Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
27 But David said to himself, “One day Sha’ul will sweep me away. The best thing for me to do is to escape into the territory of the P’lishtim. Then Sha’ul will give up trying to find me here or there in Isra’el’s territory, and at last I’ll be free of him.” 2 So David set out with his six hundred men and passed on to Akhish the son of Ma‘okh, king of Gat. 3 David lived with Akhish, he and his men, each man with his household — including David with his two wives Achino‘am from Yizre‘el and Avigayil from Karmel, Naval’s widow. 4 Sha’ul was told that David had escaped to Gat, whereupon he stopped searching for him.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
David lived by his wits in the wilderness. He knew that going back unto Israel would be too dangerous because Saul was hunting him again. Where could he go for safety? Who might provide the kind of anonymity he needed for protection?
David decided to live among his former enemies, the Philistines.
What?
Wouldn’t the Philistines remember that he had killed their champion Goliath?
We aren’t told all of the details, but it seems that living with the Philistines was the safest way for David and his men to stay alive at this time.
Making his plea to Achish, the king of Gath, David was given refuge in Ziklag.
David, along with his 600 men and their families, made no attempt to harm the Philistines.
They kept their word to leave them alone and to wage war on their surrounding enemies.
While David was in Philistine territory, Saul stayed away.
David flourished in the last place he really wanted to be.
During this time, something very amazing happened—the king of Gath trusted David. David had shown himself to be trustworthy. He had modeled the kind of behavior that can turn an old enemy into an ally. In this way we can see that the Lord protected David even while quietly living among his people’s enemies.
Where to Turn When Your Thoughts Go Dark?
ometimes our thoughts are our greatest enemy.
However difficult his circumstance, David always placed his confidence in God. Indeed, in the final conversation that ever took place between King Saul and David, David declared to Saul that although he didn’t know what would happen, he knew that God would deliver him from his troubles (1 Samuel 26:23-24).
David had more that quite good reasons for such confidence:
Deliverance had been a theme throughout his life.
Whether it was from the lion, the bear, or the Philistine giant (1 Samuel 17:37), or, later, from Saul’s murderous pursuit of him, David was quick to attest to God’s rescue.
It is surprising, then, having avowed his commitment to God’s delivering hand David convinced himself in his heart Saul would eventually kill him.
Rather than reflecting on God’s goodness and faithfulness, he allowed his thoughts to go to dark places.
His confidence gave way to depression and his faith gave way to fear, and so he went to seek security in the company of the enemy (1 Samuel 27:2)—a decision that would lead to a grand mess of deceit and difficulty (v 8-11).
Our thoughts of ourselves really matter; they give rise to our actions. An old saying reminds us of this principle:Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.
You may look back on chapters in your own life when, like David, you began to talk nonsense to yourself, made foolish choices, found yourself trapped.
You may be in that place right now, struggling to stop your thoughts from spiraling downwards and leading you into a course of action you know, deep down, is unwise or wrong.
David didn’t just need saving from threats to his life; he needed saving from himself—and so do you and I.
But the good news is we can’t exhaust God’s kindness and mercy, even if our thoughts are in the wrong direction, if our actions have taken us off course.
As God rescued David, so He has rescued us through the cross of Christ. When you find your thoughts turning to dark places, then, remind yourself of God’s goodness, deliverance, and faithfulness, let that shape your heart’s response to the difficulties you face, and shape the course you take as you navigate them.
In the name of God, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 86 Complete Jewish Bible
86 (0) A prayer of David:
(1) Listen, Adonai, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am faithful; save your servant, who puts his trust in you because you are my God. 3 Take pity on me, Adonai, for I cry to you all day.
4 Fill your servant’s heart with joy, for to you, Adonai, I lift my heart. 5 Adonai, you are kind and forgiving, full of grace toward all who call on you. 6 Listen, Adonai, to my prayer; pay attention to my pleading cry. 7 On the day of my trouble I am calling on you, for you will answer me.
8 There is none like you among the gods, Adonai; no deeds compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and bow before you, Adonai; they will honor your name. 10 For you are great, and you do wonders; you alone are God.
11 Adonai, teach me your way, so that I can live by your truth; make me single-hearted, so that I can fear your name. 12 I will thank you, Adonai my God, with my whole heart; and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For your grace toward me is so great! You have rescued me from the lowest part of Sh’ol.
