Attacked For Your Faith

Psalm 69:1-18

Today we are visiting the life of King David, known as the sweet psalmist of Israel, again as we look into another of his psalms.  As we read throughout the books of I and II Samuel, David had many enemies.  Before he was king, David spent many years fleeing for his life from King Saul.  After he became king, he had to fight enemies from foreign nations, in addition to threats to his throne from both the descendants of Saul and his own son Absalom.  Those who David felt he should have been able to trust he couldn’t, including, as we shall see, those of his own family.

Nobody enjoys suffering or when others turn on us.  It’s especially hurtful when we’ve done nothing to warrant that treatment.  It’s even more painful when those who turn against us were once our friends, and especially so when they are family members.  David had to deal with one of his son’s, Absalom, attempting to take the throne from him.  However, this psalm was written during a time of desperation much earlier in David’s reign.

Though the Scriptures don’t specifically say, there are several hints that David’s childhood family was not a loving or gracious one to him.  When the prophet Samuel came to visit his father Jesse, and requested that all of Jesse’s sons come to the sacrifice, Jesse didn’t bother to call David in from the fields with the sheep (I Samuel 16:1-13).  It was like he was considered a no-account.  His brothers mocked him right before his battle with Goliath (I Samuel 17:28-29).  Later, in one of the psalms he wrote, David attested that he had felt that both of his parents had forsaken him (Psalm 27:10).  However, David did not let that turn him away from following and loving the Lord.  His faith and trust in Him remained strong.

As a matter of fact, it was David’s strong commitment to the Lord that seems to have been what caused the problems and attacks he was facing in this psalm.  People hated him because he had wanted the country to be faithful and true to Yahweh (vs. 9).  This verse was one which later in Scripture was applied to Jesus (John 2:17, Romans 15:3).

Have there been times when family or friends turned against you because of your stand for the Lord Jesus?  Maybe your family rejected you when you accepted Jesus as your Savior, or they mocked you for reading and  believing in the Bible.  Perhaps some friends stopped wanting to be around you anymore after you became a Christian.  This happened to David when he wished, as king, to take a stand for Yahweh (vs. 8).  We may have to suffer, sometimes even severely, for our devotion to God.  We can look forward with joy to the day when He will destroy evil and injustice.

Throughout this psalm, and many others as well, we read that David was scoffed at, mocked, insulted, humiliated, and gossiped about.  This was very hard on him.  David cried to God until he was physically exhausted, with a parched throat, and blurred vision from crying (vs. 3).  However, he still continued to pray and turn to God.  He did not let that unfair and ill-treatment turn him away from the Lord.  It is during these times, when others reject us, that we need to turn to God the most.

David was concerned, though, that he, through his behavior, not be a hindrance or an obstacle to others (vs. 5-6).  He felt that the desperation of his situation could lead to being a stumbling block to the faith of other believers.  David knew that if his own faith and trust in God was wavering, he might say something that could cause others to lose what faith they might have.  He also knew that any slip into sin would definitely be a stumbling block to others.  Though David had several occasions when he did fall into sin, like we all do, he did sincerely seek to live for the Lord.

People are always watching believers.  We should always be careful to see that we are representing the Lord God well at all times.  Just as David prayed and desired, we need to make sure that our life and behavior is not a stumbling block to others, or will lead them into temptation.