Five Kingdom Parables

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-50

The Gospel reading for today from this week’s Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer presents five short, brief parables, each revealing a different facet of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Through these specific parables Jesus is teaching of the supernatural growth of God’s Kingdom, the transforming power of the Gospel, along with the surpassing worth of salvation, and then the final separation of the righteous from the wicked.  Some of these very short parables might be familiar to you, others not as much so.  Let’s take a look.

The first parable in this set is the Parable of the Mustard Seed (vs. 31-32).  The mustard seed is quite small.  Though technically not the smallest seed in the world, it would have been the smallest that Jesus’ audience would be familiar with.  Though tiny, the mustard plant would typically grow to 10-12 feet tall, with woody branches that birds would rest on.  This was an example of a small beginning to a large outcome, which also describes the early Church.  It started with just a handful of disciples and quickly spread all around the world.  The farmer plants the seed, but it is God who causes the seed to germinate and then grow to its size.  The Kingdom of God expands because God is at work (Acts 2; Matthew 16:18).  This mustard tree or plant is big enough that people easily see it, just like the Church’s testimony should be seen and visible by all.  Just as the birds come and rest in the mustard plant, the nations and peoples of the world can find refuge in the Kingdom (Ezekiel 17:23).

The second parable is the Parable of the Leaven (vs. 33).  Leaven is a substance like yeast or baking soda, which when added to the flour will make it rise.  Frequently in the Bible yeast symbolizes sin, but here Jesus uses it positively. to illustrate its influence and penetration.  Compared to the amount of flour, the yeast added is just a very small amount, yet it is very important to the making of bread.  The yeast works invisibly but thoroughly.  It makes all the difference in the world, for without it your bread recipe won’t work.  Likewise, the Kingdom of God works internally and quietly, transforming everything it touches.  God’s Kingdom changes hearts from the inside out (II Corinthians 5:17).  It permeates families, cultures, and societies.  Like yeast, the Kingdom works quietly, unseen, and slow, but it is always effective.  Once planted, it will accomplish His purpose (Isaiah 55:11).

The next parable Jesus told in this series was the Parable of the Hidden Treasure (vs. 44).  In this parable a man finds a treasure in a field, so he sells what he has in order to have enough money to buy the field.  The treasure is so important to him that he is willing to give up his belongings in order to obtain it.  His sacrifice is not reluctant, it is joyful.  The value of being part of God’s Kingdom is like that treasure.  It is worth giving up all that the world considers valuable in order to obtain it.  Genuine salvation produces a willingness to forsake anything that competes with Jesus.  This man was happy when he bought the field.  Salvation is not a loss, but a gain (Philippians 3:7-8).  As believers in God’s Kingdom, we should treasure Jesus above all earthly possessions or ambitions.

The fourth parable that Jesus told at this time is the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price (vs. 45-46).  In this parable a merchant was looking over beautiful pearls, and found one of great value.  Like the man with the field, he also sells all he has to obtain this pearl.  He doesn’t go after all of the pearls, just the one.  Likewise, there is only one true Savior, not many (Acts 4:12).  Jesus is not one option among many.  He is the only pearl worth our life.  This merchant was searching for a valuable pearl, just like those who seek truth and find Jesus.  Like this merchant and the man with the field, following Jesus requires surrender (Luke 14:33).  If we want to follow Jesus, we cannot be stuck on the things of this world.  It costs everything to follow Jesus, but once we do, we realize He is worth more than everything else.  Nothing this world offers will ever satisfy us as much as a relationship with Jesus.

The final parable is the Parable of the Dragnet (vs. 47-50).  In this parable Jesus uses a familiar fishing scenario for the people, one where fishermen throw a large net into the sea and after a brief while it is pulled in again.  The fishermen then sort out the catch, separating the good fish from the bad.  The Kingdom ends with the final judgment, with the eternal separation of the righteous and the wicked.  Jesus explicitly interprets this as the end-time judgment.  At this time the angels will divide the saved from the lost (Revelation 20:11-15).  There will be no second chances.  This judgment is irreversible.

