Our psalm today is one written by David. He authored about half of the psalms, many of them being prayers and/or praise to God for help as he fled from his enemies. Today’s psalm reading is one such psalm, written by David as he was hiding from King Saul in the wilderness and forest around the city of Ziph, in southern Judah. While hiding there the residents of Ziph betrayed him, telling Saul he was there. In the midst of these dire troubles, David writes this short psalm of prayer to God.
The occasion for this psalm is found in I Samuel 23:14-29. Why did David have to spend several of his young adult years fleeing King Saul? Hadn’t David killed the nation’s enemy, the Philistine Goliath, sparing the country defeat and slavery? Following that, David had become Saul’s personal court musician, in addition to further military duty. He also became the king’s son-in-law, marrying Saul’s daughter, Michel. What went wrong, causing Saul to turn against David, causing David to flee for his life? Following becoming king, Saul’s spiritual life and relationship with the Lord God took a drastic downward plunge. Throughout the book of I Samuel we read how he consistently disobeyed what he knew to be God’s will. Finally God decided to take the kingdom from Saul and his descendants, and give it to another. Saul realizes this will be David.
As Saul drifts further and further from God, he sinks deeper and deeper into depression and paranoia. Saul’s jealousy rages out of control when he hears songs people have written, praising David’s victories in battle against the country’s enemies. Several attempts on his life were made while he stayed with the royal court, and David finally had to flee for his life while Saul hunted him down.
When we deliberately and knowingly drift from God, consciously disobeying His Word, we cannot expect our life to go smoothly. When Saul came to the throne, he never would have thought, no one would have thought, that he would so violently seek the life of an innocent man. Departing from God can lead us to do things we never would think ourselves capable of. Jealousy and bitterness are two ugly feelings. Left unchecked they can lead us right into the devil’s hands, as they did with Saul. Now we have David and his band of guerrilla fighters fleeing in the wilderness for several years.
While hiding out near the city of Ziph, the townsfolk there betray David to Saul. Why did they do that, we wonder. Perhaps they were looking for a royal reward, money for themselves and the city. Maybe a tax-free status for Ziph. Hiding David could only bring a promise of a reward in the future, if he became king, which was no sure thing in their eyes. People knew, though, that David had done nothing wrong to the king, and was being unjustly pursued. Money and earthly rewards can tempt us to take an easy way, however wrong or hurtful to others it may be.
What did David do at this time? Did he take matters into his own hands? No, David prayed to the Lord as he always had, trusting Him to answer and protect him. The residents of Ziph did not know him, as David said in verse 3, yet they were willing to turn against him. He prayed to the Lord to deal with his enemies, both Saul and his men, and also the Ziphites, as He saw fit.
Are you being unjustly attacked, people unfairly turning against you? Follow David’s example and turn the matter over to the Lord to handle. He can repay our enemies far better than we ever can (vs 5). As far as Scripture records, David never took vengeance on Ziph. He knew to leave vengeance to God (Romans 12:19). Instead David gave praise and sacrifices to the Lord (vs 6-7). We can know, as David did, that as long as we stay in His will, He will watch over and protect us. Let’s trust the Lord God in all of our trials and persecutions.
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