Faith Persevering in Trial
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.
Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.”
I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me! Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who seek to destroy my life; let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
who wish me evil. Let them be confounded because of their shame, who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!” But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.”
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”
The British reality TV show “Close Calls on Camera” has documented many occasions when unwary beach walkers in England have ventured out onto what they think is packed sand, only to find themselves mired, unable to move and in danger of drowning as the tide comes in. It’s easy to find yourself in trouble, even though you have taken every precaution. Sometimes we can find ourselves stuck in a horrible situation from which there appears no way out. Although we don’t know which crisis in David’s life has occasioned this psalm, we can certainly share his sentiments!
“Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” You can either trust God or other people, but you can’t trust both at the same time. The problem with proud and deceitful people is that they will throw you under the bus at the first sign of trouble. God will never betray you.
“I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know.” David has been careful to give God all the glory without boasting about it. It is very common for churches to give time for testimonies, and many of the testimonies are riveting. But there’s a fine line between giving God glory or boasting as if the person giving the testimony feels particularly favored by God.
“Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me.” During our missionary careers, we have found ourselves struggling to care for patients in the midst of a tribal war while we face shortages of medicines and supplies and indifference or even hostility from authorities. God has consistently delivered us; however, we definitely have felt our problems are more than the hairs of our heads.
“Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!” Reading this, you can feel David’s fear and anxiety. Will God deliver in time, or will disaster strike?
“Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!” But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.” David is continuing to reassure himself while beseeching God for help.
APPLICATION: Life can hand us all kinds of problems-catastrophic illnesses, job losses, family upheavals, natural disasters. Any one of these problems may leave us feeling as if we are sinking in miry clay with no hope. Reading David’s psalms, it’s as if David himself is reaching his hand out down through the centuries, encouraging us and reassuring us as fellow believers.
Psalms can be turned into prayers. You can pray this psalm, filling in the blanks with your problems and repeating it as many times as necessary during the day. God already knows all your struggles, but when you acknowledge your need for help, you are opening yourself up for God to move in your life.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us feel caught in miry clay type problems. Help all those in such situations to turn to you. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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