sorry Inconsistency

Psalm 59

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies.

¹Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
         Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
    ²Deliver me from those who do iniquity
         And save me from men of bloodshed.
³For behold, they have set an ambush for my life;
         Fierce men launch an attack against me,
        Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD,
    ⁴For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me
         Arouse Yourself to help me, and see!
  ⁵You,O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel,
         Awake to punish all the nations;
        Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.
⁶They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
         And go around the city.
    ⁷Behold, they belch forth with their mouth;
         Swords are in their lips,
         For, they say, “Who hears?”
⁸But You, O LORD, laugh at them;
         You scoff at all the nations.
    ⁹Because of his strength I will watch for You,
         For God is my stronghold.
    ¹⁰My God in His lovingkindness will meet me;
         God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.
¹¹Do not slay them, or my people will forget;
         Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,
         O Lord, our shield.
    ¹²On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
         Let them even be caught in their pride,
         And on account of curses and lies which they utter.
    ¹³Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more;
         That men may know that God rules in Jacob
         To the ends of the earth. Selah.

¹⁴They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
         And go around the city.
    ¹⁵They wander about for food
         And growl if they are not satisfied.
    ¹⁶But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
         Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
         For You have been my stronghold
         And a refuge in the day of my distress.
    ¹⁷ O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
         For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness

Oh David, yet another prayer of deliverance from his enemies.  Seems like a pattern, doesn’t it.  This man after God’s own heart is one who seems to react and relate to God very much like I do:  inconsistently and impatiently. Even within this Psalm, we can see this cycle played out over and over again.  In Ps 59:1-2 he prays asking god for deliverance, in Ps 59:3-4 he complains of his woes, and again in Ps 59:5 he prays. In Ps 59:6-7 he renews his complaint, yet in Ps 59:8-10 declares his confidence in God, and in Ps 59:11-13 He returns yet again to prayer; finally he prays again in Ps 59:14-15hopefully ending the cycle in the loving kindness of God.

First to notice about this is that our lives are often no different than that of David’s. True, the details may be different. It may be finals that you are complaining and praying over as opposed to the king who is trying to kill you, but we struggle and our faith ebbs and flows just as David’s. We are no more or less exempt from the effect of sin in this world and its impact in our lives than David was.

Second, just as our (including David’s) lives are up and down, so are our relationships to God.  I know that I often find that just as I am coming off a great triumph of faith in Christ, I often find myself humbled at a realization of faithlessness in some other aspect. I also notice that while I pray fervently, I often complain and rely too heavily upon myself for solution instead of upon God.

Finally, I hope that I always end back up where David’s psalm ends; praising my God and relying upon him.  David is was not perfect, and neither are we. However, that does not alleviate our striving for perfection, nor does it minimize the power of God to overcome our imperfections. He is God and we are not. He is deserving of our faith, and our trust, and our works and our love. Ultimately, this is the goal of every believer;  to be able to say,

      “I shall sing of Your strength;
         Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
         For You have been my stronghold
         And a refuge in the day of my distress.
       O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
         For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.”