Psalms
57 – 59
Once again we see David struggling with foes and trying to
save his life. Verse 57:4 describes the fear he has:
I am surrounded by
lions;
I
lie in a den of ravenous beasts.
Those around me have spears and arrows for teeth,
a
sharpened blade for a tongue.
We have seen this description of lion’s
dens in the Bible with Daniel. Granted Daniel came after, but we see in both
cases they were spared the wrath of their predators. David’s of course were
figurative while Daniel’s were literal. As we read this we can feel the tension
David has and see it come out in prayer.
This often gives me comfort since there is
a belief that prayers should not be “selfish” but rather for others. We see
time and time again examples of David’s prayers where he is praying for his
skin. Sure he is the leader of a great nation and one could say his wellbeing
is that of the nation. But we do not need to fear saying prayers for ourselves;
we just need to balance them. I like the “formula” of confess first to open the
pathways to the Lord, praise God’s glory, give thanks for something specific,
petition for others and then finally petition for self. It’s simple and when
things are tough, I eliminate much and go straight to the “self-petitions”.
Verse 58:2 is a petition of David not to destroy:
No, your real
selves have been revealed. You have wickedness in your heart,
and
many people have suffered by your hands.
As we work with others and see how the
story changes we can relate to this. I think the “salesman” is the one we see
this most often. They want to be your best friend and will do anything for you,
until they make the sale when this “friend” and their promises evaporate. You
are suddenly stuck with a vacuum that sucks (pun intended). I think with
everything we need to be on guard and not be so impulsive. We need to test with
Biblical truth first to ensure we are not going down the wrong path with
investments or fads.
Verse 59:17 ends with praise:
I will lift my
voice to sing Your praise, O my Strength—
for
You came to my defense.
O
God, You have shown me Your loving mercy.
We need to lift up our praise to God all
the time!! It’s something we don’t do often, especially when we get hung up
life’s problems. We need to sing praises on those also since it’s strengthening
us for future events.