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Psalm 56: I Know God is for Me

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Introduction

The troubles that David went through on the way to his promised throne were many. But this meant that before he assumed the rule of God’s people, he had seen that many answers to prayer, that many deliverances. David was not dropped on his throne from Heaven, rather he was delivered out of tribulation, as he ascended to that throne.

The Text

To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.
“Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me . . .” (Ps. 56:1-13).

Summary of the Text

This psalm is another one from the time when David was on the run, beset by a persecuting king of Israel, and threatened by the Philistine enemy. He had been anointed, and knew the promise, but he also knew the threat. He cries out for mercy, for men would swallow him (v. 1). If they could, they would swallow him every day (v. 2), and there are many of them. The last part of v. 2 is probably a missed translation—it means his enemies fight from the high places. David’s basic response is a godly reflex response—when he fears, he trusts (v. 3). This kind of trust leads inexorably to praise (v. 4). The people who are against him will snatch at any excuse to accuse him. They twist his words out of all recognition (v. 5). Whenever the wolf is talking with the lamb, anything the lamb says will be used as a compelling reason to have him for lunch.  The conversation always seems to take that turn. These malicious men study David, in order to take him down (v. 6). David asks God to intervene (v. 7). God knows what David has gone through—He collects David’s tears in a bottle, He enters every one of them in His register (v. 8). David knows that his prayer will be answered, for he knows that “God is for me” (v. 9). The only appropriate response to this is praise (v. 10). There is no reason to fear what men can cook up (vv. 4, 11). To promise the payment of vows is a biblical thing to do—provided you pay them (v. 12). The payment of a vow is only right, because God delivered David, and he walks in the light of the living (v. 13).

The Malice of These Men

The malice of these men is remarkable. They know they are being unfair. Because they hate, part of their delight comes from being unfair. They know that the pain they inflict will hurt, but they also know that the pain they inflict for no good reason will hurt more. Because they are haters, this is part of their satisfaction. Note. They twist words. All their thoughts concentrate on how to turn anything to evil. They mark steps, but in a way completely different from the way God does it.  They want to trip, they want to ensnare. They love ambush, they delight in gotcha. When they accuse us of malice and hatred, they know better.

The Tendermercies of God

God knows every last step that David took in the course of his wanderings. He knows how many steps were taken when David was on one side of the mountain, and his pursuers were on the other. He not only knew of all David’s tears, but He also treasured those tears (v. 8), collecting them all in a bottle. He counted them all, entering each one of them in His register, in His book. So the God who will wipe away every tear is not going to do so by abrasively telling us to “get some perspective, wouldja?” (Rev. 7:17; Rev. 21:4). Rather, the God who wipes away every tear is the same God who collected them all, cataloging them. God’s knowledge of every hair on your head is not told to us so that we would marvel at His mathematical abilities, but rather so that we would marvel at His care for us (Matt. 10:30).

Fear and Trust

We have seen that courage is not the absence of fear. It is doing the right thing despite your fears. In order for this to happen, this basic reflex must be there. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” And if it is not too small to frighten you, it is not too small to entrust to God. There is no threshold between small and large fears where we should start trusting God. Remember that the God you are trusting is the same God who counts every tear. Cast all your anxieties on Him for He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7). Be anxious for nothing, because God is willing for His peace to rest upon you (Phil. 4:6-7). These are fantastic promises—we would have to say “unbelievable promises,” except that the Spirit of God works in us to enable us to believe them. Does He not?

I Know God is for Me

Now here is an astonishing statement of David’s faith (v. 9), and it is same kind of faith that we are called to. Remember, we are told that we are to sing the psalms (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), and among other things this means that are to be schooled by the psalter in how to pray, and we are to learn how to trust God in the same way that David did. This is our hymnbook, and we are supposed to be shaped by what we sing.

