up formal prayers acknowledging His presence, but sometimes couched within those prayers are hints that we have our doubts, even though the promise of His being with us in scattered throughout the written Word.
David made his concerns crystal clear. You are my God, and I need you. I need Your attention in this matter. Come to deliver me oh my God. Deliverance was provided, for David received God’s protection from death in multiple instances and in various ways. Over an extended period of time. Yet David was entering a time of persecution and of being on the run, all the while under God’s protection.
Sometimes the protection provided does not look as we may have wanted, but God is faithful.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 59
1 To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; 2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.
The psalms of David’s heart are sometimes not associated with a specific time in his life. Not so with this psalm. This is specifically the time when the assassination plot was initiated against the shepherd boy by the King of Israel. Let us consider the passage that describes the condition David is in when He pens this psalm.
1 Samuel 19:11-12
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.
David is on the run! This is unbelievable in David’s mind, totally unexpected, for as he speaks with Saul’s son Jonathon after this, he reveals his confusion.
1 Samuel 20:1
Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
Psalm 59 is David’s heart after this shocking development in his life. From becoming a national hero, and the future king of Israel, David plummets to a fugitive, on the run from his own people, expecting a spear through the heart or a sword falling on his neck. He is a dead man.
Except for one hope! His God.
Twice he looks to God, to his God for deliverance, once for defending and finally for salvation. Each of these verbs are telling!
Deliver
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God… (v1)
deliver me from those who work evil (v2)
David’s request for deliverance from his enemies (those who work evil) may be understood as David requesting God to snatch him away from the situation, or to take him away from the danger. His request has the sense of being without any self assistance, as one who is without any resource to perform the escape. David is helpless in this request, and he looks to God for his deliverance.
Protect
Protect me from those who rise up against me (v1)
To “protect” in this verse is a surprising concept for a 21st century believer, for it speaks of the one being protected as being set on high, to be in accessible, to be too high for capture.
Notice Davis is asking to be lifted up (protected) against those who are rising up against him. They are seeking to find advantage in their position over David, and yet David seeks God to being him to a higher point, a position of being unreachable, beyond their grasp
Save
save me from bloodthirsty men. (v2)
David cuts to the chase in this verse, for he speaks of those men who are against him as bloodthirsty. His enemies are rising up against him and working evil, are doing so from a blood lust, a desire to kill.
David clearly understands the situation. He is looking to God, his God for deliverance, to cheat these bloodthirsty men from any success. And we know that God, his God came to his rescue. David eventually became king. Eventually! You see, David may have been as young as 19 on the night Saul’s men came to get him. Eleven years later, he ascended to the throne. Over a decade of protection through numerous close calls, near misses and terror inducing events.
God’s protection and deliverance in David’s life was in the midst of many trials.
It may be good to remember this as we enter into trials and struggles in our own walk with the Master.
God protects and we trust. And we are called to continue to trust, in the midst of the trials, the close calls and the terror inducing events, for God is good, and He is good all the time!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
David has described his persecutors in last weeks passage, and by extension has described our heart and potential actions also. Out of this treasonous and evil choice of life, David begs God for true justice, for justice that can be provided from the only true Judge.
Psalm 58
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
Throughout this psalm we have seen David battle with his frustration, with injustice, with crying out to God for action. Let’s remember David’s situation. He has been recently declared by God and His prophet Samuel, in the presence of his family, to be the next King of Israel. He has saved the nation from extreme embarrassment by defeating the giant Goliath. He has served both father and King with multiple tasks. And now he is on the run, being chased by the King and ignored by his family.
I get the message of verse 10, and the joy of seeing vengeance on an enemy. I really do! There have been times in my life when we have been treated poorly and unjustly, and eventually the Lord brings about a turnaround in the situation, with the persecutor becoming a victim. I found joy in the rescue of the Lord, and to be blunt enjoyed seeing the one suffer.
For some reason, I am finding that even though justice is deserved, and may be meted out, that in those circumstances when I see a fairness exacted I experience less joy, less happiness, less satisfaction. Don’t get me wrong – to have the Lord rescue me or my loved ones is an exhilarating experience, but if it entails a required discipline on another, even an enemy, my relative joy is diminished.
To see my enemy suffer is not a joy. I am not sure where David’s head was when he wrote this, especially referring to bathing his feet in the blood of the wicked. It may have some oriental implication I don’t understand, or he may be simply expressing the natural response of a man under tremendous pressure.
It is beyond me, and may reveal my immaturity in the Lord.
But lets stand back and consider these last two verses, that the joy may not necessarily be in the bloody foot bath, but in the fact that there is a God who judges the earth. There is a judge who will defend the helpless, and put right those actions that are evil.
And yet there is a higher thought that nags at me.
Is it not the same Judge of all the earth that was judged, condemned, tortured, mocked, ridiculed, and crucified by those who are the wicked, unjust and cruel of the land.
And yet He asked for their forgiveness.
