Author: Nick Booth

Psalm 57

There was a time when caves figured large in David’s life. (See the title) Life had not improved much since Psalm 56 when David had escaped from the Philistines in Gath. He fled to the cave of Adullam where his brothers and a general band of discontents joined him, but Saul returned from fighting off another Philistine attack with 3000 of the fittest men, to finally hunt David down, while David and his followers were hiding near the Crags of the Wild Goats. At that point David and some of his men were sheltering at the back of a large cave when Saul entered the cave to relieve himself. Despite urging from his men David refused to seize his chance to kill Saul because he honoured him as the Lord’s anointed. Instead he crept up and cut off a piece of Saul’s cloak without his knowledge. A trick fit for a pick pocket in Oliver Twist. When Saul left the cave, David called after him from a safe distance, waving the piece of the cloak and demonstrating that he had spared Saul. Saul temporarily repented of his pursuit of David and recognized that David would succeed him as King.

Psalm 57 begins as a lament ^{vv 1-4} and ends in praise. ^{vv 6-11} David has grown in confidence as he shelters under God’s wings. ^v2 It is not that his troubles, even the threat to his life, have gone away but he has seen evidence of the Lord’s protection. The threats are real, both physical from the weapons of Saul’s army and accusatory from those, ‘whose tongues are sharp swords’. ^v4 It is God who vindicates him ^v2 and so he gives glory to God in verse 5 and repeats it in the concluding verse 11. ‘Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.’ David bursts in to a song of praise, ^{vv 6-11} which gives God the glory for his salvation.

The theme of giving God the glory and living for God’s glory is repeatedly picked up in the New Testament. Jesus said, ‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’. ^{Matthew 5.16} Jesus again linked his disciples lives with God’s glory in John 15.8, ‘By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples’. Jesus demonstrated how obedience to the Father brought glory to God and the Father would in turn glorify him. ‘I glorify you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.’ ^{John 17.4,5}

Later the apostles made clear how disciples of Jesus lives ought to bring glory to God. Peter instructed, ‘As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good servants of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.’ ^{1Peter 4.10,11} Paul made clear that even in the smallest things we do we ought to act in a way that brings glory to God, protecting the faith of the most vulnerable in their faith. In Corinth, meat bought at the market had previously been dedicated in some way by the butchers to a pagan god. Paul said if he eats in thankfulness to God, then his conscience is clear. However, if it becomes an obstacle to another believer then do not eat it because the greater good is in not undermining the faith of another. In all our lives we are to live for the sake of the gospel that bring glory to Jesus Christ and God the Father. In that way we can join with David in singing, Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.’

In time of trouble, do we take refuge in the shadow of the wings of the Father?

Do we draw upon the strength God supplies to live our lives in ways that glorify him through Jesus Christ?

To God be the glory – (For traditional worship)

Michael W. Smith – King of Glory ft. CeCe Winans (For full throated modern worship)

Psalm 56

When darkness is its most complete we feel the need for even the smallest amount of light. Darkness has the capacity to make us feel completely surrounded and yet absolutely alone. It makes our next step uncertain and can leave us directionless. It connects to our most primitive instincts, our other senses become heightened and our safety becomes our dominant concern. These things were all David’s experience at the time of Psalm 56. No wonder darkness and light are such powerful images in the bible. For those who are conscious of surrounding darkness in their life these are the words Jesus said to the people, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’, echoing the closing words of Psalm 56.

Life’s darkness is made worse when accompanied by loneliness and I find it difficult to think of a time when loneliness has been a greater issue than over the last few months of lock down. Psalm 56 describes David’s intimate conversation with God at an all-time low. David, described his life to Jonathan as, ‘only a step between me and death,’ ^{1 Samuel 20.3} as Saul was determined to kill him. David had fled Israel alone and sought refuge in Gath the home town of his historic enemy Goliath, carrying Goliath’s own sword. There he stood before Achish, king of the Philistines, while Achish’s servants reminded the king of the Israelite chant, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’. ^{1 Samuel 21.11} The tens of thousands being Philistines. To Achish, David was a prize hostage. It is in the light of that we can understand David’s opening plea and prayer to God. ‘Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.’ ^{Vv 1,2}

We do not have to be in fear of a sudden and violent death to experience extreme darkness and loneliness. Sometimes darkness can make us incapable of even uttering a prayer but David does an important thing, he admits he is afraid and in his fear he voices his trust in God, however weakly. ‘When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.’ ^v3 Why do I say weakly? Because he does what we are all liable to do and reverts immediately to focusing again on his troubles in detail. Although he says, he will not be afraid and in God he trusts, his trust is fragile. To escape Achish, he feigns madness and goes into an elaborate act of desperation. His behaviour is not that of a faith filled man of God.