But there are striking epistemological issues in this—all of which must be resolved by faith. Think about this: “this I know; for God is for me.” The issues are not resolved by abstract principles, or logical syllogisms in the sky, but by faith. Now David had his enemies, and he had the kind of enemies who would twist his words, including the words of this psalm. “Who are you to say that we are the ones who are evil? Haven’t you ever heard of Prov. 18:17? What about our side of the story?”

In this world, the dividing line between right and wrong, between good and evil, is actually, at the foundational level, the line between faith and unbelief. We are invited to believe that God is “for us,” and we are invited to draw this conclusion, not by peering into His secret counsels (Dt. 29:29), but rather by looking to the gracious terms of His covenant with us. And this is done by means of looking to Christ. Christ is our law, Christ is our promise, Christ is our grace. Look to Him and conclude that “God is for me.”

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Psalm 55: Mischief In The Midst Of It

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

In all of Scripture, David was one of God’s most favored servants. He was also one of the most tested and tried of all His servants, and there is a connection between the two conditions. It is through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of heaven, we are told, and this does not mean that we are carried to glory on a litter covered with rose petals. It means something else entirely.

The Text

“Give ear to my prayer, O God; And hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and  hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise . . .”  (Ps. 55:1-23).

Summary of the Text

We are not told the circumstances of this psalm, but from the description, it may have been after the revolt of Absalom, and the treachery of Ahithophel. The psalmist begins by pleading with God to really hear him (vv. 1-2). His complaint concerns the slanders of his enemies (v. 3). The slander and the malice behind it have not left him unaffected; he is really shaken (vv. 4-5). If he had the means to fly away from it all, he would fly straight to the wilderness (vv. 6-8). He then asks God to intervene, and overthrow them and their impudent plots (vv. 9-11). David would have been able to handle it if an enemy had done this, but this was a treachery that struck really close to home (vv. 12-14). David prays for God’s judgment to fall upon this treachery (v. 15). As for David, he will trust in God (v. 16-19). His foes are the way they are because they do not fear God (v. 19). This lack of fear for God results in a life of treacherous flattery (v. 20-21). David turns to exhort himself (and others) to trust in God (v. 22). The sovereign God is God over traitors as well as everything else. The distinction between the one who betrays and the one who trusts is a sharp distinction (v. 23).

Arguing the Case With God

There is a vast difference between complaining about God, which is terrible, and complaining to God, which He welcomes. We should all know what happens to those who murmur, complain, moan, and grumble. Their bodies are scattered over the desert. But the alternative to this is not Stoicism. David here “makes a noise” (v. 2). Lay out your case. Reason it through. Don’t pray like you were a block of wood. If you do, then you will get answers to prayer of a kind that would satisfy a block of wood. The Psalms teach us to sing, and to pray, and to argue rightly. The faithful servant in prayer does not want to “say the right words.” He wants an audience. He wants his prayers to be heard. Your goal should be to learn how to offer prayers that cannot be refused. As John Bunyan put it, it is better that your heart be without words than that your words be without heart.

Courage and Fear

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing what you are called to do, despite your fears. This psalm is clearly messianic in its direction and intent. David had his Ahithophel and Christ had His Judas, both of whom ended by hanging themselves. Both David and Jesus dealt with treachery. And both dealt with fear. Here David speaks of trembling, fear and horror (vv. 4-5). The Lord Jesus sweat drops of blood in His anguish (Luke 22:44). The Lord Jesus did not confront the cross with passive indifference, but rather with obedience, which is a very different thing. Jesus faced the effective work of His traitor with strong crying and tears (Heb. 5:7), but He faced it.

Buttered and Battered

In the words of Spurgeon, David was buttered with flattery and battered with malice, and from the same source. You butter something up when you want to devour it. This man who had betrayed David was smooth in his words, as smooth as butter, but war was in his heart (v. 21). His speech was softer than oil, but at the same time that same speech was a drawn sword (v. 21). This was someone who had been close to David, who had worshipped together with him (v. 14). David says He could have handled it if it had been someone who was supposed to be hostile. Never forget that Judas was dear to Jesus.