Yes He is the Greater David, the One who pulls all of us to higher ground, who reveals the merciful heart of the Father, who provides forgiveness to us who should identify with Saul more than David.
We are truly a blessed people to have the Greater David as our Guide, Leader, Savior and Teacher.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
David has described his persecutors in last weeks passage, and by extension has described our heart and potential actions also. Out of this treasonous and evil choice of life, David begs God for true justice, for justice that can be provided from the only true Judge.
Psalm 58
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. 9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
In our last post, David described the wicked one, the one who refuses correction, the one who is fully loaded with venom, ready to attack, the one who seeks their own desires above all else.
David turns a corner with this portion, for he is now seeking justice on those who are persecuting him. He is asking the Lord for retribution on the wicked for the suffering he has experienced due to their wicked plans against him. Can you feel the frustration he is experiencing. He faithfully served the King, saved the nation from the Philistines in slaying Goliath, ministered to Saul in his sickness, and is now on the run for his life.
Persecuted, not due to anything he has done, other than the Lord choosing him for the throne of Israel. David’s heart for God, and God’s response in anointing him for the throne of Israel brought about his life of being on the run, of being but a step from the grave.
Can you feel his frustration? What is going on? Surely being chosen by God will only bring blessing and honor into David’s life. Surely there is something wrong with this picture! Surely God is not acting correctly, not providing the justice needed, and David begins to describe to God the ways these men are to be treated. David is looking for his God to deliver him, to execute justice upon those who are unjustly smearing his name, chasing him down and ruining his life.
In these verses, David writes numerous descriptions of how God should judge the wicked, all of which lead to their destruction. Note that David is pleading with God, but David’s actions reflect his faith in God, his belief that God truly is the Judge of all the earth, and that even the timing of justice is in God’s hands.
I can’t help but think of a time I chatted with my best friend and she spoke of her desire to lash out at her boss over an injustice. There was no doubt about the injustice, and yet she had not said anything, nor taken any hasty actions. This situation, though a microcosm of David’s experience, has some parallels. And thankfully, as she is wont to do, just needed to express her feelings, share how she felt, and then reconsidered how Jesus would respond. (She took donuts to work with her to be a blessing!)
As we face injustice, it is good for us to be honest with the Lord in our prayers. Trying to come to God with a “face on” will help no one, and God is not deceived. David fully expressed his desires for these wicked men, yet would not hurt the Lord’s anointed.
David expressed his anger and frustration with God, yet was under God’s control in his day to day life. He was under persecution for doing right, for being right, and yet no retaliation, no seeking of revenge against Saul.
Consider the Greater David. Consider His actions toward those who unjustly mocked Him, ridiculed Him, defamed Him, beat him, whipped Him and crucified Him. Did He seek justice, or ask the Father to forgive them?
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
David provided the core, foundational problem of mankind in last weeks post, of the heart of the ruler, and the violence that flows from the rulers heart through his hands and to the victims.
In todays post, David will continue to describe wicked man, those men who sought him out, chased him with the intention of death, those who hated him without cause. He is also describing those amongst whom we live, those who have gained breath from birth, those we love and cherish, even ourselves – if we are honest with ourselves.
Although uncomfortable, let us read the following passage.
Psalm 58
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
If we are honest with ourselves.
It is a difficult message, when I see my little grandchildren cooing and gurgling, to believe that within those cute little ones, their lies a heart that is bent to selfishness.
It is hard to admit that each of us, as we gain breath, have a desire to satisfy own own heart and none else. Though David’s description is speaking of those who were in full bloom of their sin, they began with a self centered spirit. These enemies of David had potential to either follow after or fight against their estrangement, their isolation from others, and especially from God the Father. These particular men followed after their estrangement. We all do. It is natural. It is normal. It is inevitable.
If we are honest with ourselves.
The wicked come fully weaponized. The wicked have venom. They do not need to gain a source of venom, but come fully equipped with poisonous intent.
Story time
As I was walking though my office yesterday, a peer had his radio on, volume low, and barely discernible, but I caught a phrase in a song that we repeat to ourselves constantly.
I believe people are good. I believe I am good.
Even as I heard that, I felt good. I enjoyed that message. I thought highly of myself. I have done some good things in life, therefore I am good, right?
My friends, I am not trying to say every human is as evil as Hitler in their actions, but we all are capable of great self deception, and easily able to justify evil acts, all the while thinking we are good.
If we are honest with ourselves.
Note that the wicked do not hear the voice of the charmers, or the enchanter. They refuse any counsel or direction. They stop their ears, intentionally refusing to hear of any alternate message, of any correction or rebuke.
At this point, David’s description of mankind is desperate. A fully weaponized individual that refuses any direction, being directed only by a heart that seeks it’s own desire
Let’s be honest with ourselves my friend. If we have ever veered from the perfection of God, (and we all have), we belong to the group David is describing here. Venomous individuals seeking their own. Individuals with a heart that spews out violence.
