Today I deviate a bit from our normal psalm selection, choosing Psalm 56 as we come down from our glorious celebrations of our Lord's resurrection. From Sunday's emotional mountain-top of praising and giving all our glory to God, we're back into our regular times of struggle. David's prayer in this psalm calls out to God to save him from all kinds of oppression and attack.
We believe David wrote this psalm having been chased by Saul [who was trying to kill him] into the Philistine city of Gath. David had killed many Philistine warriors, and he feared they would recognize him and kill him in return. David's enemies were very much made of flesh & blood! Our enemies may not be so human, but they certainly also include sickness, the devil & his temptations, and our own sinful natures.
But our good news today comes from reading this psalm through the lens of Easter, and the great victory over death won for us by Jesus. Find in this psalm the resurrection language and the promise of confident, holy life.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in You.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to You, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life.
What verses did you find? I noticed several: the end of verse four, the end of verse 11, and the strongest resurrection reminder in the first phrase in verse 13. "For You have delivered my soul from death..." What a powerful gift Jesus won for us and gives to us!
And another piece of good news: "...that I may walk before God in the light of life." Because of what Jesus has done for us, we can walk confidently in His love and protection, no matter what enemies trample, oppress or attack us! Our forgiven and saved lives can be summarized in verses 3-4: "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. ...in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?"
Give thanks to our God, in Whom we trust, and Who gives us strength to not be afraid!
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.
office: 810.744.1188
mobile: 248.881.7627
Soli Deo Gloria
"My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:2
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