These parables present a full picture.  The Kingdom begins small, works quietly, is worth everything, and will end in judgment.  Knowing this, we need to live with eternity in view.  We need to be sharing the Gospel with urgency.  There are many in the “net”, but not yet among the redeemed.

Our Intercessor

Romans 8:26-34

Have you ever stumbled over your words, not knowing exactly what you wanted to say?  Perhaps you were on the phone with someone from the customer service department and you were having a difficult time trying to explain something.  You wished you could just hand the phone to someone else to handle it for you.  Maybe it was in school and you had to go speak to the well-known, renowned professor.  You wished you could send your much more eloquent and charming friend on your behalf.  There are times when we feel that way when we are praying.  Can we just hand it over to someone else to handle?  St. Paul gives us the answer to that in our Scripture passage today.  Let’s see what God’s Word has to say.

We have had studies from the eighth chapter of Romans three times this month, and today is our fourth sojourn into this chapter, and next week will be our final one.  There is a lot of good, “spiritual meat” in this chapter.  Last week Paul had spoken about both creation and believers groaning with what they are going through, and today he adds a third groaning, that of the Holy Spirit on behalf of us (vs. 26). When does this happen? As I mentioned earlier, there are times when we face a very critical situation, or are carrying a very heavy burden, and we know we need to go to the Lord in prayer.  We want to go to Him in prayer, but we don’t know what to say.  It is then, as Paul says, that the Holy Spirit steps in and helps our human weakness, especially our inability to pray as we should.

Even when we can’t find the words to pray, the Holy Spirit is there, taking our requests before God.  He holds on with us, strengthening our prayers with silent, wordless intercession.  Rather than stumbling over our words, praying the wrong things, or just making a mess of our intercessions, the Holy Spirit’s intercession is perfectly aligned with God’s will (vs. 27).  Even when our prayers are confused, weak, or misdirected, the Holy Spirit prays rightly.

Next follows a verse that many people count as one of their favorites, and is often quoted when going through a difficult time.  Verse 28 assures us that whatever we are going through, the Lord will work it out for our good.  “All things” includes suffering, trials, persecution, weakness, and even our ignorance in prayer.  With how often we hear people quoting this verse, we might think that it is a cliche.  It is not, though.  It is a theological guarantee rooted in God’s eternal plan.

However, we must remember that this verse does not apply to everyone.  Paul stated that things work together for good to “those who love God”.  As we know, there are millions everywhere who do not love God, and this verse would not apply to them.  It applies only to believers, to Christians.  However, for Christians, whatever the reason for our trial, we can know that God has a purpose in that adversity, and that He has allowed it for our good.  When a bad event passes through God’s permissive will to affect us, He will bring good from it.

As we continue on in our Scripture passage we see that it is God’s desire that we are conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus (vs. 29).  It is God’s goal to make believers like His Son.  He is continually working to shape our character, conduct, and conversation.  Although God is the one who accomplishes the transformation, we have some responsibility in the process.  If we don’t cooperate with Him, the world will squeeze us into its mold, and we will miss the great plans God has for us.  As we are conformed to the image of Jesus, we will increasingly learn to be obedient to God and His Word.

The word “if” in verse 31 would be better translated as “since” because there is no question whether He might or might not be for us.  God is definitely for His children!  And since He is, no enemy - human, demonic, or circumstantial - can thwart His saving purpose for us.  God gave His Son for us, which is the greatest gift ever (vs. 32).  And because He did, He will “freely give us all things”, giving everything necessary for our salvation and perseverance.