Is there no hope? Surely we are without any ability to correct our ways, for our only influence is the heart we were born with, that we are controlled by, that devise our plans and direct our actions. No wonder Paul cried out…
Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Let us remember that the main issue in this Psalm is the search for the true Judge of all the earth. David is describing a judge (or ruler) vying for control over our lives. In his description of those against him, he condemns us all, for his description is the description of my own heart.
But am I being to harsh, too judgmental, to negative? Jesus himself sealed this truth when He described the heart of man in Matthew 15:18-19
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
We have a heart that seeks it’s own. The true Judge is One who has the heart we think we have, that is, a heart that is the very definition of right, that has been pieced for us, that has drawn us to Him.
Seek Him. Listen to Him. Do not stop your ears from His counsel. Seek His heart, for His heart is a heart of mercy, forgiveness, love, patience, kindness wisdom.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
This psalm is a psalm answering the question “Who is the rightful Judge/Ruler of all the earth?” and the complaint concerning the unjust ruler comes from a prophet named David.
A generally accepted background to this psalm is rooted in the early days of David’s relationship with Saul, when Saul became mad (crazy), and sought out David’s life. It seems Saul gathered those of his inner circle and codified his intentions to seek and destroy David, a young man who had only served Saul in his court.
In the loss of his kingdom, Saul must have heard of David’s anointing, for he had eyes throughout the land. Given notice that he was destined to fall from power, Saul sought to frustrate the plan of God, and persecute the one who was rightfully the king.
During this persecution David wrote this psalm, and some think it may have been in the very cave of Adullum, where David was a hair breadth from being caught and hauled off.
David’s poetry is harsh in this passage, and as we live in a time of unjust rulers, there may be some out there who can relate to David’s frustration, anger and eventual release of joy.
But first, let us read David’s initial complaint.
Psalm 58
1 To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David. Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? 2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.
Immediately, David describes the heart of the rulers, and their unjust ruling over men. His frustration over the corruption within the ruling class is brimming over. Some may think David is referring to spiritual powers when he mentions “gods”, but this passage is addressing the culpability of the men in leadership, making decisions.
His complaint rests in the fact that though the ruler has been granted power to exercise influence over his people, this power can be abused. This abuse is dependent on the nature of the ruler, his heart condition, his desire for either his own good or the good of the people. This difference can be justified easily if the heart of the ruler is not leaning on God constantly. David, as the one who is the target of a ruler who is not leaning on God, sees the extent to which a man without God can fall.
Does the ruler indeed decree what is right?
Indeed. The sarcasm is heavy, for in David’s very question the answer rests, for the very definition of right is being defined by the ruler.
Yes – the very definition of right is defined by the ruler. David understands the motivation of the ruler (his heart’s desire) will define the actions being classified as “right” by the ruler in power. A ruler with evil intent can justify gross sin as a righteous act.
David cuts to the heart of the problem by exposing the intention of the ruler chasing him. Verse 2 describes the source of this corruption.
In your hearts you devise wrongs.
The king has a goal, something born in his desires, and in his heart, he devises actions to bring to fruit his desires. Never mind that some (if not all) of the actions are selfish, sinful and destructive. It can easily be justified by the dark heart, claiming whatever actions he takes, it is for the greater good!
The ruler’s decisions that impact his people are highly dependent on the condition of his heart. Out of the self centered desires of his heart, evil actions flow while he smiles at his people, telling them of his good intentions, of his saving efforts for the future. Some difficult times may come, but it is for a glorious time ahead.
Difficult times do come from a ruler whose heart devises wrong, for out of this heart, David correctly describes the outcome.
Violence on the earth.
The Hebrew term for violence speaks of injustice, of both ethical and physical wrongdoing, of unrighteous gain, cruelty. The term is châmâç, transliterated as ḥāmās.
Saul wanted David out of the picture and he had the authority to put into action his desires and devices. He was granted authority and abused it. Of course we know the mercy and goodness of God in the outcome, but in the meantime, David is experiencing the blunt force power of an evil heart in a jealous ruler.
Violence is what flows from an evil heart, and we must consider it for our own lives, for we all influence others, and though our authority may be small, the heart is still the issue.
We must be those who seek the heart of God, for out of His heart true righteousness flows. His heart is the very definition of “right” for it cannot be otherwise. Anyone who devices “right” apart from God, is fooling himself and will cause violence in their circle of influence.
As a judge/ruler, we shall see that Saul fails miserably, along with all those who sought to follow his plans. The power granted to him was abused, and God through His mysterious will, allowed it for a period, for training of a man of God, and for our instruction.
We also have rulers with evil intent. Let us not forget David’s actions when faced with unjust persecution. If persecution comes, remember the heart of God, the One whose heart was pierced so that we may be forgiven of our evil desires, actions and violence.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 57:6-10
6 They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
Verse 6 is speaking of a pit being dug for David. Yet the pit has no knowledge for which it was created. The pit is senseless, with no motivation to acquire a victim. It is all in the heart of the one who created the pit. Any we know that there is One who is over all hearts.