David’s enemies and risks are two-fold, they come from his own people and the Philistines. He wants God to keep a close eye on both and hold them to account. Faith does grow though as he turns to God’s word. ‘In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?’ ^{vv 9,10}

David does two things. He remembers his vows to God and he trusts God’s word. ^v12 For the Christian we may remember a time when we made a commitment to follow Christ, that time when our promise became a life-long promise and we took Jesus at his word. That was when it was God who, ‘delivered my soul from death.’ ^v13 From then on his word reveals the light of our life – Jesus, who is the light of life.

How disciplined are we in understanding God’s word so we can walk in the light of life?

Thy word – Amy Grant

Psalm 55         2 Corinthians 11 & 1 Corinthians 3

‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.’ ^{Matthew 7.15-20 ESV}

For the Christian one of the most emotional and spiritually painful times can be when division occurs within the church or the ‘Kingdom of God’. Psalm 55 has much to say on this topic. Typically, division arises around personalities but it can also occur because of differences over aspects of theology or the way the church expresses itself. Where it does happen things other than the glory of Christ have risen to the dominant place in peoples’ minds. In David’s time the kingdom of God was a nation ruled by a king under God and division was rebellion against the king.

Frequently when David orders his thoughts and communion with God into a psalm he carefully constructs poetry according to ancient Hebrew literary conventions. Here it appears emotion has taken over and the psalm jumps around as he pours his heart out before God which in itself captures the level of upset he feels. ‘Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught … Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.’ ^{vv 1,2,5} David, as king, lived in a time when each year brought round the season for war. He was not afraid of conflict with other nations and he had repeated evidence of God’s faithfulness to him in such situations. What was different this time was the enemy was once the closest of friends, one of his own. ‘But it is you, a man like myself, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among worshipers.’ ^{vv 13,15} We do not know who this enemy is, perhaps the closest match to the description is Absalom although whilst the psalm identifies him as a close friend it does not call him a son. Absalom was however a very smooth talker whilst plotting to forcibly overthrow his father, ^v23 Conspiracy was rife in the walled capital of Jerusalem with, ‘Destructive forces at work in the city; threats and lies never leaving its streets’. ^{v 11} Arrogance has replaced a fear of God and the enemy defies the covenant God has made. ^{v 20} It could be said that similar things can occur within a church when division strikes and historically it accurately describes the church when politics and religion have become so closely entwined they could not be separated.

David’s initial reaction is to flee, leave behind the boiling city and find solace in the wilderness. ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert’. ^{vv 6,7} David prays that confusion will fall upon his enemies, bringing to mind the tower of Babel and in various ways he calls for God’s judgement on them. The psalm ends with a lesson to himself. ‘Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken … but as for me, I trust in you’. ^{vv 22,23b}

The Corinthian church, as an expression of the kingdom of God, early in its life experienced division of two types. Firstly, by dividing itself according to the teacher people favoured instead of faithfulness to the gospel, or as Paul expresses it, the wisdom of God as opposed to the wisdom of this world. ^{1 Corinthians 3} Then in 2 Corinthians 11 Paul severely warns against teachers who change the gospel for personal gain. He calls them, ‘deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.’ ^{2 Corinthians 11.13} Psalm 55 provides a helpful analysis of the fruit of such teaching and Jesus words in Matthew 7 tells us to look beyond ‘smooth talking’ to the fruit of their words and life.

How are we able to check that we are living a gospel centred life?

Jesus Paid It All – Kim Walker-Smith

Psalm54 and 1 Samuel 23. 14-28

The setting for this short psalm is the wild desert area east of the town of Ziph, south east of Hebron in Judah.  David and his band of 600 are dodging from one place to another trying to escape Saul and his army. The Ziphites told Saul of David’s whereabouts and Saul asked them for more precise information which they were able to provide. Saul then closed in on David, he was one side of a mountain and David’s men were running away on the other side. Just at that moment Saul received a message that the land was being attacked by Philistines and he broke off to go and meet the new threat. It reads like a film script. Psalm 54 is David’s prayer in the middle of this threat to his and his followers’ lives.