Satan is right there, though, trying to bring accusations against us to God (vs. 33).  Scripture calls him the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), but his accusations cannot stand because God justifies us.  There is no higher court in existence which can overturn His verdict!  There are four reasons why no one can condemn a believer (vs. 34).  Jesus died, paying the penalty for us.  He rose again, conquering death.  Jesus is now at the right hand of God, holding the place of authority.  And He is there making intercession for us, continually pleading our case.  As we see now, we have both the Holy Spirit praying for us, and also the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

A Godly Life in an Ungodly World

Psalm 119:121-136

This world is not an easy place, especially for a genuine believer, one who truly wishes to faithfully follow God and His Word.  If one isn’t following along with what popular society says, not only will there be harsh ridicule, but in many places there can be actual oppression.  Our psalm for this week is a portion from Psalm 119, the longest psalm, and actually the longest chapter in the Bible.  In this passage of Scripture we read the cry of a righteous servant living in an unrighteous world, clinging to God’s commandments as his only stability.

In the first half of this portion of the psalm the unknown author appealed to God’s justice, and asked Him for deliverance from his oppressors. The psalmist was a committed believer who was afflicted by those who opposed God, yet he remained faithful.  He was persecuted, yet he kept himself anchored in God’s Word.

As our portion of this psalm begins, the author asserted his integrity (vs. 121).  He wasn’t trying to say that he was sinless or perfect in God’s, or even his own sight.  He was appealing to God based on the fact that he knew that God was faithful to His covenant, and that he was committed to try and walk in obedience to the Lord.  Because he was committed to Him, he pleads with the Lord that He not abandon him to his enemies, who were also the enemies of God.  This oppression is serious, and he asked God for a pledge or guarantee that He will rescue him (vs. 122).

God doesn’t always answer our prayers immediately, the moment we pray, and that was also the case with our psalmist.  He was waiting, actually exhausted from waiting for God’s answer (vs. 123).  This is an example of the faithful endurance of a believer longing for God’s deliverance in a hostile world.  He doesn’t point to anything good in himself to deserve God’s help.  Instead he appeals to God’s mercy (vs. 124).  It is only through His grace and mercy that we receive anything good.

In the middle of his prayer for help, our psalmist declares how he loves God’s Word (vs. 125-128).  God’s people are aliens in enemy territory, and only the Bible can protect them from the lies of the oppressor.  However, we must accept all that God’s Word says about all things.  If we love the truth then we must also hate the false (vs. 128).  Today, just as in the psalmist’s day, evil has become so rampant that divine intervention is urgently needed.  We see morality collapse all around us, and long for God to act (vs. 126).

In the second half of this portion of Psalm 119, we read of the psalmist’s wonder at God’s Word, and how he prayed for spiritual illumination and God’s mercy.  God’s Word, the Bible, is our light in this increasingly dark and sinful world (vs. 130).  Earlier in this psalm, the author has told us how the Bible is a light for our path (Psalm 119:105).  Just as we need light to see where we are going so that we don’t trip, if we follow God’s Word we are less likely to trip and stumble through life.  The Lord Jesus called Himself the Light of the world (John 8:12).  With Him we never need to walk in darkness.

The Psalmist also speaks of how he longed for, even panted for God’s Word, like someone who is desperately hungry or thirsty (vs. 131).  This is reminiscent of Psalm 42:1-2, where the Sons of Korah spoke of how they longed for God, just as a thirsty deer longs for the cool water of a brook.  He depends on God’s mercy, and asks for the Lord to guide each step of his throughout life (vs. 132-133).

Again, he prays for the Lord’s deliverance from persecution (vs. 134).  We need this to be our prayer, as well, as we seek to stand for truth in a world that is increasingly hostile to Biblical authority.  The psalmist prays for God’s favor to fall upon him, just like a king’s benevolent face would turn with a smile upon a subject that he will bestow an honor upon (vs. 135).  This echoes the priestly blessing that Moses instructed Aaron and his sons to give to the people of Israel (Numbers 6:22-27).  The psalmist closes this portion of the psalm by recording how he weeps over sin, not just his own, but the sins of others (vs. 136).  This is the heart of a godly person, that they grieve over the world’s rebellion against God.

