Psalm 59:1

Psalm 59:1

A Prayer for deliverance

This Psalm is not dissimilar to Psalm 55 where David is cowering from the murderous intentions of King Saul and is constantly under watch. Like some of the preceding Psalms, this one finds the fugitive suffering particularly from the malicious talk and slanderous accusation of his enemies. The lies that are being spread and the rumours that are deliberately started bring shame but also stir up righteous anger, for David is convinced of his innocence and he knows that every falsehood is meant to diminish his status before the people. Saul is so driven by his jealousy and hatred that even if he cannot unearth David, he intends to make sure that his reputation is tarnished forever. In Saul’s mind, no one in Israel ever will look up to the anointed upstart and ever trust him to lead them.

 

v1        It is to David’s credit that he has learned to trust the Lord for his deliverance and for his future safety. The lessons in the wilderness, being on the run, cowering before Canaanite kings, all of this has increased his dependence upon the Lord. And so, he begs that God will deliver him. What else can he do? This situation has rumbled on for a long time and all of David’s attempts to escape capture have left him tired and short of ideas. Let the Lord deliver me. Let the Lord be my fortress.

Yes, it is hard when we are under constant attack and have nowhere to turn and you might retort, “It’s easy for you to say.” But the truth is, if we are prepared to let these frightening and stifling situations teach us dependency, then we have learned a huge lesson. Our God is a Deliverer. He is a stronghold and fortress. He will guard and keep his children. We can turn to Him and trust Him. If we can take that on board during the tough times, we will also remain dependant when things are good. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more