Psalm 56:1-13
For years I read a
Psalm’s and a Proverbs, most days because someone told me that was a wise thing
to do. Like most of you, I was present in the room at school, but it was
a requirement and not something I wanted to do, so to my regrets, I’m a very
slow reader. Then much later, someone said I should be reading five Psalms
and a Proverbs. That is if I was going to grow in my walk with Christ, I just
quit reading the Psalm unless they were part of a lesson I was teaching.
With that said, many of the Psalms are related to a time and place, an event,
so shall we look at 1 Samuel 21:10-15?
“That day David fled
from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the
servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t
he the one they sing about in their dances: “‘Saul has slain his
thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king
of Gath. So, he pretended to be insane in their presence,
and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the
doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring
him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring
this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into
my house?”
In 1 Samuel
21:10-15, we understand what the Psalmist is telling us. In light of
that, we know David is looking for a place to rest from Saul, who is trying to
kill him, and yet this place of refuge turns out to not be a wise choice.
Each day you and I make choices; often they are driven by not need, not by God,
but by fear or greed.
David, it sure
seems has picked the wrong vacation retreat from Saul, and now he is sending up
prayers asking God to save him from this new enemy that he fears will take his
life. When David refers to tears in your bottle, he is referring to
prayers, and that God who is all-knowing will act on them at the right time.
Now if you are busy
and have been working in a Psalm and or Proverb each day without understanding
what has taken place, or even asking God to reveal more of Himself to your
understanding so you can walk in victory in this wicked world. May I
offer a better way, stop trying to impress God, and start asking Him to reveal
Himself to you each day, in the Scriptures you read. In Psalm 56: 3-4, I
need to run to my Father with all my needs. In verses 5-6, it's a
reminder that we live in a fallen world, a world that hates authority and wants
to destroy all that is holy.
In verses 9-13, I
am reminded that You and You only Father have the power and authority over
Satan and all the enemies of yours, so when the Bible instructs me to not fear
what man can do, but fear the one who has the power to kill the body and place
the soul in eternal hell.
In verses 9-11
applied to a follower of Christ's life, no matter what is taking place, you
will be an overcomer. I’m not saying you will feel good, do you recall
Daniel 3:16-18, “Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend
ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown
into the blazing furnace, the God we serve
is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your
Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have
set up.” Now let us return
to verses 9-11 in Psalm 56, “Then my enemies will
turn back when I call for help. By this, I will know that God
is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose
word I praise—in God, I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to
me?”
From the Back
Porch,
Bob Rice
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