enemies

The Implications of Imprecation

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To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1  Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
    preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
    and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net;
    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the LORD, You are my God;
    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
7 O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9 As for the head of those who surround me,
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall dwell in your presence. – Psalm 140:1-13 ESV

This psalm reflects David’s reliance upon Yahweh as he pleads for deliverance from his enemies. There is no indication when this psalm was written, so it is impossible to know which adversaries or circumstances David had in mind when he penned these words. But David was a warrior and well accustomed to facing all manner of foes, including lions, bears, and even giants. David was an accomplished soldier with a track record of success, yet he called on Yahweh to deliver and guard him from those he describes as evil, violent, and wicked men.

The first word he uses is raʿ, which in Hebrew means “evil” or “malignant.” Whoever these individuals were, David viewed them as thoroughly evil. They were predisposed to causing pain and suffering, using everything at their disposal to “stir up trouble all day long” (Psalm 140:2 NLT), including their words. 

Their tongues sting like a snake;
    the venom of a viper drips from their lips.  – Psalm 140:3 NLT

According to David, their evil hearts were the source of their venom. They were inherently evil at their core, causing them to conspire and plot the downfall of others for their own perverse pleasure or self-promotion. But their words were more than hurtful; they were inherently violent. David describes them as ḥāmās, another Hebrew word that conveys the idea of cruelty and injustice. They weren’t simply out to ruin David’s reputation; they were plotting his destruction and would use everything at their disposal to accomplish that goal.

In verses 4-5, David repeats his less-than-flattering assessment of his enemies by calling them wicked (rāšāʿ) and arrogant (gē’ê). The Hebrew word rāšāʿ describes someone who is morally wrong or guilty of a crime. In essence, they are sinners who have violated God’s law and are worthy of His condemnation. To David, these men were anything but God-fearers. They weren’t just an annoyance for David; they were inherently ungodly and deserved to be punished for their crimes.

Like a prosecuting attorney in a trial, David gives further evidence of their guilt by describing them as arrogant. The Hebrew word gē’ê paints the picture of someone being “high and lifted up.” To put it plainly, these men were full of themselves, holding undeserved thoughts of their own grandeur and greatness. The Proverbs provide an apt description of these kinds of individuals.

My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
They may say, “Come and join us.
    Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave;
    let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
Think of the great things we’ll get!
    We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
Come, throw in your lot with us;
    we’ll all share the loot.” – Proverbs 1:10-14 NLT

These are the kinds of men David was dealing with, and he longed for Yahweh to mete out well-deserved justice and judgment on them. But first, he asked to be delivered from them.

O LORD, rescue me from evil people.
    Protect me from those who are violent… – Psalm 140:1 NLT

O LORD, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
    Protect me from those who are violent… – Psalm 140:4 NLT

If this psalm was written while David was king, he would have had the full weight of the crown at his disposal. He could have mustered his troops and ordered the arrest of his adversaries. He could have declared war and eliminated the threat through violent means. But instead, David called on Yahweh and asked for His divine rescue and protection.

David was predisposed to trust Yahweh and reluctant to take matters into his own hands. During his days of fleeing from King Saul, he was presented with several opportunities to take Saul’s life, but he refused. Encouraged by his own men to kill his nemesis, David said, “The LORD forbid that I should do this to my lord the king. I shouldn’t attack the LORD’s anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him” (1 Samuel 24:6 NLT). 

Years later, when David became king and was forced to flee the city of Jerusalem because his son Absalom had staged a successful coup, David was confronted by a relative of Saul, who cursed him for usurping the Benjamites’ rightful claim to the throne of Israel. When one of David’s men heard this man’s violent threats, he offered to take his life, but David responded with patience and understanding.

“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it. And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” – 2 Samuel 16:12-13 NLT

David believed that Yahweh was sovereign over all things, including his life and the fate of his throne. That is what led him to turn to Yahweh for help.

“You are my God!”
    Listen, O LORD, to my cries for mercy!
O Sovereign LORD, the strong one who rescued me,
    you protected me on the day of battle.
LORD, do not let evil people have their way.
    Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
    or they will become proud. – Psalm 140:6-8 NLT

David knew he needed God’s mercy, protection, and rescue. His hope was not based on his own strength or self-reliance, but upon Yahweh. David had experienced Yahweh’s rescue in the past, and he knew it was the best solution to his present problem.

But this psalm is more than a prayer for intervention; it is also a request for imprecation (cursing). David wanted his enemies to be dealt with severely, and he felt free to provide Yahweh with his opinions about the fate of his adversaries.

Let my enemies be destroyed
    by the very evil they have planned for me.
Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
    Let them be thrown into the fire
    or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.
    Cause great disasters to fall on the violent. – Psalm 140:9-11 NLT

David’s words are difficult to read because they seem to lack any sense of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. They certainly don’t reflect the teachings of the Proverbs.

Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
    don’t be happy when they stumble.
For the LORD will be displeased with you
    and will turn his anger away from them. – Proverbs 24:17-19 NLT

If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
    If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
    and the LORD will reward you. – Proverbs 25:21-22 NLT

David’s request seems to contradict the message that Jesus would later deliver in His Sermon on the Mount.

“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” – Matthew 5:44-45 NLT

David’s prayer of imprecation or cursing is understandable but not necessarily acceptable. Just because it appears in Scripture and comes from the pen of the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), it does not mean that David’s request was either acceptable to or answered by God. In his mind, David was reciting the moral code of lex talionis, which was found in the Mosaic Law.

But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise. – Exodus 21:23-25 NLT

David was under the impression that the wicked deserved exactly what they had planned for him. It seemed only just and fair that the tables be turned and Yahweh pour out on them the troubles they had planned for David. This all made sense to David, and he felt free to share his honest assessment with Yahweh. But in his summation of the psalm, David provides a hint as to what he was really interested in: Justice.

But I know the LORD will help those they persecute;
    he will give justice to the poor.
Surely righteous people are praising your name;
    the godly will live in your presence. – Psalm 140:12-13 NLT

David knew that whatever the outcome might be, Yahweh would be the one to dispense justice as He saw fit. As human beings, it is only normal and natural for us to consider retaliation and vengeance as non-negotiable outcomes of Yahweh’s justice. We want to see the wicked suffer. We demand that evil people get what they deserve. But, in the end, we must trust the LORD to do what He deems best. In another psalm, Ethan the Ezrahite points out that Yahweh alone has the right to determine what justice looks like and how it should be delivered.

Powerful is your arm!
    Strong is your hand!
    Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. – Psalm 89:13-14 NLT

David was free to share his thoughts with God. He could wish for the worst on his enemies, but when all was said and done, he would have to leave justice in the hands of his sovereign LORD.

Father, I don’t always understand Your ways, and there are times when I grow weary of the wicked, violent, and evil people that populate this world. I find myself wishing nothing but ill-will on them. I want to see Your justice delivered — on my terms. But Your Son called me to pray for them. He told me not to worry about they can do to me, but focus my thoughts on Your righteousness and Your expectations that I live up to the holy standard to which You have called me. I want to trust You with my life and leave the fates of my enemies up to You. Hep me to live by the trust found in Psalm 118:6-7. “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.” Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the Lord‘s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!

7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock. – Psalm 137:1-9 ESV

This psalm is a song of lament, written sometime after the fall of Jerusalem to Babylonian invaders in 587 B.C.. After a 30-month-long siege, the city’s inhabitants were on the brink of starvation, a fact that the prophet Jeremiah describes in great detail in the Book of Lamentations.

