PSALM FIFTY NINE AMBUSH! If you read this psalm through carefully please bear in mind that this was a time of crisis in David's life. It was when Saul was absolutely determined to slay him. The historic occasion behind the psalm is recorded in 1 Samuel 19:11-15, and especially verse 11. Saul had armed men seeking for David. By the context it is evident that Saul was present when this party was sent to forage to find David. They were hunting him as though they were hunting an animal. They got to the place where David and his wife were, and David said to her the equivalent of, "If they find me, we are both dead." So David let himself down out of a window and his wife took a statuette and wrapped it up in the bed, and very ingeniously took goats hair to pretend there was a head there. When the soldiers knocked at the door she said, "You can't see him, he is sick." So they returned to Saul and told him who said, "Look, you bring him out of his bed. We'll slay him!" What a different situation it had been when David had stumbled over Saul asleep in a cave at night. Twice, David had opportunity to slay the king, ! but he would not. Here was Saul, determined to kill him as though he were a dog. This psalm is the product of Saul's tenacity to kill David. But David sings, "Deliver me from mine enemy O God." Saul was determined to kill him. The city was surrounded by Saul's troops. The house itself was besieged by Saul's guards. The orders were, "Slay him in the morning!" Sick or well, he must die. Michal knew that David was doomed to die. Only God could help. "O my God - deliver me from assailants - workers of iniquity," sings David. His wife did her best to give him a little time to get away. We all have an enemy who is padding around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Only God knew David's innocence. My son in law is a prison officer, and in conversation one day I spoke to him of the 'poor lads' who were inside the prison. "Yes dad," he responded, "and they are ALL INNOCENT." I caught the edge of his sarcasm - they are innocent, not in FACT, but in attitude, just by the claims of their mouths. They speak innocence. David does not plead his innocence before man, but before God. He knew, that God knew, he was innocent. He was prepared to let God be the judge. If he was guilty it would bring down the wrath of heaven. If his plea was true, and he was innocent - it would bring deliverance. The transgression he denies is that of revolt against the king - of that he KNEW he was innocent. Our final plea, in every situation is with God not with men. The spirit of persecution is a very wicked thing. It is as fierce against a relative as it is against a stranger. David was actually Saul's son-in-law. Yet the persecuted psalmist was in the sight of all those soldiers, doomed to die. In actual fact, it proved later, that it was the persecutors who were doomed. The wrath of God is a principle in all the earth and it is an ambush from which there is no escape. Only God could rightly assess the situation, and there are two things that David asks Him to do. In verse four he sings, "Awake to help me Lord and behold!" This does not infer that God is asleep. The Scriptures always make it clear that God never slumbers nor sleeps. When the heathen were having a hard time trying to produce fire where fire would not come, the prophet of old taunted them saying, "Shout a bit louder; perhaps your god is asleep." The gods of the heathen are always asleep - they are dumb idols. In this instance, David is asking God to take a look at his situation. He uses a wonderful expression - "Awake and behold." There are times when we all get bewildered with the situations we find ourselves in. Often we run around in circles like headless chickens, trying to find a solution. We need someone else to assess the situation for us. It is possible to ask the advice of friends, only to discover that they too are as bewildered as we are. It is always best to a! sk the one who is never bewildered by any situation. The Almighty sees it ALL and knows the right answer to meet the need. Always ask Him to look at your situation and you can be confident that He will assess it thoroughly and correctly. In verse five the Psalmist again asks the Almighty to awake and visit the heathen. This is very significant. Saul had heathen among his men, specially recruited for the task of eliminating David. Doeg the Idumean was one of them. The whole of the persecution of David was heathen in character. Woe betide us when we turn to the godless for aid. David now makes a direct request. "O Lord God of Hosts, the God of Israel, visit all the heathen without mercy," and he graphically describes the action of the heathen in the ambush:- 1. They return at evening. They do their work in the dark. 2. They make a noise like a dog. The undomesticated dogs of that day prowled around at night for food, and howled in the darkness. 3. They belched with their mouths. Their speech was lawless and cruel. Is it not strange that some people when they say, "I always speak my mind," give the overwhelming impression that they are mindless. They just belch words. "But Lord," sings David, "You will laugh at them!" When they have laid out all their plans, everything comes to naught. Those who live like heathens will die like dogs, yet David pleads, "Slay them not, my people forget. Let them wander like dogs; Scatter them! Then let them return to wander up and down looking for something to eat." God does indeed move in mysterious ways. When the ambush was over, David sings, "I will sing of THY POWER." We are kept by the power of God. If the foe is strong - our God is stronger. God has no crisis nor emergency. "I will sing aloud of Thy Mercy in the morning." It was in the morning they planned to murder David. The next time we see David, he is with Samuel in the HOUSE OF THE LORD. God is wonderful in all His dealings with the children of men. Our last victory will be our greatest. He will deliver us from every ambush. Copyright (c) 1996, Hedley Palmer. All rights reserved. ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/hpalmer/psalms: ps-059.txt .