David, the second king of Israel, is credited with writing
the majority of the Psalms. We can see
from the title that this is one of his.
His claim, in verse 1, to be poor and needy, would lead us to believe
that this Psalm was written before he was king.
It was during this time that David wrote many of the Psalms attributed
to him. These Psalms often have the
request ‘deliver me from my enemies’ as their theme. Why is this such a recurring theme for David?
Because of King Saul’s (first king of Israel) disobedience
to the Lord, God decided to make a change in the family line of the monarchy (I
Samuel 15). He wanted a king who would
seek after His own heart and so He had David anointed as next in line to the
throne. God knew David had that kind of
a heart. The Bible tells us that shortly
afterwards, King Saul was afflicted by a troubling spirit from the Lord. David, being a talented musician in his youth,
was brought to the palace to play for the king to soothe him and bring relief
whenever the evil spirit came upon him (I Samuel 16:14-23). But David’s popularity in the palace grew, as
did his fame from slaying Goliath and from other triumphs in battles (I Samuel
18:5-29) and with time, Saul’s jealousy of David became worse and worse. Learning that Saul wanted to kill him, David
fled the palace and spent years in hiding from Saul and his troops until Saul’s
death. These are the experiences you see
reflected in David’s Psalms.
Think about a younger David, before he was king, sitting in a cave hiding from
Saul’s troops, as you read verses 1-7.
God has already had him anointed to be the next king of Israel. How real do you think that feels to him at
this point in time? Yet, we can feel in
these verses, as he sings his prayer to God, that he trusts God and His
promises. What can we surmise about
David’s faith from this prayer during these bleak times? How does your faith hold out during the low
times in your life? Ask God to show you
how to have your heart linked with His even during your lowest points as you go
through this life.
Let’s look closely at verse 8 for a moment. We know that Israel had a problem with idol
worship but that did not seem to be an issue for David. What statement do you think he is making in
this verse? Now combine this verse with
verses 9 and 10. Here is what I believe
to be the point. Israel has their own
God. No other nation has begun
worshipping their God but they have begun worshipping all the gods of the other
nations. This is in spite of the fact
that Israel’s God has done great deeds for them (or miracles) while the gods of
the other nations have not done great deeds.
Yet someday, all the nations of the world will worship the God of Israel. There is no other God besides the God of
Israel. Because these are such recurring
themes throughout the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:23, Mark 12:29, I
Corinthians 8:4, Philippians 2:9-11, Revelation 15:3-4), Biblical unity is
established and the Divine inspiration for this Psalm can be strongly felt.
Verses 11 and 12 show David’s desire for God to receive
honor and glory. Is that the desire of
your prayers? Verses 13 through 16 again
address the pending problem of his enemies which stays close on David’s mind
throughout his prayer as well as God’s forgiveness. Finally, David concludes, in verse 17, with
an appeal for his enemies to be exposed to God’s goodness and to be changed by it. We should always desire that our enemies be
brought to salvation. Is that your
desire for your enemies?
Responding to God: Is there an enemy in your life from whom you
constantly seek the Lord’s protection?
Do you seek unity with God’s heart even when times have hit rock
bottom? Ask God to help you seek His
will for you in those difficult times and to help your enemies see God through
you as you deal with those times.
Worship God as the one and only true God of this world and pray that
your enemies will recognize Him as the same.
Record in your journal areas that God has impressed upon you where He
wants you to trust Him while you wait for His action.
Further Research: To learn more about the relationship between
King Saul and King David, read I Samuel 15-31.
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