When you are reading the story of Scripture, and you are reading the story of the Church, and you are reading the story of your life, remember that treachery is archetypical. A servant is not greater than his master. Something can be a kink in the story without being a kink in the Story. God uses traitors to advance His kingdom. After all, He used a traitor to save the entire world (Acts 4: 27-28).

In Broad Daylight

David, who was king in the city, nonetheless saw evil taking root in the city. He wanted God to act in order to destroy their machinations, for he had seen violence and strife in the city (v. 9). Mischief is in the midst of it; sorrow is in the midst of it (v. 10). David knows this because they go about on the walls “day and night.” This indicates two things. One is that their plotting is ceaseless—they tirelessly work toward their corrupt ends. It also indicates that they are willing to advance their agenda in broad daylight. They cook up some mischief, and then come out onto the Capitol steps and hold a news conference to brag about it. Someone with David’s insight can see what they are doing, but for most people they offer one thing for public consumption, and behind closed doors you find the “wickedness,” the “deceit,” and the “guile” (p. 11).

God Will Judge

When the judgment of God falls, the wicked will be destroyed (v. 9). They will fall, suddenly, under the force of one blow. They will fall backward, down into death and Sheol (v. 15), for wickedness is in their dwelling, and in their midst. The schemers and climbers and plotters and all such progressives, are climbing up a rock face, an endless climb with no top, and Hell below them. There will come a time when they cannot hold on, and must let go. And they will fall backward, and take their place among the helwaru, to use an old Anglo Saxon word. Contrary to popular opinion, Hell is not a travesty of justice; Hell is nothing but justice. All the excuses, all the smooth words, all the rationalizations, all the slanders, will burn away in an instant, and nothing will be left but the justice of it.

Mischief in the Midst of It

We are not supposed to over-engineer our understanding of the city. We call upon our leaders to confess that Jesus is Lord, and to govern as though He is Lord. We confess that there is no alternative to this that can result in salvation for us, and for our people. There is no salvation without a Savior. But in order to be blessed by this Savior, we must call upon Him. We do not get to be like an embarrassed teenager who wants a ride to school in the family car, but who does not want to be seen with the family car. Well, which way do you want it?

We rest upon God alone. He will deliver us. As has been forcefully pointed out, God can intervene with means, with various means, and apart from means. Absalom was hanged without a rope, and Ahithophel was hanged with one.

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Psalm 54: According To His Truth

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

The background to this psalm is found in 1 Samuel 23, and it is a testimony to David’s faithfulness to God in the midst of much unfaithfulness to him. David had delivered Keilah from the Philistines, but the Lord told David that they would turn him over to Saul. He then went to the wilderness of Kiph, but the Kiphim went to Saul the tyrant and promised to turn David over to him. Saul, true to form, felt like he’s the one who needed compassion (1 Sam. 23:21). The one exception to all this treachery was Jonathan. In this background chapter, he makes a wonderful covenant with David—Saul, the tyrant, fathered one of the noblest sons in all of Scripture (1 Sam. 23:16). But when most men are treacherous, and when many men are flakes, God remains God.

The Text

“To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?

Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies” (Ps. 54:1-7).

Summary of the Text

When the Kiphim volunteered to turn David over to Saul, David cries out to God, asking for salvation by the name of God (v. 1), and he requests that he be judged by the strength of God (v. 1). He then urges God to listen (v. 2). David says that his problem is two-fold—strangers have volunteered to take up the conflict with David (v. 3), and oppressors are trying to get him (v. 3). The Ziphim are the strangers, who should have had no problem with David, and the oppressors are Saul and his forces. Both are motivated by a functional atheism—they have not set God before them (v. 3). We then find a selah—Spurgeon says that David is out of breath with indignation. David then says that God is with him; the Lord is also with those who encourage David (v. 4), which would have to include Jonathan. David knows the shape that this help will take—God will reward evil to David’s enemies, and will cut them off in His truth (v. 5). David knows this will happen, and he promises to pay his sacrificial vows when it does (v. 6). He will praise God’s name (v. 6), the name by which he was saved (v. 1). David claims his deliverance by faith (v. 7), and he foresees his God-given victory over his enemies (v. 7).

