“The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.” Psalm 37:14
One of the great characteristics of David as a man, and specifically, as a man of God, is that he was very objective in his assessment of things. There was rarely a cloudy perspective concerning that which he faced, whether it be of a personal, heart matter, or the facing of the Lord’s enemies and his. The fact that truth permeated and dominated his attitude made matters clear. It is for this reason that David’s praying and living is so straightforward, simple and clear. He would pray and live, not in the abstract, but in the knowledge of the truth of God, which led him to the God of the truth. On the basis of his knowledge of the character of God, and being led by and strengthened by the Spirit to believe God, David proved the presence and power of God, even in moments of great peril and danger. In those moments when he realized his helplessness, and need of the intervention of God in a very definite manner, he would cry out to God, believe Him on the basis of His promises, then rise and go forth in faith, believing, receiving, and reigning in life and in the circumstances. In Psalm 37, we have a magnificent picture of what it means for a righteous, a faith-filled man, to be in dire cirumstances, facing foes that are malicious and wicked, and yet he, by the grace and direction of God, plows through by faith. He comes to know personally the power of God in those moments of peril, and the leading of the Spirit with regard to how to live in them.
The first thing David writes about in this psalm is the avoidance of pitfalls, or traps of the enemy. The enemy knows about our old sinful nature, and appeals to the baseness of certain attributes of this nature. For example, David writes: “Fret not thyself because of evildoers.” (v. 1) He will go on to say that we are not to be envious of them. We are to cease from anger, and we are to forsake wrath, and certainly we are not to “…fret…in any wise to do evil.” (v.8) In other words, we are not to live dominated by the evil and wicked folk which would be the subject of natural fretting and anxiousness. God, through David, calls us higher than these things, to know HIM, His power in the difficult, “unjust” circumstance. Why? Basically, it is because God is the perfect Judge, and He will deal with the wicked, as they shall not escape. They will not escape death, nor His judgment, for He will repay them for their wickedness. The very positive and powerful counter to being dominated by the wickedness and evil that surrounds us is a life of faith, faith in the faithfulness of God. One thing is certain, God looks for those who will trust Him in the “overwhelming” flood, when the enemy comes in like a flood. These who would live by faith are called upon to, “…Trust in the Lord, and do good.” We see this clearly worked out and demonstrated in the the life of the Lord Jesus on this earth, as He went about doing good, even in the face of peril and opposition.
The second thing is that the believer is called upon to “delight himself in the Lord.” Evil and wickedness is a downward spiral to death and destruction. Not so with the beauty and wonder of God, who through Christ has provided every believer abundance of life and power, and the promise of His victory.
The third thing is to “commit one’s way to the Lord,” wholly placing the entire responsibility of the life upon the shoulder of the Sovereign Shepherd. It is often in times of great peril that the glory of God is so clearly revealed. Light shines brightest in the darkest moment.
Dear Father, Empower us to live this day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.