See how the precious children of Jerusalem,
worth their weight in fine gold,
are now treated like pots of clay
made by a common potter.

Even the jackals feed their young,
but not my people Israel.
They ignore their children’s cries,
like ostriches in the desert.

The parched tongues of their little ones
stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst.
The children cry for bread,
but no one has any to give them.

The people who once ate the richest foods
now beg in the streets for anything they can get.
Those who once wore the finest clothes
now search the garbage dumps for food.

The guilt of my people
is greater than that of Sodom,
where utter disaster struck in a moment
and no hand offered help.

Our princes once glowed with health—
brighter than snow, whiter than milk.
Their faces were as ruddy as rubies,
their appearance like fine jewels.

But now their faces are blacker than soot.
No one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin sticks to their bones;
it is as dry and hard as wood.

Those killed by the sword are better off
than those who die of hunger.
Starving, they waste away
for lack of food from the fields.– Lamentations 4:2-9 NLT

Eventually, the Babylonians breached the city’s walls.

By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians… 2 Kings 25:3-4 NLT

After a slight delay, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the wanton destruction of Jerusalem and the capture of many of its citizens, who were taken back to Babylon as slaves.

On August 14 of that year,which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.– 2 Kings 25:8-12 NLT

The psalmist picks up the story sometime after the exiles arrived in Babylon. He describes them as weeping beside the rivers of Babylon, as they considered the full weight of their devastating circumstances. The depth of their sorrow is reflected in their decision to ban all music.

We put away our harps,
hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.
For our captors demanded a song from us.– Psalm 137:2-3 NLT

Mocked relentlessly by their Babylonian overlords, the exiles mourned and wept in silence, refusing to assuage their grief with songs. This sad state of affairs should not have been a surprise to them, because Yahweh had warned it would happen.

“And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out.This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” – Ezekiel 25:8-11 NLT

The former citizens of Jerusalem justified their actions, saying, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:4 NLT). From their perspective, they had no reason to sing. Their city had been destroyed, their homes burned, the Temple plundered and reduced to rubble, and they had been chained and forced-marched all the way to Babylon, where they would spend the next seven decades as slaves. Even if Yahweh’s promise was true, and they would return to Jerusalem after 70 years, many of them knew they would never live long enough to see that day. 

Yet, the psalmist refused to give up. He couldn’t bring himself to give up and give in to despair. He wasn’t minimizing their situation; he was simply attempting to remind himself and his fellow exiles that they still had reason to hope.

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.– Psalm 137:5-6 NLT

When the Babylonians shouted, “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” (Psalm 137:3 NLT), they were mocking the Israelites’ practice of singing the songs of ascent as they made their annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem during the feast days. The psalms were designed to remind the Israelites of the unique status of Jerusalem, not just as their national capital, but as the home of the Temple, considered to be Yahweh’s earthly dwelling place. As they made their way up the paths to Mount Zion, they could see the glorious Temple, which stood as a reminder that they served a holy, all-powerful, and covenant-keeping God.

I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth!– Psalm 121:1-2 NLT

The LORD keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.– Psalm 121:7-8 NLT

What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Let all Israel repeat:
What if the LORDhad not been on our side
when people attacked us?
They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.– Psalm 124:1-5 NLT

But now, they sat by the rivers of Babylon, engulfed and overwhelmed by the reality that their God had not saved them. He had not been on their side. As they had walked away from Jerusalem in chains, their minds were seared with the parting image of their once-glorious Temple in ruins and their impregnable city reduced to rubble.

But the psalmist wanted to remember Jerusalem as it had been before the Babylonians arrived. He longed to relish the halcyon days when Yahweh’s Shekinah glory dwelled above the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. He still held out hope that their God had not completely abandoned them. While their circumstances were bleak and their chances for survival seemed slim, he believed that Yahweh was still on His throne and would remain faithful to His covenant promises. He offered up a prayer to the LORD, begging Him to remember what the Edomites said as they gleefully witnessed the fall of Jerusalem.

O LORD, remember what the Edomites did
on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
“Level it to the ground!” – Psalm 137:7 NLT

The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, and thus blood relatives of the Israelites. But the Edomites held a long-standing grudge against Jacob’s progeny, and rejoiced in their destruction. The sight of Jerusalem being invaded by Babylonian troops spurred the Edomites to demand its complete destruction. They wanted the Israelites and their capital city wiped off the face of the earth.

The psalmist called on Yahweh to act. Surely, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would not stand back and allow His chosen people to suffer permanent extinction. He had heard the cries of the prophets, warning the Israelites to repent of their sins or face God’s judgment, and he had lived to experience it firsthand. But he had also heard the prophets speak of God’s promise to redeem and restore them.

This is what the LORD says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” – Jeremiah 29:10-14 NLT

He might not live to see that day, but he was willing to trust that the LORD would bring it about. With the words of the prophet Jeremiah ringing in his ears, the psalmist expressed his belief that Yahweh would do what He promised to do.

“Listen to this message from the LORD,
    you nations of the world;
    proclaim it in distant coastlands:
The LORD, who scattered his people,
    will gather them and watch over them
    as a shepherd does his flock.
For the LORD has redeemed Israel
    from those too strong for them.
They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 31:10-12 NLT

Notice the emphasis on songs of joy. While the Babylonians mocked the Israelites’ songs of ascent, the psalmist focused on the day when singing would be renewed because of God’s faithfulness. The highways and byways surrounding Jerusalem would once again ring with joyful praise as the Israelites made their way to a restored city and a rebuilt Temple, where they would enjoy a renewed relationship with their God. This news, coupled with Jeremiah’s prediction of Babylon’s eventual fall, produced hope in the heart of the psalmist.

“How Babylon is fallen—
great Babylon, praised throughout the earth!
Now she has become an object of horror
among the nations.
The sea has risen over Babylon;
she is covered by its crashing waves.
Her cities now lie in ruins;
she is a dry wasteland
where no one lives or even passes by. – Jeremiah 51:41-43 NLT

The tables will be turned, and the fortunes of Israel and Babylon will be reversed, which led the psalmist to end his song with an exuberant, if not macabre, refrain of praise and rejoicing.

O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
    Happy is the one who pays you back
    for what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who takes your babies
    and smashes them against the rocks! – Psalm 137:8-9 NLT

Father, when times get tough, it can be difficult to sing Your praises. Suffering seems to cause short-term memory loss, leaving us unable to recall Your many acts of grace, mercy, kindness, and love. Dark days can produce a cloudy recollection of Your power and providential provision of all our needs. We can find ourselves sitting by our “rivers of Babylon,” whining about our lot in life rather than singing about Your glory and goodness. Help me keep a song on my lips at all times because You are forever faithful, all-powerful, never unaware of my circumstances, and . always ready to act on my behalf. I have plenty of reasons to sing Your praises even when I can’t sense Your presence. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Question Worth Considering

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
    let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
    when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
    when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
    the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
    the raging waters.

6 Blessed be the LORD,
    who has not given us
    as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
    from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
    and we have escaped!

8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
    who made heaven and earth. – Psalm 124:1-8 ESV

It was the apostle Paul who wrote, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NLT). His words echo the words of David and those of God Himself, recorded by the prophet Isaiah.

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10 NLT

Moses expressed the same sentiment to the Israelites before they entered the land of Canaan.