So a pit was made for David. David was delivered from the pit. The pit makers fell into the pit.
This is a common refrain in the Word.
Think of Mordecai, in the book of Esther. Haman set a trap for Mordecai, but at the last moment, the tables turn and he dies a horrible death. A horrible death!
How bout Joseph’s brothers. Though he did fall into a trap, that is he was sold by his own brothers, it began a process to bring him to dizzying heights of power, where his brothers would be humbled.
And of course the Christ. What a trap for Him, and He willingly, knowingly and with full understanding walked into it. Nevertheless, those who set the trap suffered an incredible defeat three days later when He arose, and when the disciples 7 weeks later erupted from out of nowhere, there doom was sealed. Unless of course they wanted out of the pit. Forgiveness was available. Some of them reached out to the One they crucified.
Out of their mouths, their refrain must have mimicked David, when he writes
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heaven
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 57:4-5 4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts– the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
David enters into a description of his enemies, possibly reflective of his condition in a cave, where he is likely in the company of various wild life. The pictures of his present condition are three-fold.
Lions
David’s first description of his pursuers is that of lions, and not that they are simply pursuing, but that he is in the midst of them. His soul is in the midst of them, his very life is surrounded by these “lions”.
I can’t help but think of a preacher by the name of Peter, who described our lives as somewhat similar, in that we have one likened to a lion seeking us out.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But as David did centuries ago, let us remember that God is a rescuing God, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is our Savior.
The lions are real threats to our safety, but the Lion we have come to know is able to rescue. He is able!
Fiery Beasts
David speaks of lying down amongst the fiery beasts. ”Fiery beasts” is a difficult term for me to understand – What was David trying to say to the Lord? The term generally speaks of a burning, or a scorching. Destruction resulted from these beasts. Their intent was to destroy, not to consume. It was enough to simply kill for the sake of killing.
And David speaks of lying down in the midst of this destruction. I can’t believe he was implying the beasts were overwhelming him and that he was simply giving up, lying down to accept the inevitable. No – David had a purpose, and this purpose God had for him enabled him to figuratively lie down in the midst of this danger.
I can’ t help but believe that this is much like Peter’s experience of lying down with the soldiers prior to his death in Acts 12:7?
Acts 12:7
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.
Peter was on his way to the sword, just as James had suffered. And Peter was asleep!
Children of Men
David finishes his description of those chasing him with those who would assassinate his character, spread lies about his actions, defame his life and seek to destroy his future. Their teeth and tongues are weapons, and David’s reputation, especially in a honor based society such as Old Testament Israel, was the most sensitive area of his life. Death may come to David, but for his memory to be destroyed would be the deepest cut.
Not only would his enemies lie to find him, and use threats to get information about his whereabouts, the deepest impact for David may be the loss of any honor his name would suffer in the nation.
Israel was an honor based society, and the greatest damage a man experienced was to be of a damaged character, a vile man, one who was not regarded by his “neighbor”. The loss of reputation, and the implication of shame on his life was a blot that he could not remove if it stuck in the general populace.
As Jesus entered into this same social environment, we find that His reputation as a “good teacher” was stripped from Him, and He hung on a cross, taking the shame and insults flung on Him from those with tongues as sharp swords. They knew they had to defame Him to kill Him, and the enemies of God struck swiftly to accomplish their goal.
His reputation was destroyed as He hung on the cross, shame clinging to Him, hanging with crooks and rebels, taking the place of a murderer.
But we know Jesus didn’t stay on the cross, nor did He stay in the grave. He has risen and His reputation, for those who seek the truth, has not only been restored, but elevated to a point where no man can compare or defame again.
He is not the “good teacher” we thought He was, but God has revealed Him as Lord and King.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 57:1-3
1 To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
This psalm is in the same general history of David’s life as our previous one, though instead describing his appearance before king Achish of Philistia and acting insane to escape being held by the Philistines, he is speaking of his flight from Saul being hot on his trail.
As the psalm begins, we find him in a cave, hiding from Saul. The future king of Israel had nothing to lay his head upon, no comforts or bounty. He was in survival mode, and I imagine the conditions were as rough as they will ever be for this man of God, running from the earthly powers chasing him.
As his first cry out to God, he is seeking mercy from the Lord. He has not abandoned the promise of God, in that he knows this “storm of destruction” will pass. He is actively requesting mercy, and yet he is resting in the promise God has provided.
This is amazing, for as a young believer, I often looked down on those who struggled with life conditions, and yet they claimed to know the Lord of glory. I confess my silliness as a youth, for I have come to realize that this condition, that is of having the peace of God in combination with a heart requesting mercy, is not an uncommon state for the believer.
As a matter of fact, it is the heart of living a life of faith.
