I Know that God is For Me

For Man Tramples on Me

Psalms 56:1-7 ESV

 

“Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;

    all day long an attacker oppresses me;

my enemies trample on me all day long,

    for many attack me proudly.

When I am afraid,

    I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can flesh do to me?

 

“All day long they injure my cause;

    all their thoughts are against me for evil.

They stir up strife, they lurk;

    they watch my steps,

    as they have waited for my life.

For their crime will they escape?

    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!”

 

The addicted to sin, the intoxicated to self-indulgence and to self-gratification, those who make sexual immorality and idolatry and adultery their practice, their habit, are trampling upon the hearts of those they are sinning against, in particular their spouses. They make adultery their practice, and lying, too, to cover up their acts of adultery.

 

This writing here is specifically referring to sinning against spouses who are following the Lord Jesus Christ with their lives, so the adulterers and their spouses are far apart from each other in what they practice, for the one makes a practice of lying and of committing adultery, and the other makes a practice of faithfulness, righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Lord Jesus.

 

So, husband and wife are distanced from each other emotionally, spiritually, morally, and with regard to the covenant of marriage, for one is being faithful and the other is habitually being unfaithful for the course of their marriage relationship so that they never truly ever became one flesh, because the adulterer was always one flesh with himself (or herself) and with others.

 

The adulterer (or adulteress) is letting the lusts of the flesh rule his life, and he is refusing to have a change of heart, and to be faithful to his spouse, but he continues in his adulteries and in his lies to cover up the adulteries, which is meanness, and it is malicious and hateful because it is premeditated, habitual, and deliberate. He (or she) may claim to change or to desire to change, but then he continues on the same addictive course.

 

In essence, the adulterer is exchanging his spouse for someone else. He is replacing her with a cheap substitute, since this is all about sensual indulgence, lust, self-gratification, adultery, sexual idolatry, selfishness, and the like. Rather than choosing to be faithful to his spouse and loving her with genuine love he continues on his addictive course of sexual immorality.

 

His spouse, who is a true follower of Jesus, lovingly confronts him with his sins of adultery and lying, etc., and she tries to help him to change, but he contradicts and disputes and fights with her habitually, too, although not all the time, at least not all the time outwardly, but the heart never changes towards her for he continues on his course of making adultery his practice.

 

The adulterer does not want to live like he is married, but he wants to live like he is single even though he is married. So, he regularly and habitually defies his marital vows, and he habitually lives in rebellion against those vows, and he is intentionally and deliberately being cruel and malicious to his spouse, even when she pleads with him to change.

 

And this is where many people are today, with one spouse serving the Lord and with the other spouse living in adultery, even with the adulterous spouse sometimes claiming faith in Jesus Christ and professing faithfulness to both God and spouse all the while the adulterous spouse continues in his/her habitual practice of adultery and lying to cover it up.

 

And so the adulterous spouse is trampling on the heart of the faithful spouse and is trampling on their covenant relationship which does not exist, in reality, because of the continued adulteries of the one spouse. And it is oppressive to live with an adulterous spouse. And the adulteries are injurious, and they do come from hearts bent on evil, and sometimes the adulterer will lay traps and snares for the faithful spouse to fall into.

 

But if we are in this situation, and if the Lord has not led us to leave our adulterous spouses, but to continue to love and to care for them, then we must trust the Lord with these situations in knowing what to do and in how to respond and so that we don’t give way to fear or to intimidation, but that we put our faith and trust in the Lord through it all, trusting him to guide and direct in this every step of the way.

 

My Tears in Your Bottle

Psalms 56:8-13 ESV

 

“You have kept count of my tossings;

    put my tears in your bottle.

    Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

    in the day when I call.

    This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

    in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can man do to me?

 

“I must perform my vows to you, O God;

    I will render thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,

    yes, my feet from falling,

that I may walk before God

    in the light of life.”

 

If you have been abused as a child, and/or if you have been abused by a faithless spouse whose practice it is to commit adultery and then to cover it up with lies, and perhaps also with slanderous and unkind remarks, then you have most likely cried many tears, unless you are stuffing them all inside, for it hurts to be abused by those who are supposed to love you.

 

But the Lord Jesus keeps count of our tossings, and he puts our tears in his bottle, and he will comfort us with his love, and he will keep us safe from giving way to the enemy, and through it all he will make us strong and determined to follow him all the more in complete faithfulness. Through it all he will grow us in our walks of faith and he will purify us so that we will share in his holiness and in his righteousness.

 

So, if this is where you are, don’t let it destroy you. Let it change you from the inside out. Let God do his work in your heart and life to make you more like him, and then keep on growing in the Lord and in your walk of faith in him and pray for guidance and direction in what decisions to make regarding your future. Then just keep following the Lord in obedience.

 

The Prayer

 

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,

Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

 

I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go

And help us to be wise

In times when we don't know

 

Let this be our prayer

When we lose our way

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

 

I pray we'll find your light

And hold it in our hearts

When the stars go out each night

Remind us where you are.

 

Let this be our prayer

When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.