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT

Then, as Joshua prepared to lead the Israelites in their conquest of the land of promise, Yahweh reiterated the promise of His presence and power. 

“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous…This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:6-7, 9 NLT

But in Psalm 124, David asks the rhetorical question, “What if the Lord had not been on our side?” And he provides the self-evident answer to his own question.

They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.– Psalm 124:3-5 NLT

It would have been a disaster. If Yahweh had not answered their prayers and rescued them from their enemies, the outcome would have been devastating. Without Yahweh’s presence and power, defeat would have been inevitable and unavoidable. That’s why David reminds his people to respond appropriately to Yahweh’s gracious intervention in their lives.

Praise the LORD,
who did not let their teeth tear us apart! – Psalm 124:6 NLT

Every victory David had experienced as a shepherd, warrior, and king had been the work of Yahweh. As he prepared to face the Philistine champion, Goliath, David assured King Saul that he was up to the challenge because he had Yahweh on his side.

“When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” – 1 Samuel 17:34-37 NLT

When Saul commissioned David to lead a contingent of 1,000 soldiers, he proved successful again, because Yahweh was with him.

Saul was then afraid of David, for the LORD was with David and had turned away from Saul. Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.

David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the LORD was with him. – 1 Samuel 18:12-14 NLT

Yahweh’s abiding presence remained with David throughout his life, even during his years as the king of Israel. Toward the end of his reign, David received Yahweh’s confirmation that his success had been divinely ordained. The LORD had been with David from the moment he was anointed to be the next king of Israel.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth!” – 2 Samuel 7:8-9 NLT

So, as David penned the words of this psalm, he did so from personal experience. Yahweh had been with him throughout the years and had delivered the enemies of Israel into his hands. His victories had been Yahweh’s doing and not his own. His defeat of Goliath had been the work of God. His battles against the Philistines had turned in his favor because Yahweh was with him. And he knew that, without God’s help, the outcomes would have been dramatically different.

In this psalm, he raises the thought-provoking question, “What if the LORD had not been on our side?” His intention was not to raise doubt about Yahweh’s faithfulness, but to prevent the Israelites from taking the LORD’s power and presence for granted. 

His sobering question wasn’t intended to raise doubts about God’s reliability. He wasn’t asking them to consider the consequences if God ever failed to come through, but the reality that He always does. David’s point is that Yahweh is always faithful and true. He consistently comes through. There may be times when it appears as if He has forsaken us, but His very character assures us that He is on our side at all times.

This psalm is one of the songs of ascent that were sung by Jewish pilgrims making their annual journey to Jerusalem for Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles, both celebrations associated with the Passover. These songs were sung along the way, reminding the travelers of their destination and the One for whom they were making this long arduous journey to worship. They were going to Jerusalem “to give thanks to the name of the Lord, as the law requires of Israel” (Psalm 122:4b NLT). The name of the Lord was synonymous with His reputation. He was El Shaddai (LORD God Almighty), El Elyon (The Most High God), Adonai (Lord, Master), Jehovah Nissi (The LORD My Banner), Jehovah-Raah (The LORD My Shephard), Jehovah Rapha (The LORD That Heals), Jehovah Shammah (The LORD Is There), Jehovah Tsidkenu (The LORD Our Righteousness), Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The LORD Who Sanctifies You), El Olam (The Everlasting God), Jehovah Jireh (The LORD Will Provide), Jehovah Shalom (The LORD Is Peace), and Jehovah Sabaoth (The LORD Of Hosts).

God’s names are a picture of who He is and remind His people of all that He has done for them. So, as the people made their way to Jerusalem, they celebrated His activity in the life of their nation through song.

But as they sang, David wanted them to consider the sobering reality that, without God, they would have no hope. Had God not been on their side, “The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us” (Psalm 124:4 NLT). He wanted them to recognize that life without Yahweh would be no life at all. They understood that their help was from the LORD, the same Creator God who had made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2). This all-powerful God had chosen to have a personal relationship with them and provide them with His protection, provision, and ongoing presence. But rather than take this fact for granted, the people of Israel were to remind themselves what life would be like if Yahweh were not on their side.

So, as they made their way to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh, they asked one another, “What if the LORD had not been on our side?” Their thoughtful consideration of this question was meant to reinforce their faith in Yahweh and reenergize their worship of Him.

As New Testament believers, we may want to ask ourselves the same question. As the apostle Paul stated, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” Yahweh has chosen to make us His own through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. That is the point Paul was trying make in chapter 8 of his letter to the Roman believers. 

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. – Romans 8:31-34 NLT

Because of God’s faithfulness and the saving work of Jesus Christ, “overwhelming victory is ours” (Romans 8:37 NLT). Yes, there will be days filled with difficulty and we will face trials in this life but, as Paul asks, “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?” (Romans 8:35 NLT). And, like David, he answers his own rhetorical question. 

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. – Romans 8:37 NLT

Father, my life is nothing without You. My future would be hopeless without You. My life would have no meaning without You. But because of who You are, I know I have help, hope, and healing at my disposal. I have a relationship with the God of the universe because of the gracious gift of Your Son. He has provided me with His righteousness and assures me of Your acceptance and love. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Thank You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Lord is Coming

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD says to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

2 The LORD sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power,
    in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.
4 The LORD has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

5 The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
    over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
    therefore he will lift up his head. – Psalm 110:1-7 ESV

This is a somewhat confusing psalm. It was written by David, but he appears to be talking about someone else. In the opening line, David writes, “The LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) says to my Lord (‘āḏôn),” using two different Hebrew words that are translated in English as “Lord.” But who is David referring to, and what is the context of this somewhat cryptic psalm? Some scholars speculate that David is speaking of his own son, Solomon, who crowned David’s successor while David was still alive.

When it appears in all caps, the term LORD is a designation for Jehovah, the name of God. Adon is the Hebrew word for an owner, lord, master, or king. LORD is used three times in the passage, while Lord is used twice. But who is David referring to? Is he talking about himself or someone else? Are all the statements in this passage referring to him or another person? In the Hebrew culture, the term, The Lord, was understood to be a reference to the Messiah, the coming Savior of Israel. So in the psalm, David is referring not to himself, but to the future Messiah, God’s divinely appointed ruler over Israel.

Perhaps David believed his son Solomon would serve in that role. Like any father, David had high hopes for his son and longed for him to be the future deliverer of Israel. But what David didn’t know was that this Spirit-inspired psalm was a prophetic vision concerning one of his future descendants who would rule in righteousness for eternity.

It is easy to see how David could have had his son Solomon in mind when writing this psalm. Years earlier, the prophet Nathan conveyed a message to him from Jehovah (the LORD).

“…the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) declares to you that the LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) 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. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:11-16 ESV

David’s son Solomon did build a house for God. He carried out his father’s wishes and constructed the Temple in Jerusalem. But this grand accomplishment did not solidify his kingdom or prevent him from becoming unfaithful to the One for whom the Temple was built. Solomon was wise, wealthy, and powerful, but he also had an unbridled love affair with women. At one point, his harem included 300 wives and 700 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). This obsession with the opposite sex was in direct violation of God’s decree.

“The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” – Deuteronomy 17:17 NLT

Solomon accumulated great wealth and many wives.

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.

In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD’s sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done. – 1 Kings 11:1-6 NLT

So it is clear that the “Lord” referred to in Psalm 110 cannot be Solomon. He kingdom was not eternal. It came to an end because of his unfaithfulness. In fact, because of Solomon’s idolatry and apostasy, the LORD split his kingdom in half.

“Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.” – 1 Kings 12:11-13 NLT

So, who is David referring to when he writes the following?:

The LORD will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem;
    you will rule over your enemies.
When you go to war,
    your people will serve you willingly.
You are arrayed in holy garments,
    and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew. – Psalm 110:2-3 NLT

This psalm is a prophecy concerning Jesus and His future role as the conquering Messiah. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David prophesied about the Millennial reign of Jesus, which would take place at His second coming. David knew there was a day coming when all the enemies of Israel and God would be completely destroyed by the King of kings and LORD of Lords, but he had no way of knowing it would be Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.

The book of Matthew records an incident between Jesus and the Pharisees, where Jesus used this very passage to point to himself.

Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

They replied, “He is the son of David.”

Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,

‘The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
    until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’

Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.  – Matthew 22:41-46 NLT

Jesus knew this Psalm predicted a future event that had not yet occurred. But there was no doubt in Jesus’ mind that Psalm 110 spoke of Himself. This Old Testament passage serves as a reminder to us that there is a day coming when Jesus, as the Christ (the Greek word for Messiah), will return to the earth to complete the plan of God for Israel and all mankind. Jesus’ work is not yet done. He currently sits at the right hand of the Father (Colossians 3:1), but when God is ready, He will send Jesus to finish what He began with His death and resurrection.

He will strike down many kings when his anger erupts.
He will punish the nations
    and fill their lands with corpses;
    he will shatter heads over the whole earth.
But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way.
    He will be victorious. – Psalm 110:5-7 NLT

As a king, David saw this as a wonderful picture of victory over his enemies. He knew that someday God would give Israel complete victory over every one of their foes. David lived in a time when battle was a daily ordeal. He was surrounded by enemies and regularly confronted by war. There was never a day when someone didn’t want to destroy him or the nation over which he ruled. So the idea of final victory and perfect peace was appealing to him. And it should be to us as well.

Like David, we are surrounded by enemies who oppose God and His ways. They live for this world and are influenced by the Prince of this world, Satan himself. Every day, we do battle with our flesh, the world, and the devil. We are under constant attack. There is never a time when we can take a day off or remove our armor. We must be constantly prepared to defend ourselves because the war and the casualties are real. We see them in the form of broken marriages, rebellious children, addictions, depression, anxiety, and disease.

This psalm assures us that a day is coming when God will set all things right. His plan will be finalized. His Son, the Messiah, will complete what He came to do. In His first advent, Jesus came to provide a means of salvation for mankind. He made it possible for sinful humanity to be restored to a right relationship with God. Through the sacrifice of His life, He offered men and women a means by which they could escape the coming wrath of God against all who refuse Him.

But there is a day coming when Christ will return a second time, but not as Savior, but as a conquering King. He will do battle with all those who stand opposed to God and He will be victorious. The enemy will be defeated once and for all, and Christ will set up His kingdom on earth and rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem. There will be peace in the world for the first time since the creation of the world. Order will be restored, and shalom (peace) will be present again.

The apostle John was given a vision of this fulfillment of the scene that David tried to describe.

No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever. – Revelation 22:3-5 NLT

Jesus will return someday. He will complete the assignment given to Him by God the Father, and the glorious future David envisioned will come to pass. David did not live long enough to see it. Neither did Solomon. But the promise remains, and its fulfillment is assured because God is faithful and all-powerful.

This is a Messianic Psalm. It predicts the coming return and reign of Christ on earth. It is short and sweet, painting the future rule of Christ in just a few lines. It establishes Jesus as a descendant of David and his Lord and Master. He is the Messiah.

This psalm should comfort all who call themselves Christ-followers. It is a reminder of how the story ends. Even though we see a lot of suffering in the world and even question how this whole mess will sort itself out, David reminds us that Christ still reigns and rules in heaven, and one day He will return and put all things right.

Jesus may have come as an innocent baby the first time, but He isn’t going to return that way. He will be the conquering king and warrior who defeats all the enemies of God and sets up His righteous rule on earth. That is not just a hope; it is a certainty. It will happen, and we can count on it. It is all part of God’s divine plan. When Jesus returns, He will judge the nations justly and righteously. He will make all things right. And that future hope should bring us present peace.

Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless king
through all eternity. – Matthew Bridges, “Crown Him With Many Crowns” (1851)

Father, in the midst of the daily battles of life it is so easy to get defeated by what appears to be a hopeless cause. It can be so easy to want to give up and give in. Our efforts seem to make no difference. The battles we fight don’t seem to be winning the war. But in the Psalm You remind us that the ultimate victory is Yours, not ours. David had to fight his battles, but he rested in the knowledge that You will one day bring about complete victory. Never let me forget that. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our Hope Is In Him

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A Song. A Psalm of David.

1 My heart is steadfast, O God!
    I will sing and make melody with all my being!
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

7 God has promised in his holiness:
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
    and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I cast my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12 Oh grant us help against the foe,
    for vain is the salvation of man!
13 With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes. – Psalm 108:1-13 ESV

David is ready. He is prepared to face anything because he is strong and confident. But this psalm is not a boastful display of self-reliance but a confession of his hope and trust in God. He knows that with God’s assistance, he can face any situation with confidence and peace.

With God’s help we will do mighty things,
    for he will trample down our foes. – Psalm 108:13 NLT

There is no enemy too powerful or problem too big for God. David has learned that fear is futile and pointless when God is on your side. Trying to take matters into your own hands is absurd when you have the God of the universe fighting for you. David’s awareness of this fact causes him to sing God’s praises. He can’t help but express gratefulness for God’s unfailing love and faithfulness.

My heart is confident in you, O God;
    no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! – Psalm 1-8:1 NLT

He has witnessed God’s deliverance in the past, and he is confident that he will see it in the future, all because of God’s unchanging nature. God has promised to rescue His people “by His holiness” (Psalm 108:7 NLT). His very character assures that He will do what He has promised to do. He will come through. He will answer. David would have been very familiar with the words of Balaan recorded in the Book of Numbers.

God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT

But when the storms of life rage, it is easy to forget that God is faithful. When you find yourself surrounded by trouble, doubting that God will keep His promises can be tempting. Like David, we can question God’s presence and power.

Have you rejected us, O God?
    Will you no longer march with our armies? – Psalm 108:11 NLT

During those times of doubt and despair, we must remind ourselves that God is faithful. He rescues. He restores. He may not do it according to our schedule or how we would like it done, but He will act. In those moments when God appears inactive or unresponsive, we can be tempted to turn to someone or something else for help. I

Often, we are tempted to trust ourselves to come up with the solution we’re looking for, despite our abysmal track record. But David knew better. In his experience, he had found all human help to be useless (Psalm 108:12b NLT). He had learned from painful experience that anything he turned to as a substitute for God eventually failed. But with God’s help, he could do the impossible.

As king, David was responsible for protecting the people of Israel from their enemies. He was the warrior king who led the troops of Israel into battle against the Philistines, Moabites, and Edomites. David recites God’s promise to defeat these perennial enemies of Israel.

“Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant,
    and I will wipe my feet on Edom
    and shout in triumph over Philistia.” – Psalm 108:9 NLT

Long before Israel began their conquest of the land of Canaan, Moses assured the Israelites that their efforts would be successful.

“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy.” – Deuteronomy 7:1-2 NLT

Hundreds of years later, David continued what Joshua and the Israelites had begun, and he was still trusting in the LORD for His success.

Now rescue your beloved people.
    Answer and save us by your power.
God has promised this by his holiness:
“I will divide up Shechem with joy.
    I will measure out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine,
    and Manasseh, too.
Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors,
    and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings. – Psalm 108:6-8 NLT

The land was theirs. Each of the tribes had received its allotment of territory but the enemies of Israel remained. This was not because God had failed to keep His word but because the people of Israel had failed to do what He had commanded. Moses had made God’s expectations clear.

“…you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.” – Deuteronomy 7:2-4 NLT

But the Book of Judges reveals the truth about Israel’s compliance with God’s command.

…the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. – Judges 1:21 NLT

When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. – Judges 1:28 NLT

Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. – Judges 1:29 NLT

Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them… – Judges 1:30 NLT

And the list goes on and on. By the time David ascended the throne of Israel, the 12 tribes had begun to intermarry with the surrounding nations, making treaties and alliances that directly defied God’s command. But David remained committed to carrying out the LORD’s divine mandate. Yet, he knew he could not do it in his own strength or without the LORD’s assistance.

This is a lesson only learned through experience. It can be taught, but it is rarely caught until we are forced to experience it firsthand. Relying on God takes guts. When everything in you says to take matters into your own hands, trusting takes faith. But as our understanding of His character grows, we become increasingly more confident and quick to place our trust in Him and Him alone. Then we can sing along with David, “My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens” (Psalm 108:1-4 NLT).

Father, continue to teach me to trust You. Thank You that my heart is more confident in You today than it has ever been. I still have a long way to go, but You have never given me a reason to doubt You. The enemies of life remain. The threats against Your people are real. But You are always faithful and true. Your strength has not diminished. Your promise to fight for Your people has not been reneged or removed in any way. So, help me to trust You when times are tough. Keep me from turning to other sources of help and hope that can’t deliver. Prevent me from relying on myself and trying to play god because my efforts are useless without You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Before You Cry Out, Confess

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A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, do not keep silence;
    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
    those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5 For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah

9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
    who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,
    like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
16 Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
    whose name is the LORD,
    are the Most High over all the earth. – Psalm 83:1-18 ESV

This final psalm of Asaph contains an impassioned plea for God to intervene on behalf of His chosen people. No context is given to explain Asaph’s despair, but he provides a lengthy list of Israel’s enemies who are causing them suffering and distress. He includes the Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, Hagrites, Gebalites, Ammonites, Amalekites, Philistines, and the inhabitants of Tyre and Asshur. The New International Version rightly translates Asshur as “Assyria,” and states that this powerful northern kingdom “joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants” (Psalm 83:8 NIV).

Asaph describes what he sees as an international conspiracy to wipe out God’s chosen people. According to Asaph, these disparate nations had nothing in common except their hatred for the Israelites and a shared desire to see them completely eradicated.

They devise crafty schemes against your people;
    they conspire against your precious ones.
“Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation.
    We will destroy the very memory of its existence.” – Psalm 83:3-4 NLT

From Asaph’s perspective, God has gone radio silent and allowed Israel’s enemies to go unchecked in their genocidal quest. Asaph attempts to make this personal by appealing to God’s pride.

Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies?
    Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?
They devise crafty schemes against your people;
    they conspire against your precious ones. – Psalm 83:2-3 NLT

Asaph can’t understand why these pagan nations have been allowed to operate unrestrained and without any retribution from God. They are idolatrous, immoral, and representative of all that stands opposed to God’s will. Their violent resistance to Israel’s existence is indicative of their hatred for Yahweh and their opposition to the covenant promises He made to Abraham.

So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” – Genesis 15:18-21 NLT

“I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:8 NLT

For Asaph, the situation was complicated by the presence of nations like the Ammonites and Moabites, who were distant relatives of Israel. These descendants of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had joined forces against their own kin, enlisting the aid of the Assyrians to attack Israel. However, the Ammonites and Moabites were not the only blood relatives of Abraham who decided to make Israel their enemy number one. The Hagrites were also descendants of Abraham through his wife’s handmaiden, Hagar. When Abraham’s wife Sarah could not bear him an heir, she suggested that he use Hagar as a surrogate. In an act of faithlessness, Abraham complied, and Hagar bore Ishmael, whose descendants became the Ishmaelites. So, the Hagrites and Ishmaelites, despite sharing a common ancestry in Abraham, had chosen to align themselves against His chosen people.

In frustration, Asaph attempts to give Yahweh a history lesson, reminding Him of His past acts of deliverance. This unsolicited lecture was intended to stir God to action.

Do to them as you did to the Midianites
    and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
They were destroyed at Endor,
    and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. – Psalm 83:9-10 NLT

Asaph recalls two battles in which Yahweh gave the Israelites decisive victories over the Midianites and Canaanites. Both of these events took place during the period of the Judges. The first is recorded in Judges 4, where the prophet Deborah led the Israelites in battle against the Canaanites and defeated Sisera, the Canaanite commander, and Jabin, the Canaanite king. The second victory took place under the judgeship of Gideon and is recorded in Judges 7-8. He led the Israelites in battle, but this time, it was against the Midianites. With a small force of 300 men, Gideon and the Israelites defeated a much larger Midianite force.

Asaph reminds God of Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite commanders, and Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings. These pagans got what they deserved, and Asaph wants to know why God won’t do the same to Israel’s current foes. Just in case God doesn’t connect the dots, Asaph gives Him His marching orders.

O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed,
    like chaff before the wind!
As a fire burns a forest
    and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,
chase them with your fierce storm;
    terrify them with your tempest.
Utterly disgrace them
    until they submit to your name, O LORD.
Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.
    Let them die in disgrace. – Psalm 83:13-17 NLT

For Asaph, the solution is simple. God is all-powerful and fully capable of defeating any enemy of any size on any occasion. All He has to do is act. The identity and size of the foe don’t matter. If God can defeat Midianites and Canaanites, He can deal with Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, Hagrites, Gebalites, Ammonites, Amalekites, and Philistines. Asaph believes God can deliver, but can’t understand why He has not yet done so. What is Yahweh waiting for? What is the reason for His delay? Why would Yahweh allow these nations to continue their harassment of God’s people and their mocking of God’s name?

Asaph ends his psalm with a not-so-subtle word of encouragement, appealing to Yahweh’s jealousy for His honor in the hopes that He will vindicate the people who bear His name.

Then they will learn that you alone are called the LORD,
    that you alone are the Most High,
    supreme over all the earth. – Psalm 84:18 NLT

But Asaph never stops to consider whether their suffering may be due to sin. He does not self-reflect or analyze their plight, to see if they have violated God’s will. This lack of personal or corporate culpability is telling. While Asaph is familiar with the stories of Deborah and Gideon, he seems to have conveniently left out that the Canaanites and Midianites were attacking because Israel had been unfaithful.

After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the LORD’s sight. So the LORD turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim. Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help. – Judges 4:1-3 NLT

The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. So the LORD handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help. – Judges 6:1-6 NLT

Sin brought judgment, but when the Israelites cried out, God brought deliverance. The entire Book of Judges records the cycle of sin, judgment, repentance, and deliverance that Israel experienced during the period of the Judges. While Asaph fixated on God’s deliverance, he neglected to focus on Israel’s rebellion. He conveniently left out the fact that the Israelites had done evil in the LORD’s sight. God loves to deliver His people, but He requires an acknowledgment of sin and a humble recognition that He alone deserves glory, honor, and reverence.