As we look back over this Scripture, we see that a godly Christian who seeks to follow the Lord will stand firm in righteousness, even when he is surrounded by evil.  The psalmist lived faithfully despite oppression, and so must we today.  We, like him, must love Scripture more than earthly treasures.  Gold will fade, but God’s Word endures forever.  We should be praying for God to act in a sinful world, praying for revival, justice, and for Christ’s return.  In doing so, let the sin we see so rampant in society break your heart.  A tender heart is a mark of true holiness.  This whole psalm, Psalm 119, is a model of a godly life in an ungodly age.

The Walls of Jericho

Joshua 6:1-25

We like to think that we are intelligent, rational, and logical people.  If we have a goal, job, or project that we need to accomplish, we will think out the most rational and logical way to complete that goal.  So if someone comes along and suggests something really bizarre, really outlandish as a way to achieve this job or project of ours, we are not likely to set aside our logical way to follow their crazy ideas.  In our Scripture today, though, we read of a skilled military leader who set aside all normal battle plans for something that anyone, military or not, would consider rather peculiar to say the least.  Let’s take a look at this account in the Old Testament.

The forty years of wandering in the wilderness after the Israelites dramatic exodus from Egypt was ending, and the people were now prepared to enter and take possession of the land the Lord had promised them.  In the earlier chapters of the Book of Joshua, the people had crossed the Jordan River, and they were now camping near the first city that the Lord had told them to take possession of, the city of Jericho.  God had chosen Joshua to follow Moses as the leader of the people after Moses’ death.  Joshua was also a skilled military man, and was the leader of their armies.

Shortly before our Scripture passage, Joshua had sent two spies into the city of Jericho to find out about the city and its people.  There they met Rahab, and learned that the people of Jericho feared them (Joshua 2:8-11).  Now, as they were preparing to enter the land, this walled city was “securely shut up”, meaning that it was locked down in fear (vs. 1).  Fortified cities at this time often had walls that were a dozen or more feet thick, were several stories high, and had massive wooden doors leading in and out of the walled city.  The people of Israel would have been afraid, too, as this was their first battle in the Promised Land, their first city of conquest.  Would they succeed or be soundly beaten?  They were dependent upon God.

Joshua came to the Lord in prayer before they set out to do battle, and this was when He gave Joshua the orders of how they were to go about conquering Jericho (vs. 2-5).  These orders must have sounded so bizarre to this military leader that he must have wondered if he heard correctly!  They were to march around the city once per day for six days.  There were to be seven priests carrying seven trumpets of rams’ horns.  On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times.  Then the priests would blow the trumpets, the people shout, and the walls would fall.  Why such a strange method?  Why not just batter down the gate, enter, and start fighting the people, like every other battle was done?  This strange way was given to show both the Israelites and all the Canaanites of the land that this victory was totally from God, not the people.  This was to show everyone that Yahweh was Israel’s God, and He was giving them the land.

Notice here in verse 2 that God speaks of the victory as if it is an already accomplished fact.  In God’s eyes, the victory was already won, and they were to think that way, too.  However, they were to obey even when the command seemed irrational.  God’s commands are not suggestions.  Obedience is required even when His ways defy human logic.  When the Lord calls us to a task that seems unreasonable, we have two options.  We can obey Him, even though we don’t understand what will happen, or we can become fearful and attempt to find a way out.  Joshua trusted the Lord, disregarding all of his military experience, and adopted God’s bizarre battle plan.

Joshua relayed God’s instructions, and Israel obeyed without complaint (vs. 6-14).  The people of Jericho were probably laughing at what these seemingly silly people were doing.  But God was making something dramatically clear - both to the Canaanites and to Israel.  These were His people, and He alone was giving the land to them.  On the seventh day, Israel marched seven times, and when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua commanded the people to shout (vs. 15-20).  Instead of shouting in jubilation after God gave them their victory, the Israelites shouted in faith before the walls fell.  This is not a myth or a metaphor.  It is a literal, historical miracle, demonstrating God’s power.