When difficulties, even persecutions are upon you, crushing you, it is the heart of the believer to reach out to our Father, asking Him for protection, relief, direction, wisdom, – any type of mercy that He may provide.
For David, he is looking for refuge in the Lord, and as we have considered this topic in an earlier post (Psalms for Psome – Ps 43.01), his desire to take refuge reinforces the reality of this ever present danger in his life.
He finds true refuge in the Lord, and not in the cave, or in his ability (so far) to escape from his enemies. His refuge is in the One he cannot see, but that he knows.
He knows God has a purpose for him and the nation of Israel. He knows that eventually God will send from heaven the salvation he so desperately needs, for this condition cannot remain if his purpose is to be fulfilled.
David again refers to his enemies trampling on him, and as we saw in our last Psalm, this term speaks of his enemies panting in the chase, expending all their energy in the chase. The enemies were real and determined to get David, to put him to rest, to get him out of the equation. David must die!
Two wills are being described in these verses, that of God’s will and man’s will. God’s will is to rescue David, but man has determined to kill him.
Thankfully, David was rescued, delivered to reign as the second king of Israel, becoming one of the greatest men in the Old Testament and expanding the kingdom to it’s largest borders! He had a destiny and God brought him through the storm.
His Son, the greater David, experienced the same conflict, that of rescue or death. He entered into death without the rescue David experienced. To all appearances, man’s will succeeded in getting Him out of the way.
How must Jesus have had such greater faith in going through death to get His and our deliverance?
David finishes this short passage with the phrase
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
How can we not see that God has sent out His steadfast love and faithfulness for us?
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 56:12-13
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
Our final two verses in this psalm provides David’s summary of Gods rescue from the danger he is in. The first phrase, speaking of his vows to God is an obligation to God on David’s part. It is a requirement to perform his vows that he has spoke to the Lord.
Vows are a very stigmatized, old fashioned concept in our modern world, and for that we are the worse off. To be one who keeps vows is a rarity in our culture, even to the point that vow breakers are heralded as brave and daring, heralded by other oath-breakers as being hero’s! Does anyone out there hear Romans 1:32 ringing in their ears?
Romans 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
To be cheered on by oath-breakers should alarm us!
Although the vow David mentions is surely related to His commitment to provide a thank offering to the Creator, the application for the modern Christian is easy to provide. What vows are you keeping? The most common vow that Christians struggle with is the marriage vow.
A quick story time to depict this condition.
When we first moved to Texas, we landed in a small town in the panhandle, east of Amarillo. It seemed everyone went to church in that town, and two of my boys were in high school at the time. One afternoon, one of my boys came home and began to question if we as a couple would remain married. This came out of left field for my wife and we later found out that our son was the only student in his class that had not suffered through a divorce within the family unit.
This is incredible, and shocked us, since it seemed to be an acceptable way of life in that little town to break vows. Now I realize that it takes two to tango, and the culture feeds on division of relationships, but every family was broken! So sad! Surely we are a broken people in such a terrible need of the healing of our Savior!
When I consider vows, David has written on the topic back in Psalm 15, where he describes a vow in verse 4
Psalm 15:4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
It is easy to swear to something that is pleasurable. That is the definition of hedonism. I will only do that which pleases me. I am committed to that which I enjoy. What type of person does this create? One that cannot be trusted, that can not maintain a relationship, either human or divine, and one that ultimately destroys his own soul.
My friends. If things are stressed between you and your spouse, start to fix offences in the relationship, ask for forgiveness for wrongdoings, (perceived or actual) and communicate your heart to your partner. Open your heart and mind to them, be willing to suffer accusations and reproaches that need to be voiced.
Romans 15:3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Keep your vows, even when it hurts and the struggle is real. Find ways to communicate with those who need it most. Trust God and love those who you are committed to!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 56:8-11
8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
David speaks of the personal record the Lord is maintaining of his king, though he is but a wreckless fugitive from the current monarch.
The term “tossings” is interesting in that it may also be rendered as wanderings. This seems to fit the situation David is in, for at this point in his escape from Saul, I am not convinced he has a plan, a strategy of getting the upper hand. David is in reaction mode and the Lord is keeping track, noting the history David is making, recording his actions and paths.
Not only is the Lord recording the way David is taking in flight from Saul, but also the emotional burden he is experiencing. David was not a man that shied away from his emotions, for he spoke of his tears numerous times in the Psalms. David speaks of the Lord keeping his tears in a bottle, and recording both his physical and emotional journey in “your book”.
Surely to mention a book is a poetic description of God’s memory. A book, when referring to God’s record of our actions or attitudes, or of our destinies, is not for God’s benefit but for ours. We are the ones with weak memories and incapacity to store knowledge. A book is simply a crutch for us. God needs no such thing, but when David brings this word picture to our mind, we should think of it as the record God has at the time of writing.
A quick question for my reader. Does God blot souls out of His book? Consider Exodus 32:33.
