When Your Enemies Exhalt

The Prayers of People in Trouble: When Your Enemies Exalt Read: Psalm 25:1-22 Consider: King David begins this Psalm with a declaration of his complete devotion to God. There is no one else to whom David can "lift up" his soul, or before whom he can "lay it down." The Hebrew term translated "trust" literally meant to "lie extended on the ground." We might think of this behavior as one of "worship" because the Greek word translated worship in the NT meant the same thing, they had a different word for "trust." But in Hebrew, it was a sign of trust, confidence, and security. However, what troubled David was a fear of being shamed for doing so. David did not want God to allow anything to happen that would result in his enemies rejoicing because they had been victorious in some way over him. Some might question whether David's request was based on a proper understanding of God's promises. Had God ever promised to make David invincible? After experiencing so many back to back victories, David might have thought so. But then again, David also knew the agony of defeat. The truth is, on occasion, bad things to happen to good people. Unfortunately, when they do, some blame God. They become disappointed with Him because of their unrealistic expectations. They feel that it is God who has broken His promises. But David knew better. He knew that if he was ever defeated, it would be his own fault, no God's. Even so, he didn't want that to happen. The Hebrew term translated "enemy" meant "to be hostile toward." And it seems that King David had many enemies; that is, people who held resentments, jealousies, or felt threatened by him in some way. It wasn't just on a national level, but on a personal one too. There really were people who were out to get even with him, and those who wanted to punish him for the things that he had done to them. There were those who were so offended by him that they felt compelled to oppose him at every turn. Whatever may have generated their anger, it was churning away, building up inside them, compelling them to attack David. David knew that his only hope against them was to learn God's way even better, not only in regard to dealing with these enemies, but living life in general. He would learn to wait upon the Lord. He would learn to fear the Lord alone. He would learn to trust that God was not acting like his enemies; that, God was not keeping a record of wrongs and plotting to bring about David's demise. He would learn to trust that God was remembering him in love. So, David would continually look to the Lord. He would do so because he believed that God is good. Yet, David was honest that this was no easy thing to do. He knew that he didn't deserve God's protection because he had sinned against God. So, he worried about what his enemies might do. They truly hated him. His heart was troubled. He was distressed. David sang how he couldn't do anything about how his enemies felt, but he could do something about how he was feeling. He could confess and he could repent of his sins. He could trust that God would do what was right. And he could He could pray for, and then wait for, God's deliverance. Not only of him, but for the nation that he ruled. Just because it is simple, doesn't make it easy; but there is no substitute for trusting God to do His part, and staying out of His way. And how good it must have been for David to help those who came to worship the Lord to remember these truths by teaching them this Psalm. Prayer: Redeemer, protector, provider. We, like David struggle to trust You. Our enemies seem so formidable. Help us to keep our eyes upon You, and not on them. Help us that you will win the battle against our enemies for us. Amen. May we see and respond to the world with God's unfailing love