More on Atheism

We considered the realities of functional atheism in the previous psalm, but we see that same kind of atheism at work here. David says that strangers have risen up, and oppressors have pursued, because “they have not set God before them.” But what does Saul say when the Ziphim come to him? He puts a pious varnish over it. “And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me” (1 Sam. 23:21). Saul pronounces this blessing in the name of Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel.

We have noted this characteristic of Saul before—trying to murder others while expecting everybody to feel sorry for him. But this kind of thing is often a function of retroactive justification. If one man wrongs another, he is frequently not of a mind to say to himself, “Yes, I did a vile thing without any good reason.” The human heart is a self-justification factory, manufacturing reasons by the quarter ton.

Most of those reasons are of a very poor quality indeed, and have a very tenuous relationship to any kind of orderly chronology. So one man wrongs another, and then goes hunting around in the past (anything earlier than his sin) for retroactively perceived grievances, things that were perfectly fine with him at the time. This is the way the world works, but it must not be the way that you work.

Judgment Is Real

Now David is not being petty or vindictive. As with the imprecatory psalms, the whole point is to turn a grotesque situation over to God, who is the one who sees all things perfectly. We can know the main outlines, but we still turn it over to God. While the bulk of this psalm is David asking to receive help, in one place he makes a direct statement about what God will do to those who are persecuting him. So it is not turned over to God in a spirit of agnosticism; the situation is turned over to God with particular requests attached. David here says that God will “reward evil” to David’s enemies. David has a particular request that God “cut them off.” He wants God to do this in God’s truth, and according to God’s judgments, but he nonetheless wants God to do it. Someone has ably defined a liberal as someone who won’t take up his own side in a fight. If that is the case, the spirit of liberalism is pervasive in the modern church—even including ostensibly conservative churches.

The Troublesome Issue of Works

God will not not judge the world in the aggregate. He will not judge by the gross ton. His judgments will involve glasses of cold water that some people gave and other people didn’t (Mark 9:41). His judgments will include every idle word that some people spoke and some people didn’t (Matt. 12:36). God will render to every man according to his deeds (Rom. 2:6). The apostle Paul also says of false teachers that their “end shall be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:15). He also asked that Alexander be rewarded “according to his works” (2 Tim. 4:14). “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Pet. 1:17).

Now in line with all the Reformation, we hold that the dividing line between the sheep and goats is a line drawn by the electing good pleasure of God, and is not according to works. But once the Lord’s infinite wisdom has drawn that line, the punishments and the rewards that are apportioned to the reprobate and the elect respectively most certainly are in line with how we have lived our lives. The scriptural testimony to this reality is abundant. And so it is crucial that we turn to Christ, knowing that His mercies endure forever.

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Psalm 53: Functional Atheism

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

This psalm is a variation of the fourteenth psalm, and makes a point important enough to be repeated. And that point is that this psalm applies to the whole human race, and not just to the tiny minority willing to claim their atheism openly. This is a psalm, not about atheism proper, but about the true nature of sin.

The Text

“To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: There is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there wereany that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back, they are altogether become filthy; There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they eat bread: They have not called upon God. There were they in great fear, where no fear was: For God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: Thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them. O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad” (Ps. 53:1-6).

