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.
No comments:
Post a Comment