SOAP 04/20/2014; Psalm 31:7-8

Today's reading: 1 Samuel 23; Psalm 31, 54; Matthew 7



S) "⁷ I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
⁸ And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place."

Psalm 31:7-8 (NASB)

O) In many of the Psalms, David sings about enemies that were very real, life-threatening enemies. These lines are simple thanksgiving for the deliverance he has in the LORD. The one term he uses here, really stood out to me, though. He says, "given me over" and it strikes me as a similar term to "turned me over." That is to say, David might have actually carried some guilt with his enemies, here. I don't know when this particular Psalm was written, but there's precedent for it. Yet, God delivered him.

A) It's easy to disassociate with some of the psalms, because of their historical context. One thing I share with David here, though, is a very real enemy. Like David, my enemy seeks my life constantly. Unlike David, I don't (to my knowledge) have people seeking my physical death. My enemy is satan, and he wants to steal, kill, and destroy whatever he can of me. Like David, my sins put a definite responsibility of this danger, on me. Unlike David, my sins are washed clean by the blood of Christ (David's were too, post mortum).  Like David, I should rejoice in the fact that the LORD has not handed me over to my enemy, but instead He delivers me from my self-inflicted afflictions.



P) Father, thank You for the lovingkindness You show me. You know the troubles of my soul, even the self-destructive ones, and You give me mercy. Let me rejoice in this simple, eternal truth.  In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.