Exodus 32:33 But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
My apologies for veering from the Psalm we are considering, but the question is puzzling.
No matter, for this Psalm admonishes us to trust in God, in fear and in praise, for what can man do unto us? As a matter of fact, Paul took this concept and expanded it to anyone (including spirit beings) as being impotent against us in our victory in Christ.
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Romans 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 56:5-7
5 All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. 7 For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
Let’s remember where we find David in this psalm. He has been on the run from the king of Israel, lied to a man of God to get food, and then pretended he was crazy in front of his nations enemy. Not a good time for David! As I mentioned, for I can identify with him, that I believe he is in flight mode, running away from his problems, much like Jonah, (and myself).
The reason for being in flight? Is it because he has forgotten God and His promises? I think not, for it is a refrain within this psalm that He trusts God.
The reason He is in flight mode is because of his enemies constant and continual intent to destroy him, not just physically, but to destroy his cause, his purpose. He has the promise of God on his life and the enemies don’t like it one little bit. Both God and his enemies claim to be faithful to their plans for David, and David is in the middle, sometimes listening to the wrong side a bit too much. He speaks of their thoughts being against him, and of their stirring up strife, twisting his words, causing confusion.
He is, at this point in his life a man on the run, with his thoughts colliding with each other in his mind, thoughts of the enemies plans and how to avoid falling into a trap. Thoughts of how God will rescue him. Thoughts of why God hasn’t rescued him yet! Thoughts of when the enemies may catch him.
David gets to the point! Will the enemies of God escape justice?
Isn’t this a question that is shouting out for an answer even today? So many enemies rising up against God and His anointed, twisting and tearing at the social fabric of our nations. Not only are God’s enemies seeking the degradation of the social order, but note that the religious and spiritual desires of modern man continues to plummet to new lows.
Will those nameless enemies, those who are seeking our destruction, escape justice? How long O Lord before your wrath falls upon them?
My prayer is that they do escape justice, that they do escape the wrath of God, for the Messiah has paid for those who have evil thoughts, for those who stir up strife and for those who lurk about, seeking to hurt, steal and kill others. He has paid for my evil thoughts, intents and actions!
He is a forgiving God, full of grace and mercy. To follow Him may result in our seeking to help our very own enemies escape justice!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 56:1-4
1 To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; 2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
Considering the background to this psalm in our last post, we saw that David was in flight mode, slipping into greater and greater deceit, first with his own people (the priest’s of Nob) and now with those who were his enemy. Let us remember that David is the one who killed the Philistine giant Goliath, and as he enters the city of Gath to seek asylum, he is in possession of Goliath’s sword. Surely he did not bring it in front of Achish, reminding him of his previous victory over the Philistines.
Nevertheless, as he writes, he is reaching out to God for grace.
He speaks of “man” oppressing him, trampling on him all day long. The term trampling does not only carry the meaning of a crushing, of a beating down, or a stepping on, but also of a “panting after”. This picture is of his enemies chasing after him, panting out their breath, seeking with all their strength to catch him. This is no passive effort on David’s enemies part, but in his mind, and in truth, his enemies are but a step behind him.
He needs God’s help, the God who he has come to know in the fields with his sheep, the God who he has sung songs to and has worshipped under the stars while all alone with his livestock.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
Verse 3 is a favorite of mine, for I am one who may experience fear (rightly of wrongly) more than most. It seems to be my achilles heal, and this story of David on the run resonates with me. I can somewhat identify with him, for though my circumstances are no where as dire as they were for the future king, the allowance of fear controlling my actions is just as real. I am thankful that David is a real man, a man of weakness in the midst of his victories and that the Lord of heaven brought him though difficult times
The question in my mind is whether David considered his act of madness in front of Achish to be an act of faith, “helping” God with the circumstance he was in. Or was this statement a statement of a lesson learned, where David is writing of his future decisions to trust God when fear strikes.
This refrain of trust in the midst of fear comes up again later in the psalm and is the theme of this psalm, for in the midst of the circumstances David was in, his primary experience was of fear.
As fear sometimes grips our hearts, even in times of actual danger, do we learn from our actions in the midst of the fear?
Can we determine as David does, to trust God instead of succumbing to fear? Surely we have known God to be the One who rescues, and yet we are but frail men and women, susceptible to fear. Unless we act in faith, knowing our God is on our side.
May His name be lifted up in our lives, even as we trust him in our fears!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Introduction to Psalm 56
This psalm deserves an introduction to it. The circumstances of David’s life at the time of his writing this psalm, is such that if known, provides a depth to the statements David’s provides us in this psalm.
To discuss the background, we need to visit 1 Samuel 21:10-15.
1 Samuel 21:10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.
David is on the run from his father-in-law, the king of Israel, and we pick up in the story right after his visit with the priest’s of Nob, where he retrieved the sword of Goliath. Goliath the Philistine, that is.
