Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 54:1 and following. Indeed, after Doëg the Edomite, the Ziphians had also treacherously informed Saul about the actions of David his rival and had allowed him to find his trace. We have this account in 1 Sam 23:19-28 but an essential detail is not mentioned: it is this confident prayer that the rejected king brought up to his God in the hour of danger. There should thus be in the life of the Christian, through his everyday circumstances, a “fabric” of prayers woven in secret between the Lord and him. This is what we find, for example, throughout the book of Nehemiah (Nh 1:11; Nh 2.1-8; Nh 4.1-6; Nh 5.14-19; Nh 6.10-14). The world that has not put God before it (verse 5) and cannot understand the power of prayer, will attribute to “a happy coincidence” how the believer escapes the dangers that threaten him (see precisely in 1 Samuel 23:19-28 how Saul always seeks David on the side of the mountain where he is not).
But the redeemed knows the name of the One who delivers him from all distress and it is this name that he celebrates (verses 3, 8, 9). God is His helper, but moreover, throughout the trial, He sustains the soul that might become discouraged (verse 6). Verses 3 and 4 are prayers motivated by the affliction that is exposed in v. 5. Then at the end of the psalm, begging him, strengthening his soul in the thought that he will be answered, vows to offer praise to God. This can obviously be the language of every man of faith. But, prophetically, here we have the expression of the feelings of the faithful residue of Israel under the oppression of the iniquitous king who has just been revealed (Ps. 52 and 53). And we know that when Jehovah leads this residue into the wilderness into the last days, He will speak to his heart, and give him the valley of Acor for a gate of hope (Hosea 2).
Save me, O God! As David was at that time placed beyond the reach of human assistance, he must be understood as praying for salvation by the name and power of God, with anemphatic sense, or by them as opposed to the usual means of deliverance. Although all help must ultimately come from God, there are ordinary methods by which He usually extends it. When these fail and all land stay is suppressed, he must then take the work in hand. It was in such a situation that David fled to the last asylum of the saints and sought to be saved by a miracle of divine power. By appealing, in the second part of the verse, to God as his judge, he affirms his righteousness. And it must strike us all, that in asking for divine protection is an indispensable condition, we should be convinced of the goodness of our cause, for it would be the greatest blasphemy to wait for God to patronize iniquity. David was encouraged to pray for deliverance through the goodness of his cause and his awareness of integrity; nor did he feel a single doubt, that by representing this to God, he would act as his defender, and punish the cruelty and betrayal of his enemies.
Listen to my prayer, O God! Language expresses its seriousness. He was led to this fervor of supplication by the extremes of his present circumstances, which is alluded to in the next verse, where he complains of being surrounded by fierce, barbaric men who are not restrained by the sense of religion. It was not necessary for him to inform God of a fact that was already known to him; but he unloads his own heart by evacuating the cause of his fear and worry. In calling his enemies foreign, he seems to be referring to their barbarity, whether he applied the name only to the Ziphites or, in general, to Saul’s entire army. Others consider it, in this term, to be a record of their degeneration as children of Abraham; and it is true that the Jews are repeatedly stigmatized by the prophets in this form of expression, when they had driven themselves out of the Church of God by their debauchery or impiety. But in this passage, it seems to be used in a different sense. Since even enemies are accustomed, to some extent, to respecting kinship and relationship, David would point out to us the inhumanity of the men around him now, by the fact that they assaulted him as strangers, as people who had never known him, or as if he had been born in a distant part of the world.
He also calls them terrible, not powerful, or powerful, as some have rendered; for this does not reach the meaning intended by David, namely that they were stripped of all mankind and ready to rush upon him like wild beasts. Hence the fear with which he resorted to God’s protection. He adds that they were looking for his soul, to indicate that nothing would satisfy their insatiable cruelty except his life. And to better express the unbridled nature of their fury, he tells us that they had no respect for God. The only thing that could be assumed, in the circumstances, to act as a constraint on their minds, was the consideration that there was a judge in heaven to whom they were responsible for their conduct; and being insensitive to this, what moderation can be expected of them?
I will sacrifice you freely. According to his usual custom, he undertakes, provided that deliverance is granted, to feel a grateful feeling of it; and there is no doubt that here too he promises to give thanks to God, in a formal way, when he should take advantage of an opportunity to do so. Although God primarily looks at the inner feeling of the heart, this would not excuse neglecting the rites prescribed by law. He would testify to his sense of the favor he has received, in the common way of all God’s people, through sacrifices, and thus would be the means of arousing others to their duty by his example. And he would sacrifice freely: by which he does not allude to the circumstance, that the sacrifices of thanksgiving were the choice of the faithful, but the eagerness and cheerfulness of which he would pay his vow when he had escaped his present dangers. The generality of men largely promises God as long as they are under the present pressure of affliction, but are not sooner relieved that they fall back into this carelessness that is natural to them and forget the goodness of the Lord.