14 God, arrogant men are rising against me, a gang of brutes is seeking my life, and to you they pay no attention. 15 But you, Adonai, are a merciful, compassionate God, slow to anger and rich in grace and truth. 16 Turn to me, and show me your favor; strengthen your servant, save your slave-girl’s son. 17 Give me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, because you, Adonai, have helped and comforted me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
31 When the words which David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
I remember learning the story of David and Goliath in Sunday school. As a child, I tried to picture the scene of this young boy going up against this mean giant.
How big was Goliath in comparison to David?
Where did David get such courage to even think he could defeat him?
All of the odds were against David.
He had no experience, no armor, no weapon, and no one fought alongside him.
Who was he kidding?
But David had something far more powerful than physical stature, experience or weapons: he had faith in his God.
Do you ever feel like you are in the midst of a battle where the odds are stacked against you?
Or maybe you see the “giants,” hear their “taunts,” decide to flee and hide out, feign sickness, make excuses, cower behind rocks trembling in fear as opposed to bravely standing up to them, as the Israelites did before David had arrived?
Today, we are all in a battle and there is one clear enemy.
Make no mistake about this fact: “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8).
Satan will use whatever tactics he can to get to us, to frighten us, and to keep us making excuses, feigning illness, from fighting back. He will play tricks on our minds so that we see giants that are not real. He will deceive us into believing that we have no ability to win. One of the best tools Satan has against us is fear.
Fear keeps us from facing the giants.
Fear keeps us from ever achieving victory because we are afraid and run from the battle.
Fear becomes our own trap of despair, depression and disillusionment. So often, the hardest battle s take place in our own minds with “giants” conjured up in our thoughts, but we must understand that this is not God’s will for us.
Where did David get his courage?
He believed in his God, the God of Israel.
He believed in all that he had been taught about God, and he had witnessed God’s faithfulness and protection in his own life.
And on this day, he was willing to put his faith to the test.
David took a huge step of faith, depending completely on the Lord to save him.
With one sling of one rock, the giant fell.
For us, today is our day of victory.
Today is the day to grab hold of our slings, turn and face the giants in our lives.
In faith we step out, stop running, stop hiding and stop believing the lies of the enemy, Satan.
In faith, we face the enemy head on and we claim victory in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. He has fought the battle and won, on our behalf, but we need to take a giant step out, stand up, sling our rock. Victory is ours in Christ.
In the name of God, the Father, God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit …
Praying …
Psalm 20 Revised Standard Version
Prayer for Victory
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
20 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion! 3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!Selah
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfil all your plans! 5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfil all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. 7 Some boast of chariots, and some of horses; but we boast of the name of the Lord our God. 8 They will collapse and fall; but we shall rise and stand upright.
9 Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.[a]
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
27 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
2 So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
The sad story of 1 Samuel 27 begins with something David said in his heart.
He may have never said it out loud; he may have never said it to anyone else; he may have never said it to God.
But David said it in his heart.
Now I shall be destroyed someday by the hand of Saul:
This is what David said in his heart.
That was a powerful thought of greatest discouragement coming from a heart tired of running, hiding from King Saul, losing sight of his trust in God for His continued deliverance. In his discouragement he forgot God’s past deliverance.
What we say to ourselves, what we repeat to ourselves inside our hearts has a tremendous power to shape our thinking, our actions, even our whole destiny.
Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said …
“I remember on one occasion, to my shame, being sad and doubtful of heart, and a kind friend took out a paper and read to me a very short extract from a discourse upon faith. I very soon detected the author of the extract; my friend was reading to me from one of my own sermons. Without saying a word he just left it unto my own conscience, for he had convicted me of committing the very fault against which I had so earnestly declaimed.” (Spurgeon)
1 Samuel 27:1 (KJV) reads, “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.”
This verse marks a significant turning point in the life of David, who is being pursued relentlessly by King Saul.
It is a moment of great desperation for David as he contemplates his future and the constant threat to his life. In this verse, we are a witness to David’s struggle with fear and his hardened decision to seek refuge among the enemies of Israel.
The context of this verse is crucial to understanding its significance.
David was anointed as the future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel, but despite this, he found himself on the run from King Saul, driven by hate, jealousy and paranoia, seeking to eliminate David as a threat to his throne.
Young David, on the other hand, the man after God’s own heart, remained loyal to Saul and refused to harm him despite those multiple opportunities to do so.
Despite his loyalty, unable to communicate with Saul. convince Saul of his true intent, David realized staying in Israel meant he would continue to be hunted.
This realization led him to deeply consider seeking refuge with the Philistines, traditional enemies of Israel.
This decision was a dangerous one, as it could have potentially placed David in a deadly, vulnerable position as a non-combatant in the midst of enemy territory.