Next on the route for David was a visit Achish, the Philistine king of Gath, where he sought sanctuary from Saul. This visit with Achish should not be confused with the time he came with his army, offering an alliance to the Philistine king. At that time, Achish provided the City of Ziklag to David as a base camp for his men.
No – David was alone in this visit. He was being chased by the king of Israel, and David was not in fight mode but flight mode.
1 Samuel 21:1 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 1 Samuel 21:2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.
When in flight mode, if you have ever suffered through the stress and confusion associated with that frenzied state of affairs, it is easy to justify a story or two to accomplish the goal of escape. We find David falling into this justification of deceit with his visit of the city of Nob and visiting the priest Ahimilech. He led the priest to believe he was on a secret mission for the king, when in reality he was running from the king. He informed the priest that he was meeting with his band of men at a predetermined place. This most likely was a stretch of the truth, as there is no mention of any men joining with David immediately after his escape from Saul.
David’s descent into deceit continues as he enters the city of Gath, and is brought before the king of Gath. I can only assume he wanted to find refuge from Saul in the neighboring city, hopefully laying low, drawing little to no attention to himself as he sought to formulate a plan for survival. Such was not the case, for as he approached Achish, the king of Gath, his reputation of being “the king of the land” preceded him.
1 Samuel 21:11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land?
What the servants of the King of Gath understood is difficult to know, and it may be immaterial to our current discussion, but to be considered the “king of the land” is quite a statement. His victories overshadowed Saul’s and these accomplishments dogged David’s life, causing the jealousy of Saul and now the tension with Achish.
Could it be that even Saul’s enemies knew that he was but a paper tiger, a king with no reputation worthy of his position, a king who who is being overshadowed by a young, unknown upstart named David. It was such a common saying in Israel that the neighboring enemy cities had heard the claims. Claims that David was ten times the man Saul was.
‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
At the mention of this news to the king of Gath, fear took greater control of David, causing him to slip even further into deceit, changing his behavior.
1 Samuel 21:12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 1 Samuel 21:13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.
My friends, as we look into this Psalm in our next post, let us remember the situation David is in. Fear is controlling David to the point of acting insane, with spittle running down his beard. He is on the run from his own people. He has no-one with him, and apparently no where to hide. He is not the experienced strategist he is destined to, able to call on God to determine correct moves and decisions with confidence. He is entering a period of life that will consist of preparation for his kingship, through suffering and survival.
Fear tried to latch onto the greater David, for even in the garden, He asked for escape, for the cup of suffering to be taken from Him, but He did not succumb to the fear, He did not choose to take the path of flight, but stood against the massive fears running through his thoughts. He is the Greater David. the True King, rightfully so!
Though David is a great man of faith, this excerpt from his life is a reminder that we are but dust, and that the Creator is the One to look to for our safety and Security.
Hope to see you as we consider the text of the 56th psalm in our next post.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 55
20 – My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. 21 – His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. 22 – Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. 23 – But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
Let’s remember where David is at in his life for a moment. He is on the run from his son’s treachery, on the brink of “loosing” his kingdom. Yet, as he is in the quiet of the night, reflecting on the circumstances he finds himself in, thoughts must have whirled about in his head.
God – why is this happening? How could my own son, and a fellow companion, a close friend, perform such treachery? Who can I trust now?
Consider when God promised the kingdom to David, in 2 Samuel 7:11, He promised the following to the young king.
2 Samuel 7:11b-13
Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Now he is on run from his greatest threat, one of the very offspring David may have expected to establish the Kingdom as God promised. Looking back on this promise, we believers have the luxury of knowing God was speaking of Jesus. The kingdom of God is established by Jesus, and He has built a “house” (dynasty) for the name of God. Yes we see this and rejoice in it.
David did not have this luxury. He is being chased down by his potential successor, and I imagine that when he is in his quiet moments, he is recounting this promise from God. A promise that speaks of his days being fulfilled and his lying down (passing away), ushering in his offspring, his very child, that will establish the Kingdom.
I don’t know about you, but if I was in his place, I could see this promise being fulfilled, even in my/David’s defeat. Absalom would “allow David’s death” and he would become sovereign. Are there arguments against this? Yes of course, but that is because we know the history.
I want us to reside in the moment with David, to try to get in his head. Late at night, David may have considered his understanding of the promise of God differently than previously, and given this possibility, this makes verse 22 all the more potent.
The “burden” David refers to is his “lot in life”, the situation he found himself in. He was in the midst of a time where the promise of God may be coming to fruition in a different manner than he originally expected.
There comes a time for every believer to accept their lot in life as from the hand of God. This does not allow us to simply lie down and become passive in our lives, for the Lord wants us to constantly test His will and seek to perform His pleasure. But admittedly, as the days go by, and our past decisions are set in stone, we may find ourselves is circumstances we did not expect.