It is quite simply a prayer for help. David’s confidence in God’s help is deliberately and structurally placed in the very centre of the psalm, ‘Surely God is my help, the Lord is the one who sustains me.’ ^v4 This is a prayer, expressing an inner certainty before he has experienced God’s answer. He cannot know how God will respond or what will actually happen but in the middle of turmoil his trust is in God.  In our lives we can easily be overtaken by events and it feels as if they control us and our future. The odds may seem overwhelmingly against us and we can lose hope.  This can relate to so many aspects of our lives, our work, relationships, finance or our safety. Things may have got to the place where we have run out of options. God is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card but he is always our help and sustainer. It greatly helps if like David we have known him as our help and sustainer already in our lives. Sometimes we need to reach a point of crisis to turn to him. It is this message that the work of organizations like Christians Against Poverty bring to people when there seems like no hope.

David opened his prayer in the name of God. The name of God represents his authority and power or might. ‘Save me, O God, by your name, vindicate me by your might.’ ^v1 When I first became a Christian, we frequently sang a chorus that started, ‘In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, we have the victory.’ People have prayed in God’s name throughout scripture. Jesus spoke to the disciples, ‘Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.’ ^{John 14.13} Peter and John prayed in the name of Jesus of Nazareth for a lame man in Jerusalem’s temple court and he walked. ^{Acts 3.6} If something is prayed in God’s name it clearly must be done so in accordance with his will and authority. The purpose of such prayers is God’s glory. It will also bring joy to his people for they glory in God. In the lame man’s case it caused many to praise God and to come to faith. It did not however prevent continuing persecution of the church from the religious authorities.

David ends his prayer with a promise to praise and offer a sacrifice to God in the form of a freewill offering. ‘I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.’ ^v6 This is in anticipation of the Lord’s deliverance and is therefore an act of faith. Freewill offerings were not linked to the festival calendar but were voluntary and personal. They remain a joyous way Christians worship and give thanks to God for particular blessings. However, for the Christian all giving is to be a matter of freewill and a ‘cheerful heart’ rather than a regulatory requirement.

If you find yourself in a David like position. Is there a prayer you can pray in the name of Jesus?

Love has a name – Jesus Culture

Psalm 53

We live in an age where the secularist often derides believers in God as anti-intellectual or emotionally immature. On the other hand, believers are frequently dismissive of agnostics or atheists as people who have no hope or basis for moral conduct. One such argument may go, if we are all an accidentally evolved collection of atoms what does it matter what one collection of atoms does to another? A good starting point to think around the philosophical competing views of, ‘Is there a god?’ is Tim Keller’s book, ‘The reason for God,’ or get a quick introduction on his Youtube channel.

Psalm 53 does not take a neutral position as its starting point. The psalmist is quite clear, it is the fool who convinces himself that, ‘There is no God.’ ^v1 His reason for that is that he (assuming the psalmist is a man) has a pre-existing relationship with God and he draws upon evidence from the past where God had kept his promises. ^V5 When an existing believer has experienced God at work in their life or in their community it provides a confident basis on which to build personal trust in him and also to give a reason for their faith. It equips one to comply with Peter’s instruction, ‘In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ ^{1 Peter 3.15} I would argue that some of the most compelling evidences of God’s existence are the lives changed by Jesus’ saving grace.  It is a natural trait to want to jump straight to the bottom line, that is the assertion there is a God, missing out the reason why one would want to do so. In Peter’s case, the reason is his heart condition of revering Christ as Lord. Peter also reminds us of the importance of how we say things as well as what we say. This contrasts somewhat with the psalmist who holds a more confrontational position.

The psalmist looks at the people who have sought to destroy the people of Israel and connects their lack of faith and reverence for God with corruption. ‘They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; for there is no one who does good.’ ^v1 This is repeated in verse 3 as he imagines God searching for faithful and honest people. The psalmist then draws upon a time when Israel was treated dreadfully by their enemies and suffered greatly filling them with fear. ‘They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on God. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread where there was nothing to dread. ^vv4,5a God did however step in and take saving action. ‘God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them. ^v5b

The psalmist concludes by appealing to Israel to remain faithful to God, in continuing times of trouble. He is looking forward to God’s salvation for his people and the fulfilment of ancient promises. ‘Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! ^v6 Salvation did indeed come out of Israel but not as he imagined through military might. It came in the person of Jesus to establish a kingdom through a victory over sin and death. He came as an expression of God’s love for people while they are still rejecting him and pursuing ways that offend him. God’s response to people who say, ‘There is no God,’ was to send Jesus, to show them God. He is and was not what people expect because despite his awesome greatness he came in humility. ‘God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ ^Romans 5.8

Have you ever felt threatened by people through their conduct or aggressive beliefs?

How could you respond in a way that demonstrates your own faith in God that reflects Jesus’ sacrificial humility?