Saturday, January 23, 2010

Psalm 59

Psalm 59:1-10 (emphasis added)
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
Defend me from those who rise up against me
Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.
For look, they lie in wait for my life;
The mighty gather against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD.
They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.
Awake to help me, and behold!
You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Awake to punish all the nations;
Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors.
Selah
At evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
Indeed they belch with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips;
For they say, "Who hears?"
But You, O LORD, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the nations in derision.
I will wait for You, O You his strength;
For God is my defense
My God of mercy shall come to meet me;
God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.


"Father, thank You for these words. They tell a story of David, when Saul was trying to kill him. You were his defense, God, just like You defend us. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

So David was asking for God's help against Saul, who, according to the title, had sent men to watch the house and kill him. After he asks for God to help him, he points out they aren't attacking him for any problem or mistake of his, and he asks God to not be merciful to the wicked.

Then he talks about his attackers specifically. He says they're like dogs, and their tongues are like swords, because they say that nobody hears them doing bad things.

Then David says the encouraging part: God will laugh at them. He will have all the nations is a state of mockery and/or scorn. He waits for God, his strength, because God is his defense. God will come to meet him. The last bit was a little hard, in this version, but the New American Standard says "God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.".

Every person is equal before God. So the protection against enemies that David received, we receive it too, but in different ways, just as we have a different kind of enemy than David. He had people trying to kill him. We have people laughing at us and making fun of us (and in many parts of the world, much, much, worse) for being Christians. But there will come a day, when they die, when they see God's throne, and realize all their mistakes. And then, God will 'laugh' at them. (I think it's more of a metaphorical laugh... like, not 'hahaha' but a 'goodness no, you're not going into heaven!')

In His Service,
Joyce

3 comments:

Joyce said...

Do you think it's a real laugh that God will laugh at them, or a metaphorical one?

Anonymous said...

metaphorical.

Joyce said...

That's what I think too