David made some bad decisions. I too, have made some bad decisions. David would incur the consequences of these decisions, of which might be his current circumstance!. In all the confusion, conflicts and bewilderment, David gave sage advise in his last message in this psalm, to those of us in similar circumstances.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
16 – But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. 17 – Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. 18 – He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. 19 – God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God.
In our last post we considered Davids thinking in his prayer for confusion of message in the planning of his son Absolom. David now speaks of his confidence in God’s deliverance in his life. He speaks of God’s delieverance, and yet immediatly speaks of his complaint and moaning in front of God contuinually.
What am I missing here. Are we not to leave our concerns before the Lord, trusting He will take care of our trials. Is not David’s continual returning to God with his complaints and moans an expression of faithlessness? How does my reader understand this apparent conflict in David’s prayer?
God will save David, that is he is confident of God’s deliverance, and yet David keeps begging, complaining, moaning and coming to God.
As I grow in my walk with the Lord, I am sensing this very tension in some areas of my own experience. Granted, David is experiencing this tension with greater clarity, but as I grow older, I also see where my confidence is focusing on God Himself and not the circumstances we are in. That is too easy for me to say, for my situation is no where near the condition David was in the midst of in this psalm. In all that, I am understanding the end of our faith is to love God, and to accept His will for our lives. Is David accepting God’s will when he is moaning day and night before the throne?
I would strongly suggest David was doing exactly that! How can we know the will of God if we do not test it, seek how our wills are to align with God’s will, push the limits to determine God’s direction. I would suggest that David knew that generally speaking, God would save him, deliver him from his foes in battle, and in the end, prove to be the God who saves!
In between, in the specific way this deliverance is provided, David is in prayer. And this is the great blessing our God has given us to not only change us but to change God.
WHAT? Carl – you cannot be suggesting that God will revise His plans and decisions based on the requests of His children! But my friend, the Word gives us this hope and privilege.
Although I could suggest a number of times where a believer’s prayer influences God’s actions, I would love to hear from my readers. Take a few moments to comment on your most recent answered prayer, and how the Lord redirecting an almost certain situation into one that included your plea.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
12 – For it is not an enemy who taunts me– then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me– then I could hide from him. 13 – But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. 14 – We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng. 15 – Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
In our last post we considered David’s prayer for confusion on the counsel to his son Absolom, in the beginning of the rebellion. David, if my understadning of this psalm is correct, addresses Ahithophel. Ahithophel, who was David’s equal, a familiar friend, a companion. David, in using the term companion, is describing Ahithophel as a friend who is gentle, one who is docile towards him. No violence, no treachery, no underhandedness. As David speaks of him as a “familiar friend”, he introduces the concept of knowledge, of understanding each other as friends. Ahithophel was not an aquaintence of David, but had a deep friendship with the king, appearing to be open and honest with each other.
The king speaks of the sweet counsel he shared with Ahithophel, even in the temple of God. While David was in the temple, Ahithophel was with him. David and Ahithophel shared times of being before God together, sharing a faith, and communing with God together. Who could David trust more? To whom would David share his greatest vulnerabilities? Who could hurt David the greatest?
It is obvious in this passage that to be a familiar friend, a companion, a man that has your trust, is to open yourself up to the greatest treachery. But to love and to be loved, this consideration cannot be considered. It will poison the relationship, so if there is a back stabbing, it will not only come as a stunning surprise, but the pain and shock associated with this turn will be deepest! So it is for David, and so is his reaction so understandable.
In our past we had some believers turn on us, believers we trusted, and that we thought were trustworthy. For the period when we experienced abandonment and rejection, shock carried the day. How could this happen? I will not detail it out for it is in the past and the Lord has provided healing for us, and hopefully for them. Nevertheless, to be betrayed by a friend is a very deep cut!
And David wanted blood! He is a warrior, a fighter, a man who enters battle intent on winning, dominating over the enemy, crushing those who oppose him.
Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive
For David to speak thus is to see his pain come out, to see his sense of justice come to the surface. In no uncertain way was David going to allow this to go unpunished, and he sought justice before the Lord, asking the Lord to let them enter Sheol alive! Whatever that specifically meant for the Old Testament believer is beyond me, but it can’t be good!
During our time of betrayal, when the shock lessened and I had some lucid thoughts, I must confess I had evil thoughts towards my friends who hurt us. The Lord moved us on, and a healiing eventually came, but I can somewhat identify with David’s heart.
There is One who did not seek death over His enemies, but entered into death for His enemies. He is altogether different than David in this regard, and exercised grace greater than any I entertained within my own life.
He is the One who did not seek justice over his enemies, but showered grace and mercy upto those who spit on Him, cursed Him, whipped Him, and nailed Him to a cross, eventually killing Him through a slow agonizing death. He is so much greater in His acts of love, grace and mercy, than we can imagine, little llone to compare with His weak and fragile creation.
He is the Lord, and He has experieinced the treachery of His creation, reacting to it in grace and love towards us. He is so different!
Considering the Bible 