To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
“In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
I have hated those who regard useless idols; but I trust in the Lord.
I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am repulsive to my acquaintances; those who see me outside flee from me. I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel. For I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side; while they take counsel together against me, they scheme to take away my life.
But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
save me for Your mercies’ sake. Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You; let the wicked be ashamed; let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city! For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You. Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”
Once more, David writes a psalm that echoes down the ages to all the righteous who have ever found themselves attempting to clean up a mess, only to face vicious opposition from those who have created the problem in the first place. If you’re not up on your mythology, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary has this explanation: “Augean stable most often appears in the phrase “clean the Augean stable,” which usually means “clear away corruption” or “perform a large and unpleasant task that has long called for attention.” Augeas, the mythical king of Elis, kept great stables that held 3,000 oxen and had not been cleaned for thirty years – until Hercules was assigned the job. Hercules accomplished this task by causing two rivers to run through the stables. The word Augean is sometimes used by itself, too – it has come to mean “extremely difficult and usually distasteful.” We can refer to “Augean tasks,” “Augean labor,” or even “Augean clutter.”
Despite the Bathsheba incident and its results, David is a righteous man, if a flawed one. We can’t be certain which crisis in David’s life has prompted this psalm, but we can certainly identify with its sentiments and make David’s prayers our own as well.
““In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” Start cleaning up corruption, and those practicing it will form cabals and begin scheming ways to take you down. Those plotting such things will stop at nothing to achieve their ends. Only God knows the human heart and only God knows all the ways such people can lay traps; therefore, only God can save us from such evil.
“I have hated those who regard useless idols; but I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place.” Then, as now, there were those attempting to gain power by spells and enchantments and political influence. When we are in the midst of trials, many friends suddenly disappear, leaving us to fend for ourselves. But God knows our souls in adversity and He will NOT shut us up into the hand of the enemy unless He has a plan for redemption of the enemy as well.
One missionary in South America who was captured by guerilla fighters wound up leading many of his captors to the Lord. God’s plans and purposes are far greater than anything we can imagine. But no matter what happens, if we are trusting in God, whether we live or whether we die, we remain the Lord’s. The Auca Indians killed five missionaries who had come to tell them saving truths; however, the wives of two of those missionaries returned to the tribe. The result was salvation for that remote tribe.
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body!” Grief can do terrible things to our immune systems, leaving us open to all kinds of illnesses, including cancer.
“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies’ sake.” Notice what David does NOT say. David does not say, “Redeem me because I’m such a good guy.” David is trusting in God’s mercy, not in his own righteousness.
“Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.”
One of the worst things to face is slanderous attacks and whispering campaigns. Physical enemies are far easier because they are obvious; however, “they say-they say” can lead you down rabbit holes. Rumor mongers will never own up to the damage they have caused; meanwhile, your reputation might lie in ruins. One of the most frustrating things about vicious rumors is the willingness of most people to believe that there must be some basis in fact for them. “Oh, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Not if the smoke is coming from a smoke screen! Little wonder then, that David prays, “Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.”
“Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” This psalm has an encouraging ending, one that gives us hope. It’s as if David is reaching down through the centuries, calling to us and waving us onward.
APPLICATION: As you might have guessed, many of my comments have come from extensive experiences in fighting corruption. Even now, I am at the fringe of some “Augean Stable” situations, and we can only pray that God will send a Holy Ghost river to cleanse them! Most of the time, we don’t ask to be in such situations and we would happily let someone else fix all the problems, if someone else was available and willing. But God calls us because we have made ourselves available and willing to do His will. Once we have said “yes” to God, we cannot go back and re-negotiate!
I am re-reading The Bible Jesus Read by Philip Yancey. The descriptions of Moses and his struggles leading the Israelites are priceless; unfortunately, they also sound eerily familiar. The Israelites never left all the Egyptian gods behind and given the slightest provocation, they were more than willing to throw an orgy, hence the incident of the golden calf. Surely there were many days when Moses wished he were back in the wilderness herding sheep; after all, sheep never manufactured idols, nor did they threaten to stone him!
You can break this psalm down into verses and pray individual verses, claiming those promises for yourself. But no matter how you treat this psalm, remember the last verses: “Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” God is our stronghold and our protection. And God DOES preserve the faithful and fully repays the proud person. Think on that and be glad!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, let everyone who needs this psalm take the verses that help them most to heart. We bless Your Holy Name and we magnify You for Your great works and for Your mercy! Help us to trust in You, even when all looks dark. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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