Trust Him, Seek Him and praise Him. This is how David responds to his circumstances in this Psalm. It is not perfectly clear as to what was happening in David's life when this Psalm was written. However, it is most likely the rebellion of Absalom.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
If we truly put all our trust in the Lord how could He ever let us be ashamed? We know our righteousness is nothing. There is no good in any of us. So we put our trust in Him and in His righteousness. It would bring shame and dishonor on God if there were no reward in the end for those who put their trust in Him. In fact, there will be a great distinction in the end of those who put their trust in Him and those who did not. Those who trust will be delivered in His righteousness.
When we repent and trust in Jesus Christ our lives are His. We have died to ourselves and given up lordship and trusted in His Lordship. When that happens there are many promises. The greatest is that our sins are forgiven and that we will spend an eternity with Him.
2Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of refuge,
A fortress of defense to save me.
For God to bow down His ear to us is for Him to lower Himself down to our level and hear our lowly request. We pray for God to grant deliverance speedily. David was no different than any of us…… we want God to move on our behalf quickly. We don't have time to wait. We need God to move now! This request for God to move speedily is a request regarding time to a God that is beyond time. Speedily is always defined in man's terms.
David asked for quick deliverance and for God to be a rock of refuge. This is a strong place to hide. It's a refuge from enemies and from wild animals. It is a safe place to be able to close our eyes and rest, refresh and relax before moving on. That's what we find in God. He is that place where we find refuge, but He is also a fortress we can run to when our enemies are attacking us. He will give us refuge and deliver us when we look to Him.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, for Your name's sake,
Lead me and guide me.
4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
David declares in confidence that the Lord is His rock and fortress. When we are hidden in him, the enemy can't get to us. The flaming arrows bounce off. When we are in deep enough in him, we no longer sense the presence of the enemy. David was famous in the land. He was a king and when the king spoke, things moved, things happened. Yet, David wanted the leading and guidance for the Lord's name's sake and not His own.
David did not possess the strength or knowledge to escape the trap laid for him. He knew there was a net cast for him. He asked God to pull him out and save him. His spirit he committed to God and it was completely up to God if his life would be redeemed. Whether David lived or died was not the issue but the future of his spirit is what was important. David put his spirit in the hands of the Lord.
"Into Your hand I commit my spirit" were the dying words of Jesus Christ.
6 I have hated those who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
8 And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place.
David had a total disregard for those who gave honor to useless idols. It seems he wasn't very tolerant of other religions. He would not be a very good king in today's world. David trusted in the Lord and knew there was nothing else but vain inventions of man to create a god of his own liking. Those who chased after these idols had never experienced mercy because these things had no power. David, however, knew the mercy of Jehovah God. He had been brought through much trouble and many adversities by the Lord God. God was sovereign in every life and David had come to know it. God had always seen him through. He had never been at the mercy of his enemies because God was calling the shots in his life. To be set in a wide place is to have liberty. It's a freedom in life to make choices to freely move about and not be shoved tightly into an uncontrollable situation.
Although it sounds slightly different, verse 6 is quoted in Jonah 2:8.
9 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble;
My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
David writes of when he was in trouble. He cried out for mercy. His body was affected and afflicted. His eyes showed the grief he was living in. David recognized that it is iniquity that is sapping his strength and physically wasting him away. Sin is at the root of every problem. God is at the root of every remedy.
11 I am a reproach among all my enemies,
But especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.
It's understandable that David was a reproach among his enemies. They drew great comfort from his problems. That's somewhat understandable. However, even David's neighbors and acquaintances found him a reproach. Isn't it amazing how quickly people will turn from you and turn on you? The world celebrates when a man of God falls.
For some reason this brings to mind the reaction of when Jerry Falwell died. He was a moral and upright man and the pagan world celebrating in his death. His very existence was a roadblock to sin.
David said he was out of sight and out of mind. He appeared as one God had forsaken. And the evil of the world moved against him like vultures. They slandered him, and plotted against him and schemed to take his life away. This passage seems as though it could easily be talking about Jesus.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
15 My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
Life ends when God determines. It is by the Lord's hand that a life is saved or ended, not the strength of an enemy. David put His trust in God. "You are my God. You already own my life. It is yours to do with what you will."
16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies' sake.
17 Do not let me be ashamed, O LORD, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
Let them be silent in the grave.
18 Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
Imagine the having the face of the Lord shine upon you. No matter the situation, no matter the outcome in the physical world, to have the Lord look with mercy and love on us is an amazing thing. If the face of the Lord shines on us we won't care what the enemies are saying or who is slandering us.
In the end, when we stand before the Lord, our faith will have grown through the circumstances of our lives. We will have stood strong and grown. The wicked will be ashamed. They will be silence in that time of judgment because the things they measured with will have all burnt away.
Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
19 Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
The goodness of God is amazing. Even though we face trials and tribulations in this world we can stand strong in Him. Spiritually, we are hid in him and this life can't touch us. The evil of this world might destroy the body but our eternal soul is bound up in Him. That is an amazing goodness that we can rest in. God has prepared goodness and laid it up for those who trust and fear Him. What a great promise. I want to be forever hid in the secret place of His presence. When we are there the plots of men and strife of tongues are a small thing; an inconvenience of passing through this world.
21 Blessed be the LORD,
For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
22 For I said in my haste,
"I am cut off from before Your eyes";
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.
David experience victory and blessed the Lord. Do we do that? How many victories do we experience in life and then pat ourselves on the back, or the lawyer, or the doctor, our boss or ourselves? Blessed be the Lord. David had previously responded in the flesh thinking that God wasn't watching him or not hearing him.
23 Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints!
For the LORD preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the LORD.
The saints are called to love the Lord and be of good courage. In the end, God will make all things right. He will strengthen us if we hold onto Him as our hope.
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