Psalm 25:15 ¶ Mine eyes are
ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. 16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me;
for I am desolate and afflicted. 17
The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my
distresses. 18 Look upon mine affliction
and my pain; and forgive all my sins. 19
Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel
hatred. 20 O keep my soul, and deliver
me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
for I wait on thee. 22 Redeem Israel, O
God, out of all his troubles.
As David speaks of looking to God in times of distress notice
these verses;
Psalm 123:2 Behold, as the
eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a
maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God,
until that he have mercy upon us.
Psalm 141:8 But mine eyes
are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul
destitute.
Psalm 31:4 Pull me out of
the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.
Psalm 124:7 Our soul is
escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we
are escaped.
Let us look at Psalm 69 first, which also is a prophecy of Christ.
Psalm 69:13 ¶ But as for
me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the
multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. 14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not
sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the waterflood overflow me,
neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
16 Hear me, O LORD; for thy
lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender
mercies. 17 And hide not thy face from
thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. 18 Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it:
deliver me because of mine enemies. 19
Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine
adversaries are all before thee. 20
Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked
for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found
none. 21 They gave me also gall for my
meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Look also at Psalm 88.
Psalm 88:1 ¶ «A Song or
Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth,
Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.» O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day
and night before thee: 2 Let my prayer
come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; 3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life
draweth nigh unto the grave. 4 I am
counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no
strength: 5 Free among the dead, like
the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are
cut off from thy hand. 6 Thou hast laid
me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. 7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast
afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. 8
Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an
abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. 9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction:
LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
10 ¶ Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the
dead arise and praise thee? Selah. 11
Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness
in destruction? 12 Shall
thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the
land of forgetfulness? 13 But unto thee
have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. 14 LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why
hidest thou thy face from me? 15 I am
afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am
distracted. 16 Thy fierce wrath goeth
over me; thy terrors have cut me off. 17
They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about
together. 18 Lover and friend hast thou
put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
In verse 18 look at the contrast between the afflictions David is
suffering and his sins. Remember in verse 7 he was concerned about the sins of
his youth, as they are often great for all of us.
7 Remember not the sins of
my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for
thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.
Compare with these other verses;
Psalm 119:132 ¶ Look thou
upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy
name…153 ¶ RESH. Consider mine
affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
See how Hannah made her request regarding her affliction of being
childless;
1Samuel 1:11 And she vowed
a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of
thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give
unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the
days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
There is an expectation of deliverance when the request is made, a
faith that God will not abandon them.
See verses 19-22. This is a common theme of Psalms for protection
against enemies.
Psalm 3:1 ¶ «A Psalm of
David, when he fled from Absalom his son.» LORD, how are they increased that
trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is
no help for him in God. Selah.
Psalm 27:2 When the wicked,
even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled
and fell…12 Deliver me not over unto the
will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as
breathe out cruelty.
Psalm 38:19 But mine
enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are
multiplied.
Psalm 56:2 Mine enemies
would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most
High.
Psalm 57:4 My soul is among
lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men,
whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Psalm 138:7 Though I walk
in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine
hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
Psalm 143:3 For the enemy
hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath
made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
In verse 22 David pleads for all Israel.
Prophetically speaking for verse 15 think of this statement from
Paul in his second letter to Timothy.
2Timothy 2:25 In meekness
instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them
repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of
the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Can you see the threat of a snare that those who reject Christ are
in danger of?
Now come back to the Old Testament as Jeremiah talks of wicked
men.
Jeremiah 5:25 ¶ Your
iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good
things from you. 26 For among my people
are found wicked men: they lay
wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
Prophetically, speaking of what verse 22 reminds us of, Daniel
will plead for exiled Israel.
Daniel 9:17 Now therefore,
O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy
face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
We can imagine this passage as a prayer for deliverance during the
Great Tribulation to come, the Time of Jacob’s trouble and it is a great prayer
for ourselves in times of great distress. We may not have physical enemies that
hate us but we most certainly have spiritual forces around us that want to see
us destroyed.
No comments:
Post a Comment