Father, I love it when You deliver me from difficult situations, but I am less fond of admitting my guilt and shame. I don’t particularly like to shine the light on my own culpability or complicity for my suffering. So often, I am the cause of my pain and the author of my misfortune, but I demand that You step in and fix my mistakes and clean up my messes. Help me to honor You by willingly admitting that I am the undeserving recipient of Your grace and mercy. Give me the strength to admit my faults and allow You to convict me of the sins that produce so much hurt and heartache in and around me. And thank You for rescuing me from my own stupidty and stubbornness. You are a good and gracious God. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Living Lessons

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.

1 Save me, O God!
    For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
    where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
    and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying out;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
    with waiting for my God.

4 More in number than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
    those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
    must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly;
    the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
    O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
    O God of Israel.
7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
    that dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
    an alien to my mother’s sons.

9 For zeal for your house has consumed me,
    and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,
    it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
    I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
    and the drunkards make songs about me.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.
    At an acceptable time, O God,
    in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14 Deliver me
    from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
    and from the deep waters.
15 Let not the flood sweep over me,
    or the deep swallow me up,
    or the pit close its mouth over me.

16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good;
    according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your face from your servant,
    for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
    ransom me because of my enemies!

19 You know my reproach,
    and my shame and my dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.
20 Reproaches have broken my heart,
    so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
    and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food,
    and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

22 Let their own table before them become a snare;
    and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
    and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them,
    and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation;
    let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
    and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment;
    may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
    let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
    let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

30 I will praise the name of God with a song;
    I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the LORD more than an ox
    or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 When the humble see it they will be glad;
    you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the LORD hears the needy
    and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
    and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36     the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
    and those who love his name shall dwell in it. – Psalm 69:1-36 ESV

Do you ever wonder why difficulty comes into your life? As a Christian, do you ever question why God would allow you to suffer at all? The presence of pain, persecution, and trials is difficult for us to understand, even as Christ-followers. As humans, we seem innately wired to run from trouble or to confront it head-on. Either way, we intend to escape it or remove it from our lives. Yet the reality of pain and suffering is one of the things we human beings all have in common. It comes in varying degrees of difficulty; some seem to suffer more than others. But no one gets to go through life completely untouched by sorrow, hurt, difficulty, trials, and the feelings of despair they bring.

Even as God’s anointed king of Israel, David was not immune to difficulty. In fact, long before his kingdom began, he found himself in dire straits, running for his life and spending his days living in the wilderness instead of a palace. Psalm 69 reflects the words of a man in deep trouble and up to his neck in difficulty. We don’t know the circumstances surrounding his situation, but it is clear that David is having a hard time. He says, “I am in deep water,” “I sink into the mire,” I am exhausted,” “I weep and fast,” and “I am in despair.”

Things are not going well for David, so he calls out to His God for help. He asks Yahweh to save him, rescue him, show him favor, and answer his prayer. He appeals to God’s unfailing love and mercy. David knows that God is his only hope. He fully understands that God alone can rescue him from everything happening to him. While David doesn’t enjoy what is taking place, he sees it as an opportunity to watch God work.

Don’t hide from your servant;
    answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!
Come and redeem me;
    free me from my enemies. – Psalm 69:17-18 NLT

I am suffering and in pain.
    Rescue me, O God, by your saving power. – Psalm 69:29 NLT

He knows this is a chance to witness the power of God displayed in and around his life. His pain and suffering provide a platform for God to display His power. And when God does rescue, David will have plenty of reasons for praise and thanksgiving. Not only that, all those who love and honor God will also have ample reason to be encouraged and emboldened to trust God.

The humble will see their God at work and be glad.
    Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. – Psalm 69:32 NLT

David knew his difficulties were simply temporal occasions for God to display His eternal power. Our trials are no trouble for God. He is not worried, dismayed, panicked, or fearful about the outcome. He simply wants to reveal His strength through our weakness. He wants to display His power through our impotence.

God loves to save. He longs to rescue. And when His children praise and thank Him for doing so, He is glorified and honored. When God rescues us, others are encouraged. When God intervenes on our behalf and we sing His praises to those around us, they are prompted to trust in God the next time they go through trials and difficulties. Our troubles become opportunities to witness God’s saving power. They provide us with real-life examples of God’s presence and power, and remind us of God’s love and mercy. When we thank Him for His salvation from trouble and tell others what He has done for us, He is glorified. And all who seek God’s help get encouraged.

Father, You long to intervene in our lives and You long to show Your power. You have chosen to do so through our weaknesses. You have determined to display Your glory through those events in our lives that reveal our own weaknesses. May we see those times as opportunities to see You work. And when You do, may we give You the glory and praise You deserve. So that others will be encouraged to trust You more. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Down But Never Out

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
    preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the throng of evildoers,
3 who whet their tongues like swords,
    who aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from ambush at the blameless,
    shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;
    they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
6     They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
    For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

7 But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
    all who see them will wag their heads.
9 Then all mankind fears;
    they tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.

10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
    and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult! – Psalm 64:1-10 ESV

When reading the Psalms of David, one could easily conclude that he regularly suffered from depression and debilitating states of melancholy. They feature recurring themes of suffering, heartache, loneliness, and the fear of personal assault and verbal attack. He can almost come across as paranoid and more than a bit pessimistic. Yet, a survey of his life as recorded in the Scriptures reveals that David lived much of his life with a target on his back. As a young man, he received the anointing of God’s prophet to serve as the next king of Israel. But for the next 13 years, he was forced to live as an exile because King Saul, the man he was supposed to replace, had placed a bounty on his head. David became accustomed to a life on the run, living in caves and trying to stay one step ahead of his pursuers. During those years, he was hounded, betrayed, defamed, and plagued by doubts about his anointing, God’s promises, and his own future.

Even after becoming king and leading the nation of Israel to a period of prosperity and relative peace, David continued to endure personal attacks from both within and without. He was the warrior king who had to fend off Israel’s enemies and secure the land God had promised as their inheritance. Neighboring nations like the Philistines, Moabites, and Edomites were a constant source of conflict and concern. His entire reign was marked by internecine wars with the nations of Canaan.

According to 2 Samuel 8 and 1 Chronicles 18, David was highly successful in his military exploits because “the Lord made David victorious wherever he went” (2 Samuel 8:6 NLT). However, David’s blood-soaked hands disqualified him from fulfilling his dream of building a temple for God.

“My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a Temple where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it, but God said to me, ‘You must not build a Temple to honor my name, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.’” – 1 Chronicles 28:2-3 NLT

However, for David, the conflicts were not just external; they emanated from within his own household. After his illicit affair with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan confronted David and gave him a divine declaration of the punishment for his sin.

“From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.

“This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” – 2 Samuel 12:10-12 NLT

David’s family would become the epitome of dysfunction and disunity. His many wives produced a host of children and a perfect environment for jealousy, conflict, and sibling rivalries to thrive. His son Amnon ended up raping his half-sister Tamar. Because David failed to intervene and punish his son for his actions, Tamar’s brother Absalom took matters into his own hands and plotted Amnon’s death. Rather than arrest his son for murder, David allowed Absalom to escape. Years later, Absalom returned to Jerusalem, only to plan a coup to replace his father as king. Embittered by his father’s failure to mete out justice on Amnon and frustrated by his own exile for doing the right thing, Absalom displaced David as king and fulfilled the prophecy that Nathan delivered.

Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines. – 2 Samuel 16:21-22 NLT

As these historical events suggest, David’s life was anything but easy. While much of it was self-inflicted, some of the conflict he experienced was not his fault. He did nothing to incur Saul’s wrath. He was not responsible for Israel settling in a land filled with hostile nations that opposed their presence and were obsessed with their annihilation. Even the discord within his own family was not something David purposefully planned. It was the result of his poor parenting and bad personal choices.

David lived a complex life that was fraught with difficulties and filled with constant pressure. He was a husband with more wives than he could handle. He was a father with a large mixed family that required more attention than he was prepared to give. He was king over a nation with more enemies than allies. In short, he was a man well acquainted with stress and more than familiar with worry, doubt, and fear.

That is why he starts this psalm out like so many others.

O God, listen to my complaint.
    Protect my life from my enemies’ threats. – Psalm 64:1 NLT

The context is less important than the content of his prayer and the One to whom it is addressed. David always took his problems to God. He doesn’t list his enemies or provide the details of his complaint because he knows he doesn’t need to. God already knows.

He simply describes them as an evil mob and a gang of wrongdoers with tongues like swords and a penchant for his destruction. Their threats appear to be more verbal than physical. They threaten, plot, spread rumors, discredit, and devise plans to do David harm. But rather than take matters into his own hands, David takes his problem to the LORD.  He calls on the Almighty to defend and avenge him against his enemies, and expresses his belief that God will act on his behalf.

But God himself will shoot them with his arrows,
    suddenly striking them down.
Their own tongues will ruin them,
    and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. – Psalm 64:7-8 NLT

David exhibits a strange mix of consternation and confidence. He was perplexed and frustrated by his circumstances, but fully confident that God was aware and capable of taking care of the problem. David thought like a warrior, using imagery reflecting his battlefield experience. He envisions God’s actions as arrows flying through the air to pierce through the enemy’s armor. When the time is right, the Almighty will unleash a deadly barrage of divine vengeance against David’s oppressors and eliminate the problem.

Then everyone will be afraid;
    they will proclaim the mighty acts of God
    and realize all the amazing things he does.
The godly will rejoice in the LORD
    and find shelter in him.
And those who do what is right
    will praise him. – Psalm 64:9-10 NLT

For David, the presence of problems was an opportunity to see God’s power on display. He firmly believed that God would intervene and, when the dust settled, all would know that a miracle had occurred. The wicked would get what they deserved, and the righteous would know that God was in control and on their side. God’s intervention would produce fear in the lives of the wicked and righteous alike. When all was said and done, everyone would know that God had shown up. His power would be evident, and His right to be praised would be obvious.

David was well acquainted with difficulties, but he was also well-versed in the faithfulness and power of God. Nothing he had experienced in life was too big for God to handle. No enemy was too strong. No family problem was too complex. No battle was too lopsided. No gossip was too damaging. David believed that “the godly WILL rejoice in the LORD.” If they take their needs to Him, they will never be disappointed. If they seek shelter and safety in His presence, they will never be rejected.

David believed in the fallenness of man and the faithfulness of God. He was able to hold those two contradictory ideas in tension because he believed that God’s love ifor the righteous always wins out.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Once I was young, and now I am old.
    Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
    or their children begging for bread. – Psalm 37:23-25 NLT

Father, I needed to hear this today. It is so easy to let my circumstances dictate my outlook on life and determine my concept of who You are. Like David, I am not immune from difficulties and I am certainly not free from sin. I cause a lot of my own problems by my own actions. Yet, You invite me to come to you with all my worries and cares and You promise to give me peace as You display Your power on my behalf. You have proven Yourself faithful time and time again in my life. Yet, with each successive problem that shows up, I keep doubting and fearing. Give me the strength to turn to You even when things don’t turn out the way I expect them to. I want to see the trials of life as opportunities to see Your power on display, just as David did. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Patiently, Expectantly Waiting

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To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

3 How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11 Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
    according to his work. – Psalm 62:1-12 ESV

In this psalm, David repeatedly refers to God as his fortress, rock, refuge, and salvation. As a man well acquainted with the fugitive lifestyle, David uses terms that evoke his days on the run from King Saul. During those difficult years of his life, David sought safety by hiding in caves located in the difficult-to-access terrain of the rugged Judean wilderness. Those inaccessible geographic locales had provided him with a sense of security and rest from Saul’s relentless campaign to have him killed.

But in this psalm, David describes God as his ultimate source of solitude, solace, and security. The short descriptor that opens Psalm 62 provides no context to explain what happened in David’s life that caused him to pen its words. Some have speculated that it was written after David abandoned Jerusalem after his son Absalom conducted a successful coup to replace him as king.

A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”

“Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.”

“We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.”

So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace. The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house to let all the king’s men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king’s bodyguard. – 2 Samuel 15:13-18 NLT

When Absalom entered Jerusalem and established himself as the new king, one of the first things he did was sexually violate the ten concubines David had left behind. He committed this heinous act under the advisement of Ahithophel, David’s former counselor, who had taken part in the coup.

Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines. – 2 Samuel 15:21-22 NLT

It is unclear whether this event prompted David to write Psalm 62, but it illustrates the perfect-storm conditions that would have led David to turn to God for help and hope. Even as David abandoned his capital, he was confronted by a relative of King Saul who decided to kick him while he was down. Shimei was still angry that David had supplanted Saul as the king of Israel and stolen the crown from the tribe of Benjamin.

“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!” – 2 Samuel 16:7-8 NLT

When one of David’s men offered to silence Shimei by cutting off his head, David expressed his consternation and confusion over the situation. Still, he refused to take matters into his own hands.

“My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.

The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River. – 2 Samuel 16:11-14 NLT

That last line is important because it states that David “rested” when he reached the Jordan. He and his entourage had walked the 21 miles from Jerusalem to the eastern border of Israel. But when they arrived, they found rest. The opening lines of this psalm reflect that this was likely far more than a physical form of restoration.

I wait quietly before God,
    for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will never be shaken. – Psalm 62:1-2 NLT

David had time to reflect on his circumstances and remind himself that God had seen him through far worse conditions in the past, and He could do so again. David was not underestimating the severity of his problem. He knew he was in trouble and refused to downplay the dire nature of his circumstance.

So many enemies against one man—
    all of them trying to kill me.
To them I’m just a broken-down wall
    or a tottering fence.
They plan to topple me from my high position.
    They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face
    but curse me in their hearts. – Psalm 62:3-4 NLT

Yet, despite his doubts and fears, David decided to trust God for the outcome.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
    for my hope is in him. – Psalm 62:5 NLT

He placed his confidence in God and encouraged his discouraged followers to do the same.

O my people, trust in him at all times.
    Pour out your heart to him,
    for God is our refuge. – Psalm 62:6 NLT

This psalm was written in the heat of the moment, when all felt lost and the future was uncertain. David had no way of knowing the outcome of his circumstances, but he was willing to trust in God’s sovereignty and wait for God to do what only He could do.

For most of us, waiting on God is viewed as some kind of punishment or penance we must pay for our bad behavior. We view it as if God is somehow holding out on us, making us sweat and suffer as He delays in giving us what we want to teach us a lesson. But that perspective is based on a faulty view of God. He is not some petty deity using His power maliciously or malevolently to force us to do His bidding. He is a loving, patient, and merciful God whose actions are always driven by His care and concern for us.

If God were withholding what we needed to punish us or teach us a lesson, what kind of God would He be? Jesus pointed this out when He said, “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:9-11 NLT).

Does that mean we always get what we ask for, and does it come exactly when we expect it? Of course not. God is still God. He is all-knowing and aware of things that are beyond our ability to comprehend. He has a “big picture view” of things we don’t possess. He is not bound by space and time and knows the past, present, and future equally well. He is not limited by our decisions or bad choices but is in control at all times. At no point is God up in heaven wringing His hands in disbelief because He was somehow caught off guard by the events or circumstances surrounding our lives.

So David says, “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him” (Psalm 62:1 NLT). I love how The Message paraphrases that verse: “God, the one and only – I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not?”

I’ll wait as long as he says. Why? Because He knows best and He has my best in mind. He is my hope and salvation. He is my help and source of healing. He has a plan for my life that is perfect and complete. So David reminds us, “O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8 NLT). Trust in him at all times. Not just in the good times, but at all times. Even when things seem to be going poorly. Even when it appears as if He is nowhere to be found. Even when everything goes against you and everyone seems to be deserting you.

Wait quietly and trust Him. It is in those moments of waiting and trusting that we truly come to know who He really is. As we quietly, patiently wait, He reminds us of His love and then rewards us with His perfect answer at the ideal time. What we need is NOT the answer we’re hoping for, but the God who provides the answer. We need to know Him better. We need to trust Him more. We need to patiently wait and eagerly anticipate an answer because we understand the character of our God. His love never fails.

Father, thank You for the moments of waiting that come into my life on a regular basis. Thank You for teaching me to rely on You and not the world around me. May I continue to learn to wait patiently and expectantly on You because I believe You have my best in mind, in spite of what I see happening around me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Light in the Darkness

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

1 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!

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!

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! – Psalm 57:1-11 ESV

Because of Saul’s unjustified vendetta against him, David was forced to seek refuge in the wilderness. During his 13-year-long exile from Judah, David and his faithful band of men lived in constant fear for their lives, trying to stay one step ahead of Saul and his posse of well-trained mercenaries.

David wrote this psalm during this emotionally draining and confusing phase of his life. Yet despite the less-than-pleasant conditions in which he was forced to live, David remained confident in the Lord’s care and concern for him.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy!
    I look to you for protection.
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings
    until the danger passes by. – Psalm 57:1 NLT

While caves had become a source of physical refuge, David never stopped trusting in God as his ultimate protector and provider. Even as he hid in the dark recesses of some dank and unhospitable cave, David trusted his fate to God, believing that the Almighty would one day restore his fortunes.

I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
He will send help from heaven to rescue me,
    disgracing those who hound me. – Psalm 57:2-23 NLT

Though David was renowned for his military prowess, he viewed himself as a helpless bird huddled under the protective wing of its mother. During his extended trial, David had found God to be a constant source of strength and encouragement, showing up at just the right time and delivering him from the hands of his enemies. His escape from King Achish and the Philistines had not resulted from his award-winning acting skills, but because God had intervened on his behalf (1 Samuel 21:10-15).

David was a realist and not an overly optimistic, glass-half-full kind of guy. He knew the desperate nature of his circumstances and was more than willing to paint his conditions in realist terms.

I am surrounded by fierce lions
    who greedily devour human prey—
whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows,
    and whose tongues cut like swords. – Psalm 57:4 NLT

But as he expressed in the previous psalm, David saw no reason to fear men as long as God was on his side.

…my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me? – Psalm 56:2-4 ESV

This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me? – Psalm 56;9-11 ESV

David was in God’s leadership training school, where he received on-the-job training in trust and obedience. His path to the throne of Israel was proving to be anything but smooth and pleasant, but his awareness of God’s power and provision increased daily.

His life was an up-and-down, roller-coaster affair filled with constant threats to his life that required persistent reliance upon God. But even during his darkest moments, David never stopped viewing himself as a servant of God whose role was to shepherd and protect the people of God. At one point, he heard that the Philistines were stealing grain from the town of Keilah. Apalled by this act of aggression, David sought to know what God would have him do. When he asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?” (1 Samuel 23:2 NLT), he received a positive response.

So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. – 1 Samuel 23:5 NLT

When Saul received news that David had rescued the town of Keilah, he didn’t rejoice in this unexpected defeat of the Philistines. Instead, he saw an opportunity to capture David.

“We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men. – 1 Samuel 23:7-8 NLT

Fresh off his victory over the Philistines, David soon received news that Saul was coming. What made this report so disturbing was the fact that Saul intended to destroy his own people just to capture David. So, David sought the will of God once again.

“O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me.” – 1 Samuel 23:10-11 NLT

God confirmed David’s suspicions, so rather than risk the lives of the people of Keilah, David and his men vacated the town and headed back into the wilderness.

So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him. – 1 Samuel 23:13-14 NLT

That last line is key and explains why David had such confidence in God. He understood that God was responsible for his safety and security. Yahweh had provided every last-minute escape and led them to just the right cave to serve as their “stronghold.”

Looking back at his circumstances, David crafted a song to tell others what he had learned about his God. He penned the lyrics to a hymn of praise that chronicled God’s goodness even in the worst of times. David was being chased and hounded. His very life was in danger. He was surrounded by enemies and facing seemingly insurmountable odds. Yet he had been anointed by the prophet Samuel and appointed by God to be the next king of Israel. That is why he kept trusting in and crying out to the one “who will fulfill His purpose for me” (Psalm 57:2 NLT). Despite all that had happened since his anointing, David continued to trust God for the future.

My heart is confident in you, O God;
    my heart is confident.
    No wonder I can sing your praises! – Psalm 57:7 NLT

When Samuel traveled to Jesse’s house to find Saul’s replacement as king, David heard the Lord say, “This is the one; anoint him” (1 Samuel 16:12 NLT). Then Samuel poured the anointing oil on David’s head, and God poured His Spirit into David’s heart. In doing so, God promised David that he would one day be the next king of Israel. Yes, Saul was still on the throne and David was hiding out in a cave in the wilderness, but despite those circumstances, God would keep His promise.

David could sing God’s praises because He had learned to trust God’s promises. He didn’t delay his praise until God had fulfilled all his promises and he was sitting on the throne of Israel. No, David sang God’s praises from the depths of a cave in the middle of the wilderness, years before he ever put a crown on his head or set foot in the city of Jerusalem. David sang of God’s love and faithfulness in anticipation of God’s future fulfillment of His promises.

I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
    I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
    Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. – Psalm 57:9-10 NNLT

David had learned to praise God in the midst of his problems, not just after they were gone. He could sing in the darkness of the cave, when the light of God’s glory was difficult to discern and the hope of His promises was hidden from view.

Like David, we can praise God for what He has yet to do, because He always comes through. He keeps His word. The Lord never lies or reneges on His commitments.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
    He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
    Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT

David cried out to God, knowing that He would send help from heaven to rescue him. In due time, God would do what He had promised to do. And He still works the same way today. We can trust Him because He is trustworthy. We can sing in the cave because God is there. We can rejoice in the darkness because God’s light never diminishes or dims.

Father, may I be able to say, “My heart is confident in you, my heart is confident.” And may I be able to say it long before You’ve proven it true. May I praise You based on Your reputation for faithfulness, not just when I’ve seen it lived out. I tend to want to praise You when Your promises have been fulfilled in full. But David sang of Your greatness even when his circumstances painted a different picture. Strengthen my faith so that I might praise You even when I can’t see You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.