But David pledges to sacrifice freely, and in a different way than the hypocrite, whose religion is the offspring of servility and coercion. The passage teaches us that as we enter God’s presence, we can only seek acceptance if we put a willing spirit at His service. The last clause of this verse, and the verse that follows, obviously refer to the time when the psalmist had obtained the deliverance he was seeking. The whole psalm, it is true, had to be written after his deliverance; but up to this point, it must be considered as a record of the form of prayer he used when he was still exposed to danger. We must now assume that he is relieved of his anxieties, and subjected to a new expression of his gratitude: nor is it improbable that he will refer to mercies that he had experienced at other periods of his history, and which were recalled to his memory by one more immediately brought to our attention in the preceding verses; so that he must be understood as declaring, in a more general sense, that God’s name was good, and that it had been delivered from every trouble. It has already been mentioned, in an ancient psalm, (Ps 52:6) the sense in which the righteous are said to see the destruction of their enemies.
It is a view of the event accompanied by joy and comfort; and if anyone wonders whether God’s children are allowed to feel pleasure in witnessing the execution of God’s judgments on the wicked, the answer is obvious, that everything must depend on the motive by which they are influenced. If their satisfaction derives in some way from the satisfaction of a depraved feeling, it must be condemned; but there is certainly a pure and irreproachable pleasure that we can feel in looking at such illustrations of divine justice.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Appeal of a persecuted person:
- Power of God, general references
Jb 26:12 By his strength he lifts up the sea, by his intelligence he breaks its pride. Ps 62:12 God spoke once; Twice I heard this: It’s that the strength is God’s. Ps 65:7 He strengthens the mountains by His strength, He is surrounded by power; Rom 16:25 To him who can strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the revelation of the mystery hidden for centuries,
- Name of the Lord, powerful
Ps 113:3 From sunrise to sunset, May the name of the Lord be celebrated! Pr 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous take refuge there, and is safe. Isaiah 50:10 Whoever among you fears the Lord, let him listen to the voice of his servant! Whoever walks in darkness and lacks light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and rely on his God! Ml 1:11 For from the dawn of the sun until its setting, My name is great among the nations, And in every place incense is burned in honor of my name And pure offerings are presented; For great is my name among the nations, said the Lord of hosts.
- Spiritual enemies
Ps 71:10 For my enemies speak of me, And those who watch my life consult each other, Ps 86:14 O God! proud people have risen up against me, A troop of violent men resent my life; They don’t carry their thoughts on you. Luke 22:31 The Lord said, Simon, Simon, Satan has claimed you, to sift you like wheat. Eph 6:12 For we do not have to fight against flesh and blood, but against domination, against the authorities, against the princes of this world of darkness, against the wicked spirits in the heavenly places.
- Divine liberator , God as
2 Sam 2:22 Abner said again to Asael: Turn away from me; why would I strike you and bring you down to the ground? how then would I raise my face before your brother Joab? Isaiah 46:4 Until your old age I will be the same, Until your old age I will support you; I did, and I still want to carry you, support you and save you. 2 Cor 1:10 It is He who has delivered us and who will deliver us from such death, He from whom we hope he will deliver us again, Hb 2:15 and deliver all those who, for fear of death, were all their lives held in bondage.
From all the above, we note that inthis psalm, the faithful seem to grasp this hope of which Hosea 2 speaks. The Israel of God is here led to reject the name of its God (v. 3) and to this name, and will mount its praise at the end (v. 8); for we know that its name will deliver it (Rev 19). The faithful gave the armies of the apostate king the name of “foreigners”; for they are indeed strangers to God and to his people, as the saints are strangers in this world, and to the ways of this world. With regard to the last verse of this psalm, this remark was very usefully made: “The past is used here to express the trust of the residue in his God for deliverances to come. For inprophetic language, this time often indicates the certainty of future things.” Ps. 54 is the cry of the righteous asking God to deliver him according to the value of his name, which is the reason for his trust. The double character of enemies is mentioned: foreigners are enemies from outside and violent men are those from within who seek the life of the poor. When deliverance comes, then the name of Jehovah is introduced (verses 6 and 7). God’s name is the revelation of what He is: this is what makes the foundation of trust. The name of Jehovah, the name of the God of the covenant, will be celebrated when the people return to the place where they are in relationship with them. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the faithful seek refuge in God (Ps 57).”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.