"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT THE GOODNESS AND FAITHFULNESS OF THE LORD"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT THE GOODNESS AND FAITHFULNESS OF THE LORD"

(Taken from reading today in the One Year Bible 9/10/14)

Psalm 54:4 Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

Psalm 54:5 He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth.

Psalm 54:6 I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.

Psalm 54:7 For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

Some explanatory thoughts, applications, questions, and a prayer:

David was no stranger to extreme difficulties. As the King of Israel he had many enemies. The nation of Israel had many enemies.
David lived in the same world we live in. And he dealt with the same basic conflicts and challenges we do.
People often make fun of the devil, and mock those who speak of the devil, but that kind of thinking is the very greatest victory of deception Satan can have in someone's life. That is to discount the fact of the devil's reality. At any rate, behind all of the trouble that came against David was his spiritual enemy. David was a man of God who stood with God and trusted in God and found victory after victory through that trust. God was David's deliverer, and He is our deliverer today.

1. David understood that God was His helper, and the Lord is with those who uphold his life.

Psalm 54:4 Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

Here are two truths about God for the those who believe.
One, God is our helper.
Two, God is also with or alongside those who help us in our walk and ministry to the Lord.

So, God is personally involved in the lives of His people. He is actually with you. And, he is actually with those other members of the body of Christ also.

Simply put, God is with His people.

2. God will repay those enemies of God for their evil deeds.

Psalm 54:5 He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth.

Often in Scripture we are told that God is just, and that vengeance belongs to God.
In fact, we are directed by God to let Him deal with our enemies. Just as we are often directed to let the Lord take care of us in every other area of our lives.

What a comfort to know that though we have enemies, it is God who will deal with them, in His own way and in His own time.
By the way, our part as it relates to our enemies is to "pray for enemies”. That is what Jesus told us to do.

Matt 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

3. David on the other hand was worshipping God, praising God for His name is good.

Psalm 54:6 I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.

Here David tells us what he was doing in the midst of this situation. He was focused on the Lord worshipping him.
He was praising God, because God is good.

While we have battles and enemies, etc, that fact does not prevent us from being just like David. In the midst of life and all it’s troubles, David remained steady in his walk with the Lord, and enjoyed knowing the Lord, and spent time telling Him so.

4. David could look back on past deliverances by God, and David saw how the Lord took care of his enemies.

Psalm 54:7 For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

One of the blessings of knowing God and having walked with God for some period of time was David's ability to look backwards over his own personal history and see the delivering hand of God in his life. These past acts of God were demonstrations of God's faithfulness, and gave David courage and faith in the moment as he sought to deal with his present circumstances and challenges that lay ahead.

God is unchanging, thus what He was yesterday, He is today, and will be forever and ever.

Some Questions:

1. Don't we all need reminders from time to time that God is actually with us?

2. When you read the Bible don't you see often where God tells you to let Him take care of your enemies?

3. In the meantime, is there anything to keep you from worshipping the Lord and praising Him for His wonderful deeds towards you?

4. Hasn't God delivered you in the past? Haven't you seen the Lord do just exactly what He has promised to do for you?

A Prayer:

Father, we love the Psalms. But we love You more than the Psalms themselves. The Psalms tell us so much about You, and we are so grateful for them. Thank You for giving us 150 Psalms. That is a whole lot of blessing for us. It seems that when we read them we find something that seems to fit our lives to the tee. It's no coincidence, Lord. It's You speaking to the very needs and circumstances in our lives. Thank You for Your unceasing help in our lives Father. We truly are grateful, and love you dearly. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia