Run With It: Ravenous Beasts

Wednesday, December 26, 2012, 3:57 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “He Keeps Me Singing” playing in my mind.

There's Within My Heart a Melody / Luther B. Bridgers

There's within my heart a melody

Jesus whispers sweet and low:

Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,

In all of life's ebb and flow.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,

Discord filled my heart with pain;

Jesus swept across the broken strings,

Stirred the slumbering chords again.

Though sometimes he leads through waters deep,

Trials fall across the way,

Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,

See his footprints all the way.

Soon he's coming back to welcome me

Far beyond the starry sky;

I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown;

I shall reign with him on high.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 57 (NIV 1984):

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,

for in you my soul takes refuge.

I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings

until the disaster has passed.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.

He sends from heaven and saves me,

rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah

God sends his love and his faithfulness.

I am in the midst of lions;

I lie among ravenous beasts—

men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

They spread a net for my feet—

I was bowed down in distress.

They dug a pit in my path—

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast;

I will sing and make music.

Awake, my soul!

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

Enemies

The psalmist described his enemies as lions and ravenous (hungry; greedy; predatory) beasts whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

A lion is a predator: “A carnivorous animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animals in order to survive; a person, group, company, or state that steals from others or destroys others for gain; a ruthlessly aggressive, determined, or persistent person” (Encarta). Lions mainly sleep during the day but are awake at night. According to Wikipedia.org, “lions spend much of their time resting and are inactive for about 20 hours per day.”

In terms of this speaking of humans as his enemies, the psalmist described his enemies as those who are aggressive, greedy, cruel, merciless, who take advantage of others for their own personal gain, who will devour and destroy others for their own survival, and who steal from, lie to, and cheat others for their own advantage. They may also be, like a lion, those who are generally lazy and idle and who just sit around watching and waiting for their prey. As well, teeth are what we use to eat (devour) our food, so this is speaking metaphorically of them using their mouths (speech) and tongues to take apart, and to destroy others.

These enemies, though, were not far away from the psalmist. He said that he was in their midst and that he lived among them. In Psalm 56 the psalmist spoke of men who hotly pursue him and who press their slanderous attacks against him. All day long, he said, “they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life.” That sounds much like the description of the lion. And, in Psalm 55 he described his enemy as one who was once his companion, his close friend, and as one with whom he had once enjoyed sweet fellowship in the Lord. So, not only were his enemies those among his own people, but they were those with whom he had once had sweet fellowship in the Lord, and who had been his trusted friends.

The sad reality is that some of our fiercest enemies may also be those from within the church, or even in our own families, or who may have once been our closest friends.

Refuge

The psalmist, nonetheless, took refuge in the Lord. He looked to the Lord for his comfort, safety, protection, counsel and joy. The psalmist also understood the sovereignty of God, which is where he received his peace, even during this time of great personal trial and disaster. And, this is key to our survival, i.e. when we comprehend, not just with our minds but in our hearts, who God is and his purposes for our lives, we come to realize that God is over all, above all, is all powerful, and he will see that his purposes for us will be fulfilled. Nothing can touch us but what God has allowed it, and has allowed it for a purpose, so we never have to fear men or what they might do to us, because God has it all under his control.

There is no point in worrying about what people are saying about us, because we have no control over other people’s tongues. We have enough trouble controlling our own. We cannot control what other people do or say, but God can. And, God, in his perfect timing, will bring the enemies of the cross of Christ to justice. Yet, we pray for their salvation, and we pray for revival in the church, and for our fellow believers to turn their hearts back to God in repentance and obedience to his commands, and we pray that we may, as well, be drawn to God’s breast in daily purification of our sins and in choosing to walk each day in faithful obedience and surrender to God’s will for our lives. And, then we leave our enemies in God’s capable hands and trust that, in due time, he will rescue us from their evil attacks.

Praise!

One of the greatest remedies for discouragement or fear due to being oppressed by the enemy of our souls is praise. The psalmist, even though his enemies were fiercely attacking him with their tongues, trusted in the Lord, his faith unwavering, and he sang songs and made music in his heart in praise to God. When we put on praise in place of fear, and we sing songs of praise to God, or we sing scriptural songs that speak encouragement and strengthening to our hearts, it lifts our spirits and it gives us courage to keep pressing on. Singing songs of praise to God defeats the enemy of fear, and our faith is renewed.

Yet, this is not just about singing or saying words to God that praise him, but it is about praising God with our lives in living holy lives pleasing to him. And, it is about spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to the regions beyond, and taking the praise of God to the ends of the earth. In other words, our praise and our singing should not be kept private and just for our own personal edification, but it should be shared with others throughout the world so that they, too, can be encouraged and strengthened in their faith, and so that they, too, can praise God in the storms of their lives and when their enemies are fiercely attacking them, as well.

Our greatest enemy is Satan. He is like a lion crouching in cover just waiting for someone to devour. We resist him through our praise, because praise to God dispels the lies of Satan. The more we refuse Satan’s lies against our minds, and the more we choose to praise God, instead, the stronger our resolve becomes to keep on following the Lord Jesus no matter what may come our way. We praise God not only for what victories we can presently see in our lives, but we thank him and praise him for the hope of future victories, and for the hope of his soon return for his bride, and for his kingdom reign on the earth when our enemy will be bound, and we will be with our Lord Jesus forever!

When Morning Gilds the Skies / Unknown / tr. Edward Caswell; Robert Bridges / Joseph Barnby (Laudes Domini)

When morning gilds the skies,

My heart awaking cries: