The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 35:17,
"How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions."
In this psalm David cries out to the Lord for help and relief from the abuse and horrible treatment he received from so many. Here is a list of some of the things he suffered at the hands of others:
They "contended" with David, verse 1.
They fought against David, verse 1.
They pursued David, verse 2.
They sought to take his life, verse 4.
They plotted his ruin, verse 4.
They hid their "nets" against David, verse 7.
They "dug a pit" for him to fall into, verse 7.
They ruthlessly testified against him, questioning him on things he knew nothing about, verse 11.
They repaid David evil for good, leaving him bereaved, verse 12.
They celebrated his failures, verse 15.
They gathered together secretly to assail him, verse 15.
They slandered David, verse 15.
They mocked David, gnashing their teeth at him, verse 16.
They gloated over David and hated him, verses 19 and 26.
They positioned themselves as David's enemies for no reason at all, verse 19.
They falsely accused David, verses 20-21.
Quite a list, isn't it? This was David's experience. This is also the very same David of whom God claimed was a man after his own heart, Acts 13:22. And, yet, as we see in our verse above, God had not rescued him from this assault from so many that was entirely unwarranted - "How long, Lord, will you look on?"
David lived the truth that those of "the world", ("Team Cain" as I call them) hate those who are God's own. "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." 1 John 3:12-13.
I suspect many of us at times develop the notion that as a Christian God keeps us from this kind of difficulty, this kind of challenge, this kind of hardship, this kind of treatment. Yet, as we look at a man of tremendous faith, a man after God's own heart, look at how the Lord left him with the challenge (at least for a spell). Why did God allow it? I suspect it is a fulfillment of passages such as Proverbs 3:11-12, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." I'm certain there may be other reasons as well. Jesus said, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent." Revelation 3:19.
This speaks to me of suffering for at least a season. We might be thinking there is something wrong with us (of course it never hurts to take inventory) if we face such hardship. We might begin to feel something is wrong about our salvation or our faith.
It is my perspective there have been way too many sermons based on the notion that when we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, life becomes a bed of roses, that the Lord will keep all difficulty from us, that he will remove all that hurts and frustrates us. That is not the Bible I'm reading.
What I see in the pages of Scripture is that when we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ we become filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy as the Holy Spirit takes up his residence within us, 1 Peter 1:8. I read where the fruit of the Spirit begins to blossom in our lives, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23. I read of the wonderful riches of the lavish inheritance the Lord has so graciously and generously bestowed upon us.
Paul tells us, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." How amazing is that?! However, he ends his thought with, "... if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:17.
"How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions."
In this psalm David cries out to the Lord for help and relief from the abuse and horrible treatment he received from so many. Here is a list of some of the things he suffered at the hands of others:
They "contended" with David, verse 1.
They fought against David, verse 1.
They pursued David, verse 2.
They sought to take his life, verse 4.
They plotted his ruin, verse 4.
They hid their "nets" against David, verse 7.
They "dug a pit" for him to fall into, verse 7.
They ruthlessly testified against him, questioning him on things he knew nothing about, verse 11.
They repaid David evil for good, leaving him bereaved, verse 12.
They celebrated his failures, verse 15.
They gathered together secretly to assail him, verse 15.
They slandered David, verse 15.
They mocked David, gnashing their teeth at him, verse 16.
They gloated over David and hated him, verses 19 and 26.
They positioned themselves as David's enemies for no reason at all, verse 19.
They falsely accused David, verses 20-21.
Quite a list, isn't it? This was David's experience. This is also the very same David of whom God claimed was a man after his own heart, Acts 13:22. And, yet, as we see in our verse above, God had not rescued him from this assault from so many that was entirely unwarranted - "How long, Lord, will you look on?"
David lived the truth that those of "the world", ("Team Cain" as I call them) hate those who are God's own. "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." 1 John 3:12-13.
I suspect many of us at times develop the notion that as a Christian God keeps us from this kind of difficulty, this kind of challenge, this kind of hardship, this kind of treatment. Yet, as we look at a man of tremendous faith, a man after God's own heart, look at how the Lord left him with the challenge (at least for a spell). Why did God allow it? I suspect it is a fulfillment of passages such as Proverbs 3:11-12, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." I'm certain there may be other reasons as well. Jesus said, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent." Revelation 3:19.
This speaks to me of suffering for at least a season. We might be thinking there is something wrong with us (of course it never hurts to take inventory) if we face such hardship. We might begin to feel something is wrong about our salvation or our faith.
It is my perspective there have been way too many sermons based on the notion that when we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, life becomes a bed of roses, that the Lord will keep all difficulty from us, that he will remove all that hurts and frustrates us. That is not the Bible I'm reading.
What I see in the pages of Scripture is that when we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ we become filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy as the Holy Spirit takes up his residence within us, 1 Peter 1:8. I read where the fruit of the Spirit begins to blossom in our lives, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23. I read of the wonderful riches of the lavish inheritance the Lord has so graciously and generously bestowed upon us.
Paul tells us, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." How amazing is that?! However, he ends his thought with, "... if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:17.
So, the next time you might be feeling like David did in Psalm 35 (and I suspect many of us do at times), remember, it is quite likely we should expect it and embrace it as Jesus' expression of his love for us (Revelation 3:19). There may be nothing wrong at all with us.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know..
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know..
No comments:
Post a Comment