Psalms 7, 27, 31, 34, 52 (15th April) - Pamelia

PSALM 7
David wrote Paslm 7 about Cush, a man of the tribe of Benjamin.
At first, David prayed that God would deliver him from his enemies. He had not done anything wrong to them and if God had found that David had done them wrong, he was willing to die. (v1-5)
David prayed that God would judge all men fairly, and he was willing to have God judge him. He knew that God will punish wicked people and hold up the man who is righteous. (v6-10).
The wicked will be punished and destryoed by their own weapons if they do not repent (v11-13).
He will act according to his own evil nature but the wicked things he has doen to others will come back to him (v14-16).

This reminds me of the idiom: “hao ren you hao bao, er ren you er bao.”

Don’t worry! We can have confidence on Judgment Day because God has made us righteous in Christ and He will judge all men according to His own perfect righteousness.

PSALM 27
This psalm is aso a prayer of David but at first he was praising the Lord. He was sure that God would help him because he had given him light and kept him safely (v1). Why should he be afraid of any man? Why should we be too? As warriors of light, we are warriors of God so fear no one but God alone!

This is the only time David called God his light, but others used this word for God in Isaiah 60:20, Micah 7:8 and 1 John 1:5.

David was sure that his enemies would not be able to stand up against him (v2). Goliath said he would kill David and feed his dead body to the birds to eat. Instead, Goliath was the one who fell! (1 Samuel 17:44,49). David would not be afraid even if a whole army came against him (v 3). All he wanted was to live with Lord and to see His beauty, where David would be safe from his enemies and just praising the Lord (v 4-6).

David was sure that the Lord would take care of him but still he felt that he should pray to God (v7-13). He asked the Lord to hear him and not to hide Himself from him or to leave him. He prayed that the Lord would teach him His ways and to deliver him from his enemies.

It is the same with us. The Lord will give us strength if we wait on Him. Doesn’t it amaze you when we wait on the Lord and meditate on His word even though we may feel very tired after work or school, he gives us strength that cannot be explained? Trust the Lord in all that you do, and he WILL give you strength and help you.

PSALM 31
This is another prayer of David so we can see again that he really trusted the Lord. He also gave thanks to the Lord for answering his prayer.

David went to God for safety and asked him to deliver him. God was like a solid rock. He was able to save David (v1-2). David also asked God to lead him. His enemies wanted to catch him in their net like a bird, David put his spirit into God’s hands. This means he would trust God to look after him even if he died.(v3-5)

It is better to trust in God than in other things, whether its our career, people or money. God does not hate anyone but He will still judge all who trust in idols. David knew God loved him because he often delivered him from his enemies. (v6-8) He had so mch trouble that his body was getting thin and weak (v9-10). His enemies just laughed at him and his friends were afraid of him. Some had forgotten about him and others were secretly planning to kill him. (v11-14) People knew that David trusted in God and he would be ashamed if God fif not save him.

David fully trusted in God and he spoke now as if God had already answered his prayers. He also praised God because He is so kind to men. (v19) God brings men close to Himself to protect them from wicked men, and from those who say bad things about them. (v20) He also shows them mercy (v21-22).

In this psalm, David prayed, believed and praised God. God heard his prayer even when his faith was weak. When God answers our prayers, we should remember to give Him the glory. David did this when he called on the people of God to love Him and be brave. In verses 23 and 24, we have the three great things: love, faith and hope (refer: 1 Corinthians 13:13). The Lord saves those who have faith. We should wait for God in hope and should love Him for saving us.

PSALM 34
David wrote Psalm 34 after the Lord delivered him from Abimelech, King of Gath as in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. David had run awau from Saul, the king of Israel, but he was afraid and did not trust God to take care of him. He went to the Philistines in Gath but he was more afraid still. He acted as if he had gone mad until Abimelech let him go.

In Psalm 34, David calls on us to praise, trust and to fear him (v 1-10). David himself promised to praise the Lord and called on us to do the same. As Christians, we should praise the Lord all the time, when we’re alone, and when we come together as a network or church.

This psalm also makes us think of Jesus Christ. David calls himself, “This poor man”, in verse 6. Our Lord was rich but He made Himself poor for our sake (2 Corinthians:8-9)

David taught the young people and other believers the truth about God. Solomon wanted to teach his sons, as David his father taught him, (Proverbs 4:1-5). God always wants us to teach our children the truth, whether physical or spiritual children.

Deuteronomy 4:10
Tell them especially the say when you stood before the Lord, your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, “Summon the people before me, and I will instruct them. That way, they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will be able to teach my laws to their children.”

Jesus always taught his disciples to learn from Him. We can become more like Christ and this will please our Father. God loves His Son and wants us to become more like Him.

PSALM 52
David wrote this psalm before he became king of Israel. Saul was very jealous of David because he won great victories in the war with the Philistines. David had to run away and he hid with Ahimelech, the priest. Careful, do not be confused with the King Abimelech – it’s really interesting how a change of one letter makes you a priest.

Anyway, to continue, Doeg the Edomite reported to Saul that he saw David talking to the priest and Saul went after Ahimelech. When Saul could not find David, he killed Ahimelech and 84 other priests of God, what evil! David must have felt horrible on top of his present situation.

Note: The people of Edom were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. The name Edom is almost the same as Adam and speaks of the natural man without God. Esau himself is a man who lives for the things of the world, remember he rathered give up his birthright for the stew just to satisfy his growling stomach. The Edomites were enemies of Israel. In the same way, the men of this world are the enemies of God’s people. No one can love both God and the things of this world.
1 John 2:15
Stop loving this evil world and all that if offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you.