One of the features of the Psalms that I have come to appreciate over the last decade or more is the window that it gives to see into the human heart. A friend recently asked me what the Lord was teaching me these days. The answer is expressed in this Psalm. David, a man after God’s own heart, the slayer of Goliath, the youngest of his family, selected by God above all others to be anointed as king…is in a deep pit of his feelings. That’s not to say that there isn’t good reason! There is! His enemies are fierce, and his friends are scarce. This lament of grief flows from that.
In the opening verses, he declares that he has already taken refuge in God (v.1), that God is his Rock, Fortress, and Leader (v.3), that God reveals hidden traps and is his strength (v.4), and that God has set David free by paying his ransom (v.5). These are statements of faith. They are presented as facts.
Often, we as disciples of Jesus have categorical statements of faith like this. Jesus is my Lord! He is my Refuge. He is sufficient. He sees all. I Trust Him. He is Sovereign. He spoke to me, and I acted according to His Word! Our faith feels strong!
This informs David’s response to the ungodly.
6I hate those who regard vain idols, But I trust in the Lord.
7I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness, Because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul,
8And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place.
Psalm 31:6–8 (NASB95)
He not only trusts in the Lord but has set Himself squarely on the side of God and hates those who regard idols. Not just idols, but he hates those who regard wickedness! He rejoices in God’s loyal covenantal love (He-Sed), the lovingkindness of God…
Then the shift of feelings within him as he reflects on his circumstances…in the very next verse! He says that he is wasting away from grief (v.9). Notice how he expands on that feeling.
11Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach, Especially to my neighbors, And an object of dread to my acquaintances; Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.
13For I have heard the slander of many, Terror is on every side; While they took counsel together against me, They schemed to take away my life.
Psalm 31:11–13 (NASB95)
David is a hot mess! Not the next day or the next hour but in the very next thought! He KNOWS truth! Theologically, he has settled on the Person and provision of God. And his feelings are so overwhelming that he experiences “terror on every side.”
Is there any better image of a disciple’s heart and experience in the narrow and shadowy places of life’s journey? God, I know…but I feel…
Verse 14 helps us if we have ears to hear. What do you do when your feelings conflict with what you know to be true about God?
A decision, by faith.
Now if you are like me, doubt can creep in. You can start to wonder if you truly knew what you said you knew. Doubt has always been the “adjustable wrench” in the devil’s toolbox (you can make it work in nearly every situation). The only effective response to doubt is a reasoned response. Before the flood of feelings that churned up doubts…you had settled in your heart who God is and what God does. You were thinking clearly then. There was no barrage of emotional missiles flying overhead. By faith, choose that again.
14But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, I say, “You are my God.”
Psalm 31:14 (NASB95)
We will never experience the enemy’s “cease fire” or “surrender” in this life. Here, we will have troubles but take courage, Jesus already won! (John 16:33).
Recent Comments