Why was there such severe judgment? (vs. 17-21).  The wickedness of the Canaanite people was extreme (Leviticus 18; Deuteronomy 12:29-31).  God is holy and He judges nations.  Israel was not acting out of cruelty, but in obedience to God.  Sin is serious, and God’s holiness demands judgment.  Rahab and her family were spared because she believed God’s Word and also she had sheltered the spies (vs. 22-25).  God saves those who believe, regardless of their background.  Rahab became part of Israel, and she was in the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).  Even in judgment, God extends mercy to those who believe.  Salvation is always by faith.

The world will say that we are crazy for following what God tells us in His Word, the Bible.  However when we do, He will ensure that we get the victory.  Jericho fell exactly as God said it would.  Like Joshua, we need to be listening to what God is telling us to do.  Read and study His Word, and pray.  Then do as instructed.  Obey the Lord.  He always honors obedience.

The Wheat and the Tares

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

An imposter has infiltrated the organization.  That is sometimes the plot of suspense movies or books.  Sometimes that happens in real life, too, with enemy agents spying on government agencies, getting into major corporations to attempt a takeover, or just sneaking into clubs where they don’t belong.  In today’s Gospel reading we see an infiltration, one sent by a specific enemy, and what our Lord has to teach us about it.

In our Scripture, Jesus told His disciples the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, in which He explained what will happen within the kingdom as the Gospel spreads throughout the world.  In this parable the Lord spoke of a man who sowed his field with good wheat seed, but in the dark of night his enemy comes and sows tares in the field (vs. 24-30).  Tares are a noxious, poisonous weed that looks very similar to wheat in the early stages, but is distinguishable when mature.  After the plants start growing the workers see that there are tares among the wheat, and ask if they should pull them out.  The owner tells them to wait until harvest, so that the good wheat won’t accidentally get pulled out along with the tares.  At that time the wheat is gathered for the harvest, but the tares are gathered and burned.

Jesus then proceeded to tell the disciples the meaning of this parable (vs. 36-43).  The Sower is God and the wheat seeds are Christians which are planted all over the world.  The enemy is Satan, who plants counterfeit believers, who are actually unbelievers, in among the true believers.  Satan opposes the work of Jesus, and is trying to undermine the work of the Church by placing his own people, the tares, among the good wheat, the true believers.  These tares, though, will be cast into eternal punishment, whereas the true believers will shine in God’s eternal kingdom.

What does this parable mean to us today?  Jesus wants us to know that Satan is intentionally trying to corrupt the Church.  He intentionally plants people who make false professions of faith, counterfeit Christians into the church, planting deception, and attempting to guide true believers down a wrong path of false belief and practices.  This is done subtly, not openly or obviously.  One such false belief is that Satan doesn’t really exist, but Jesus makes it very clear here, and throughout the Gospels,  that he does exist and is an active enemy.

The workers in God’s field asked whether they should go in and pull up these tares right away before they cause damage to the good wheat.  They want to purify the field immediately, but Jesus forbids it.  Just as tares are often very difficult to distinguish from the wheat, so too unbelievers who are falsely claiming to be Christians, who go around subtly trying to spread false beliefs, are often difficult to tell apart.  However, in the end they will be revealed, and God will separate them at the end.

Satan has been, and still is currently sowing weeds among the good seeds in God’s garden.  There are weeds in the church today!  They closely resemble the wholesome wheat, but are planted by Satan.  His purposes are always to do damage and destroy God’s purposes, and we should be aware and prepared.  We need to be like the Christians in the Berean church, checking every teaching we hear with the Scriptures (Acts 17:10-12).

The Lord does not want us to be the ones who do the weeding, as we might pull out what we thought was a tare, but it was really wheat.  Though we need to be careful with whose teachings truly line up with the Word of God, only God knows the human heart.  He alone can make a true judgment.

We may wonder why God does not weed out the wicked people and evil from His world, but we can be thankful that He is more intent on preserving His people until the harvest.  The presence of tares does not hinder the wheat from growing.  The true wheat will survive despite the tares being mixed among them.  There are pretenders in the church, and we must not let them influence our faith.  Instead, we should be influencing theirs.