Summary of the Text

Like Ps. 14, the ascription is given to David. The psalms are almost identical, and the chief thing that appears to separate them is the context. The name of God is used seven times in each, but in Ps. 14, it is three times Elohim and four times Yahweh. In the psalm before us it is seven times Elohim, the Creator God. The Nabal, the blockhead, has said in his heart that there is no God (v. 1). They are corrupt, all of them, and pursue iniquity. Omniscience can’t know certain things, and one of them is where a righteous man might live (vv. 2-3). All are filthy; all are rancid (v. 3). Hatred of God translates to hatred of God’s people, and these corruptions eat the saints like they were a morsel of bread. As Thomas Watson put it, this is a Christ-hating and saint-eating world. They have not called upon God (v. 4). But judgment approaches, and those who had no fear of God will suddenly find themselves seized by fear. God scatters their bones (v. 5), and puts them to shame. The psalm concludes with a longing cry: O that the salvation of the Lord would appear out of Zion, and that the captivity of the Lord’s people would end (v. 6).

Apostolic Application

The apostle Paul quotes this passage in his indictment of the whole human race. Before he quotes it in Romans 3:10-12, he introduces the citation with his application. What does he say? “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . .” What does this mean? Paul is saying that the indictment applies to all men, Gentiles and Jews both, and this makes it plain that we are talking about archbishops, seminary profs, and faith- based soup kitchen volunteers as much as about the chairmen of atheist leagues, and the writers of best-selling screeds against God. No one is righteous. Apart from the grace of God, no one does what is right—not the village atheist and not the village priest.

At the same time, God does reserve a people for Himself. They are seen in this psalm — God says the corrupt devour “my people” as though they were bread. God has a people. But He does not have them because of any righteousness they came up with on their own. Atheists devour only those who used to be atheists. No, the gospel indictment is universal, including every last man, woman, and child, Christ only excepted.

Functional Atheism

What is sin? It is, in the moment, an action that rests upon the idea that God does not see. But of course, God, if He exists, does see. This means that every deliberate sin presupposes a functional atheism. One of the reasons so many professed believers are rattled and upset by open atheism is that they are envious of the man who dares to say openly what so many nourish in their hearts. Our text says, “the fool says in his heart,” not “the fool says in his book . . .” Regardless of what intellectual workarounds may be in place, the result is a functional atheism. “He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it” (Ps. 10:11). “Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it” (Ps. 94:7).

Sin Is Never Solitary

But there is more. It gets worse. Sinners, when they sin, must do so in the presence of God. This is why the unconverted heart hates God, and would kill Him if that were possible. The fourteenth psalm has them turning aside, while here they are described as turning back, running in the opposite direction. But when they do, God is there, and this is obviously intolerable. What David found, to his comfort, was that God was everywhere (Ps. 139:8), and the sinner finds this to be a standing insult. If there were a blow that he could strike that would kill God, he would do so. And the only deliverance from this settled disposition is when God in His mercy strikes the blow that slays the dragon in every heart. That is what we call being crucified with Christ, and when that happens, we are born again.

If you doubt this, consider what happened when it became possible to kill God, when God took on human flesh as Immanuel, as God with us? He was crucified, not by pirates, but by the leading theologians of His day. You will never understand grace until you understand the nature of this pervasive atheism.

Moral Cowardice

The one who did not fear God, fears Him now (v. 5). The one who flees from God successfully must be the one who does it by fleeing to God, in Christ. And when he does this, perfect love casts out fear.

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Psalm 52: Reading The Story Lived

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

This psalm gives us a glimpse of David’s early years, and of the faithfulness and trust he displayed in hard circumstances. But he knew what God was like, and he knew how the world worked. That being the case, he could wait patiently, trusting.

The Text

To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.

“Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints” (Ps. 52:1-9).

