Psalm 56 - NIV
1 Be merciful to me, my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;
in their pride many are attacking me.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words;
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not56:7 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have do not. let them escape;
in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll56:8 Or misery; / put my tears in your wineskin—
are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will 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 and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Devotional coment from Adrian McCartney
Psalm 56 and a song - maybe an odd choice of song but it could just be Jesus' prayer for every David, when he can't answer the prayer "bring them down". No pressure if not usable.
When I read this Psalm on the Friday before Palm Sunday and Holy Week, the first thoughts that jumped into my mind were that these words were written for Jesus to use as he faced those terrible days.
1 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack. 2 My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.
From the moment of the procession into Jerusalem the political and religious leaders (sorry, let’s take the “and” away), the political religious leaders were after him.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise - in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
The moments of anguish in those days were countered by moments of quietness and oneliness with his friends and with his Father when his soul was restored – in the home of Mary and Martha, the last Supper, even Gethsemane.
Then the trial…5 All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin. 6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life.
The whole thing was a set-up. There was going to be no escape, no justice, no protection, not a single voice would speak up for him.
Then…7 Because of their wickedness do not let them escape; in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
There is the difference between King David of the old covenant and the Son of David. One reacts like a human, “in your anger, God, bring the nations down” and the other reacts like the grace of God incarnated in human flesh, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” Choose whom you will follow, the song-writing poet and representative of the human way, or the one about whom and to whom all the songs are written, who will not be shaped by history and background and upbringing, but rather by the Spirit of God.
To quote the incarnate grace of God himself, “Go and do the same.”
Rev Adrian McCarthey is the Rector of Belvoir Parish in Belfast. He has pioneered many fresh expressions of church and discipleship models in the past three decades and has carried out almost every role and job at Summer Madness, from mainstage speaker to cook! He was the founder of StreetReach and continues to explore new ways of engaging with community need to share the love and power of Jesus.