Not everyone who says they are a Christian really is one.  There are false “Christians” that Satan has planted inside our churches.  We need to be careful of them, but leave the final judgment to Jesus.  He will send His angels to separate them, and then the wicked will face eternal fire, but the righteous will shine in glory.  This parable is both a warning and a comfort.  God sees, God knows, and He will judge perfectly.  Jesus closed this parable as He did many parables, with the statement “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”  Are we listening to Him?

Present Pain But Future Glory

Romans 8:18-25

Suppose some fairytale genie were to grant you, just as you were becoming an adult, a lifetime of happiness, no worries, living in an ideal location, doing what you would always have dreamed of doing, just a perfect life for the rest of your life.  However, in order to obtain this you would have to go through a very brief, less than a minute, of bad pain.  Would you do it?  I think most of us would.  What is one minute compared to a lifetime, perhaps 70 or more years, of a perfect life?  Equally so, what are a handful of years compared to an endless eternity?  This hypothetical scenario is similar to what St. Paul speaks of in our Scripture today, as we continue on in the eighth chapter of Romans.

Paul begins this portion of Scripture with teaching that the various sufferings that we all go through throughout life are insignificant compared to the future glory that God will reveal (vs. 18).  He doesn’t deny the existence of suffering.  We all know it is real, however it is temporary.  The glory of the believer’s future eternal life is certain.  It is immeasurable, and it will be forever.  Whatever problems or pain we are going through won’t last forever, but we will.  Compared with eternity, what is 70, 80, or 90 years?  It is like a millisecond.  Paul tells us to look beyond the present to the promised future.

There is coming a time in the future when God’s children will receive their glorified bodies, and will be presented and shown as His redeemed people (vs 19).  This will be at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus and His Millennial Kingdom.  As Paul states, this is something that creation itself longs for because its own restoration is tied to our glorification.

Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden didn’t just affect them and mankind.  It also affected all of creation - other animals, plants, the weather, all of creation (vs. 20-22).  They all fell, as well.  The Fall in the garden brought decay, death, and disorder into the physical world.  There were no weeds in the Garden, nor thorns and thistles.  There were no birth defects, violence, nor poisonous animals or plants.  There were no tornados, hurricanes, nor all the earthquakes we have seen lately.  Creation is now in “bondage of corruption”, but it will one day be delivered when Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom.  People may say that the earth’s future is destruction, but that is not true.  Creation’s future is freedom.

Paul uses language here, that of moaning and groaning, that echoes that of childbirth, which is pain with a purpose.  All of the natural disasters, the decay, disorder, and death are evidence of creation’s groaning.  This groaning is not hopeless, it anticipates its new birth.  The physical creation is awaiting its renewal.

Creation isn’t the only thing that is groaning.  As believers groan too (vs. 23).  We groan because we are waiting for “the adoption and the redemption of our body”.  The adoption will be the full and final experience of being God’s child.  We also eagerly await the glorified body that was promised at the resurrection.  The Holy Spirit guarantees this future inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14), and He produces the longing for Christ’s return in us.  We groan because we know that this world is not our final home.

We were saved into hope (vs. 24-25).  This hope is not wishful thinking.  It is a confident expectation grounded in God’s promises.  Hope that is seen is not hope, so therefore believers wait with patience.  We hope and wait for our future resurrection and the return of Jesus.  We hope and wait for the restoration of all of creation and our glorification.  This hope fuels our endurance of all we might currently be going through.

We can endure suffering with confidence, knowing our future is glorious beyond comparison.  Let us lift our eyes from the pain of the present to the glory of the future.  Suffering is not the final chapter.  Redemption is.  We groan, all creation groans, but it should be filled with hope.  Jesus will return, creation will be restored, and we will shine with Him in glory.  Let us anchor our hope in God’s promises, not in our present circumstances.