Summary of the Text

According to the ancient inscription above the psalm, the occasion for this was the debacle with Ahimilech and his priests in 1 Sam. 21-22. The psalm begins with asking why Doeg the mighty would boast in mischief—God’s goodness is continual (v. 1). His tongue is like a razor, capable of cutting his lies fine (v. 2). Not only were they words of mischief, but lying words of mischief (v. 2). Doeg loves evil more than good, which means he loves good not at all. He loves lies more than words of righteousness (v. 3). Selah is an invitation to pause and reflect, and we should reflect on the mystery that makes sin attractive. He loves it when deceits devour (v. 4). But it comes back around—he loves destruction, but God will visit destruction upon him (v. 5). Think about that, and selah. The response of the righteous, when he sees this judgment, is to fear and laugh both (v. 6). Isn’t that the guy who did not make God his strength, and who did trust in his own wealth (v. 7)? But the wealthy scoundrel destroyed is nothing like David. In the house of God, offering true worship, he is a green and fruitful olive tree (v. 8). David will praise God forever, because God is the one who has done this great thing (v. 9). With that trust, the judgment is as good as done, and David will wait for it (v. 9). It is good before the saints.

The Backstory

David fell into disfavor with Saul, not because of anything he had done, but simply because the grace and favor of God was upon him (1 Sam. 20). David fled from Saul, who was seeking his life. David came to Nob, where Ahimelech was, and obtained the shewbread for his men, and the sword of Goliath (1. Sam. 21:6, 9). Doeg the Edomite saw him there. Ahimelech knew nothing about the falling out between Saul and David, and David told him he was on urgent business from the king. After this, David fled to various places in order to stay away from Saul. When Saul heard that David was in the forest of Hareth, he upbraided his courtiers. Doeg, who had been his chief shepherd, told the king that he had seen him getting help from Ahimelech. Saul summoned the priest, who answered him bravely. Saul ordered the priests slaughtered, which his men refused to do, to their credit. He then ordered Doeg to do it, which he promptly did, and then he went and sacked the city of Nob. This was probably the cause of Doeg’s ascendancy, mentioned by David in the psalm. And note how Saul, the persecutor (1 Sam. 22:8) felt persecuted. He was trying to kill David for no good reason, and wanted everybody to feel sorry for him.

Trusting in Riches

Doeg did not trust in God, but rather trusted in his riches and great wealth. He gained them by destructive deceit —he had been at Nob, and knew David was there, but he also knew that Ahimilech was innocent of any conspiracy. Nevertheless, he lied with a half truth, and then sealed his commitment to that lie with his willingness to shed innocent blood. “If riches increase, set not your heart upon them” (Ps. 62:10). Doeg had a good year, at least the way he was calculating it. But he read the story completely wrong.

Lover of Destruction Destroyed

There are four verbs that describe what God will do to Doeg, translated here as destroy, take away, pluck out, and root out. It would be hard to make the coming desolation of Doeg any more clear, and it is a destruction that is entire and absolute. The first verb means to pull down and break into pieces, the second means to pluck up by twisting, the third means to sweep away, and the last refers to him being rooted up out of the land of the living.

The Laughter of the Saints

When worldlings conspire against God, we are not surprised to find that God laughs that them (Ps. 2:4. But sometimes we think that the privilege of such laughter is withheld from us, afraid that we could not do this apart from personal vindictiveness, which the Scriptures everywhere forbid. But notice what it says. The righteous shall see and fear, and laugh. This is no petty malice. Modern saints have been so warned about the dangers of triumphalism that we have forgotten to fear God. There is a deep seated gladness in the prerogatives of God that cannot be described as jolly merriment, but is nevertheless a solemn and righteous laughter.

Thriving in the House of God

David writes this when he was still on the run, and Doeg in a position of power at court. The last time he had been at the house of the Lord, the priests had all been slaughtered as a result. Nevertheless, he saw himself, in the midst of his affliction, as a green olive tree. The olive was a symbol of Israel, and David (who knew he had been anointed king by Samuel) was that Israel, even though he was on the run. And Doeg, even though he was a mighty man at court, was a dead man walking. As you walk by faith in God, see yourself in the story that God is writing. Know the story well enough to call the shots beforehand, not in arrogance, but in humility.

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