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.