A Prayer of David

Psalm 86

Our psalm for this week has the subtitle of  “A Prayer of David”.  Seventy-five of the psalms were written by David, exactly half.  Many of them were prayers of his, prayers for help.  David did not have an easy life, as he spent many years on the run from King Saul, who tried to have him killed.  Even after becoming king, things weren’t always easy, so there were many times where he needed God’s help.  We don’t know what specific circumstance was behind today’s psalm, but it is one that we can all relate to.  Let’s take a look.

As a believer who loved and trusted in Yahweh, we see in this psalm that David approached Him in prayer with humility, dependence, confidence in His character, and an unwavering loyalty to Him alone.  We see here how a child of God should pray when pressed by trouble.  David had a special or desperate need which he presented to the Lord.  He then spoke the truth about God’s character, which is why he knew he could come to Him.  Then he surrendered himself to trust in His love and care.

David began his prayer to God in a position of humility (vs. 1-4).  His statement of being “poor and needy” referred to spiritual poverty, not necessarily to financial poverty, especially if this was written while he was king.  The Lord will respond to us if we come to Him in humility (James 4:6; Psalm 34:18).  David’s claim of being “holy” was not a contradiction of being humble, nor a boast of spiritual pride.  Instead he was saying that he had set himself apart for the Lord, that he was devoted to Him, not that he had sinless perfection.

David recognized his lack of ability to help himself, and that God alone was adequate.  He prayed for God to preserve him, to save him, to be merciful to him, and for God to rejoice his soul.  These requests show that his prayer was not in his own self-confidence, but that his confidence, trust and belief  was in God.  David proclaimed that God was his God, and that he was his servant.  He knew that God was merciful, and he really needed His mercy.

Now our psalm shifts from petition to David putting his confidence in God’s character, in who He is (vs. 5-10).  David knew that God is a good God.  He not only does some good things, He is good.  This is something that we need to not only know in our head, but to believe in our heart.  He also proclaimed that God is ready to forgive.  This is a foundational doctrine in our faith.  God’s forgiveness is abundant and accessible.  Yahweh is also plenteous in mercy.  His mercy is not rationed out, to where we only get so much, and that is it, and that some days we may run out of the limited mercy apportioned to us. Instead, God’s mercy is overflowing.  David also knew that God is a God who answers prayer.  He expected God to act because He has acted on his behalf many times before.  Our God is incomparable.  As David said, “Among the gods there is none like You”.  Yahweh has no rivals and no equals!  David wanted God alone to be glorified in the victory He would give.

The next section is the spiritual center of the psalm (vs. 11-13).  David wanted instruction from the Lord, not merely deliverance.  He prayed that his heart would be united to God.  The human heart is naturally divided, pulled by fear, by temptation, and by distraction.  A divided heart leads only to instability (James 1:5-8), because we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).   We need to have single-minded devotion to God.  We also need to have a proper and reverential fear of God’s holy Name.  This is not terror, but a reverence, loyalty, and obedience to Him, which is unfortunately lacking in so many churches today.  David wanted a single heart that feared the Lord, learned from Him, obeyed, and praised Him.

David finally got around to describing his crisis (vs. 14-17).  There were proud men who had risen against him, and violent men who wanted to kill him.  They had no regard for God.  David didn’t dwell on them.  Instead he focused on God’s character again, repeating that God is full of compassion, He is gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.  This echoes what the Lord said when He passed before Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 34:6-7).

Lastly, David asked God for a visible sign of His favor, not for pride, but so that his enemies would know that God was with him (vs. 17).  We, too, should so desire that God would be working in our life, so as to be a testimony to others, particularly the unsaved.

David’s prayer today was humble and persistent.  It was God-centered and rooted in Scripture.  David also expected God to answer him.  Our prayers should be this way, as well.  Though we should honestly speak to God about our needs or the crisis we are in, we should even more so focus on His character, as David did.  The most difficult situations we face can become doorways to a deeper relationship with Jesus.  This begins when we call on Him to help us in our trouble, and also to lead us each day in His way.  As with David, the Lord hears our cries for help.