Sunday, July 01, 2012,
7:30 a.m. – the Lord woke me with the song “Now Abiding” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is
listening. I read Psalm 17 (NIV
1984):
Hear, O Lord, my
righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
May my vindication
come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
Though you probe my
heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.
As for the deeds of
men—
by the word of your lips
I have kept myself
from the ways of the violent.
My steps have held to
your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
I call on you, O God,
for you will answer me;
give
ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show the wonder of
your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their
foes.
Keep me as the apple
of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
from the wicked who
assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
They close up their
callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
They have tracked me
down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
They are like a lion
hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover.
Rise up, O Lord,
confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword.
O Lord, by your hand
save me from such men,
from men of this world whose reward is in
this life.
You still the hunger
of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their
children.
And I—in righteousness
I will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with
seeing your likeness.
The Examination
This is a prayer of King David. He was facing much
opposition from physical enemies. So, he was calling upon God to show him great
love and mercy. Yet, before he could pray that part of his prayer, he obviously
had spent much time with the Lord in soul searching, examining his own heart
before the Lord, and perhaps even confessing any known sin in his life and
heart, as well as asking the Lord to examine him, too. Then, he could say with
confidence that his prayer to God was a righteous plea that stemmed from pure
motives, and that there was no deceit on his lips; no deceit in his utterance
to God in prayer.
David made his appeal to God on the basis of God’s righteous
judgment. If God, in the night, had probed his heart and had examined his
thoughts, motives, and actions, God would have found that David was not holding
on to any known sin in his heart. He had resolved to not sin with his mouth. [That
is a tall order, especially when we read what James (in the NT) said about the
tongue.] David, also, purposefully had kept himself from the ways (actions and
attitudes) of people who willfully do evil, and he had walked in the ways of
the Lord, and in the truth of his word. Could we all say this, in truth?
When he said that his feet had not slipped, I am most
certain David was not making claims to absolute sinless perfection, but that in
his present state of heart examination, he found that he had been faithful to
God. And, so he felt justified in bringing his appeal to God.
This idea of heart examination is not just an Old Testament
principle. It has its counterpart in the New Testament, too. Paul, in giving instructions
on communion, stated that “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the
bread and drinks of the cup.” If a person partakes in communion with our Lord,
whether in the physical elements in the Christian rite of communion, or whether
speaking of his intimate relationship with the Lord in prayer, fellowship,
adoration, thanksgiving and in making requests of God, it is essential that he
come into that time with the Lord with a pure heart and a clear conscience.
For, if we come into a time of communion with the Lord, in remembrance of what
he did in sacrificing his life for us so that we can be free from sin, while we
knowingly are holding on to sin, we “eat and drink” judgment on ourselves.
Is this where we are presently? Have we examined our hearts
and minds before God in prayer, and can we honestly say before God that he
would not find any hold of sin, or any sin not yet repented of existing still
within our lives, hearts and minds? Would he say of us that he finds no deceit
in us, and that our steps have held to his path?
The Enemy
David’s enemies were wicked people. They had surrounded him,
and they were attacking him, most likely with physical weapons of war, but they
could have been attacking him with lies and accusations, too, especially since
David said that his enemies spoke with arrogance. These were violent men who
had tracked David down and whose mission and goal was to destroy David, in one
way or another. They were coldhearted men who had determined to remain that way
and to show no compassion. David described them as “like a lion hungry for
prey; like a great lion crouching in cover” just waiting to pounce on its
victims. These men had no regard for God or for his word. They were worldly men
whose reward was in this life, i.e. they worked for earthly benefits, not for
heavenly values and rewards.
The New Testament speaks of two kinds of enemies: 1. People
who are willfully mistreating, abusing, taking advantage of, and persecuting us,
etc. and 2. Satan and his evil forces.
We are taught in the New Testament, with regard to physical
enemies (made up of human beings), that we are to feed them, if they are hungry,
and to give them something to drink, if they are thirsty (see Ro. 12:20). Jesus
said that we are to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to say kind
things about those who say bad things about us, and we are to pray for those
who mistreat us (see Luke 6:27-35).
He also said that, because of our faith and testimony for
Jesus Christ, our enemies could even be members of our own household. Yet, our
love for Jesus should always rule over our love for our family members, i.e. we
should always choose to please Jesus first. Jesus came to set us free from the
hand of our enemies, though not necessarily physical deliverance in this life,
but to free us from the fear of man, and to enable us to serve him without fear
(see Luke 1:68-79).
We are also taught that we were once enemies of God and of
the cross of Christ when we were still in our unbelief (see Ro. 5:10; Phil.
3:18; Col. 1:21). That thought should humble us. So, we should pray for our
enemies to find Christ, too. And, we should leave the judgment to God, i.e. he
will pay back trouble to those who troubled us in this life when he returns to
earth to judge his enemies and to deliver us.
With regard to Satan as our enemy, we are taught that we are
to be self-controlled and alert, because our enemy is like a roaring lion
seeking someone to devour (see 1 Pet. 5:7-9). David described his enemy much in
the same way. We are to resist the devil, standing firm in the faith (cf. Jms.
4:7), and submit ourselves to God, all of which David did. We are to be careful
not to give Satan a foothold in our lives (see Eph. 4), but we are to put off
the misdeeds of the flesh, and we are to put on the things of the Spirit. We
can’t expect to keep from sinning if we are opening the door for Satan into our
homes, minds and hearts via what we take into our eyes and minds. We are to
daily put on the “armor of God” (see Eph. 6:10-20), so that we can take our
stand against the devil’s schemes, for our true struggle is not against flesh
and blood (humans) but against the spiritual forces of evil (of the devil).
The Appeal
David asked for an audience with God. He asked him to hear
his righteous plea and to listen to his cry. He asked that his vindication (to
be declared righteous and not to blame) come from God. It appears that his
enemy may have been falsely accusing him of wrongdoing, so he was asking God to
clear his name, basically, and to set the record straight. And, he could ask
this on the basis of his own heart examination and his clear conscience.
David took refuge in God, at least at this time in his life.
He had no desire to get even with his enemies of his own accord. He acknowledged
that God was a just God, and that he saves those who take refuge in God. Yet,
we know from Biblical history, as well as from the instructions given to us in
the New Testament, that God never promises absolute deliverance (physically)
from all physical enemies at all times. Many times it is God’s will that we
suffer unjustly at the hands of wicked and evil people, or ignorant people who
think they are doing a service for God by mistreating us. Yet, he always
promises spiritual protection, his peace, assurance, joy, love, kindness,
tenderness, and compassion during times of physical or emotional suffering at
the hands of either physical or spiritual enemies.
David asked that God would keep him as the apple of his eye,
meaning that he is special and treasured in God’s sight. He also asked that God
would hide (shelter) him in the shadow (safety) of his wings (arms). He was
praying for both physical and spiritual protection from his enemies.
This kind of relationship David described between him and
God is descriptive of what our relationship should be with Jesus Christ when we
are walking in fellowship, surrender, and obedience to him and to his will for
our lives on a daily basis. It begins with confession, repentance, and the
resolve to keep our lives free from sin, and to follow Jesus Christ in
obedience, and then it grows on a daily basis as we continue in this resolve,
and as we daily spend time with our Lord in fellowship, prayer, confession,
repentance, obedience, worship, and service, as the Lord leads and directs us
in his ways. Then, we can expect God to hear our pleas for mercy and to give us
the spiritual and emotional protection we need.
Now Abiding / An
Original Work / January 31, 2012
Walking with Him; have
Him near me,
Brings me comfort, joy
and healing.
Now abiding in His
presence;
His words speaking,
oh, how gently:
Speak conviction,
inspiration,
And instruction in
right living.
Hope and comfort Jesus
brings you,
When you’re walking
with Him daily.
Be His servant; share
the gospel;
Be His witness of
salvation.
Love your brothers and
your sisters.
Share with them that
Jesus loves them.
Talking daily with my
Savior;
List’ning to Him while
He teaches,
Draws me closer; get
to know Him,
So that I can now obey
Him.
Follow Him where’er He
leads me.
Worship only Jesus,
Savior.
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