The verse begins with David’s internal struggle.
He reflects on his situation and recognizes the gravity of his predicament.
His continuous fear of Saul’s relentless pursuit and the constant threat to his life weigh heavily on him.
Despite his faith and trust in God, David’s humanity and vulnerability are on display here.
His decision to flee to the land of the Philistines is a clear indication of his desperation and the extremes to which he feels compelled to go in order to secure his safety.
It’s important to note here that this verse does not explicitly depict David considering, making motions, mentioning, ruminating over seeking God’s guidance or approval for his decision.
It shows the inner turmoil and desperation that led David to make this decision.
This is a reminder of David’s humanity and his capacity for fear and doubt, even after being identified as a man after God’s own heart. It also serves to remind us that even the strongest of faith can falter in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Where to Turn When our Thoughts Turn to Darkness
We all have to confess that sometimes our thoughts are our greatest enemy.
However difficult his circumstance, David had always placed his confidence in God. Indeed, in the final conversation that ever took place between King Saul and David, David declared to Saul that although he didn’t know what would happen, he knew God would deliver him from his troubles (1 Samuel 26:23-24).
David had good reason for such confidence: deliverance had been a theme throughout his life. Whether it was from the lion, the bear, or the Philistine giant (1 Samuel 17:37), or, later, from Saul’s murderous pursuit of him, David was generally very quick turn his fear away and to attest unto God’s rescue.
It is surprising, then, having just avowed his commitment to the delivering hand of God, he convinced himself in his heart Saul would eventually kill him.
Rather than reflecting on God’s goodness and faithfulness, he allowed his thoughts to go to dark places.
His confidence gave way to depression and his faith gave way to fear, and so he went to seek security in the company of the enemy (1 Samuel 27:2)—a decision that would inevitably lead to a dangerous mess of deceit and difficulty (v 8-11).
Our thoughts really matter; they give rise to our actions.
An old saying reminds us of this principle: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.
We may be able to look back on chapters in our own lifetime when, like David, you began to talk a continuous stream of discouragement into yourself, made foolish choices, and found yourself trapped.
Perhaps you are struggling with finances, or health, you may be in that place right now, struggling to stop your thoughts spiraling inward and downwards, leading you into a course of action you know, deep down, is unwise or wrong.
David didn’t just need saving from threats to his life; he needed saving from himself—and so do you and I.
But the good news is that we can’t exhaust God’s compassion, kindness and forgiveness and mercy, even if our thoughts have gone in the wrong direction and even if our actions have taken us off course, lowered our faith’s threshold.
As God rescued David, so He has rescued us through the cross of Christ.
When you find your thoughts turning to dark places, then, remind yourself of the immeasurable magnitude of God’s goodness, deliverance, and faithfulness, and let that shape your heart’s response to the difficulties you face, and shape, transition into the new course you will take as you do navigate them with God.
You do not have to walk or run into the hands of your enemy the Philistines!
You are absolutely free to choose to run to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 121 Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 121
A Song of degrees.
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
1 The heavens declare the glory of El, and the sky displays what his hands have made. 2 One day tells a story to the next. One night shares knowledge with the next 3 without talking, without words, without their voices being heard. 4 Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world, their message to the ends of the earth. He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun, 5 which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom. Like a champion, it is eager to run its course. 6 It rises from one end of the heavens. It circles around to the other. Nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The teachings of Yahweh are perfect. They renew the soul. The testimony of Yahweh is dependable. It makes gullible people wise. 8 The instructions of Yahweh are correct. They make the heart rejoice. The command of Yahweh is radiant. It makes the eyes shine. 9 The fear of Yahweh is pure. It endures forever. The decisions of Yahweh are true. They are completely fair. 10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb. 11 As your servant I am warned by them. There is a great reward in following them.
12 Who can notice every mistake? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep me from sinning. Do not let anyone gain control over me. Then I will be blameless, and I will be free from any great offense.
14 May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart be acceptable to you, O Yahweh, my rock and my Go’el.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Psalm 19:7-14 Easy-to-Read Version
7 The Lord’s teachings are perfect. They give strength to his people. The Lord’s rules can be trusted. They help even the foolish become wise. 8 The Lord’s laws are right. They make people happy. The Lord’s commands are good. They show people the right way to live.
9 Learning respect for the Lord is good. It will last forever. The Lord’s judgments are right. They are completely fair. 10 His teachings are worth more than pure gold. They are sweeter than the best honey dripping from the honeycomb. 11 His teachings warn his servants, and good things come to those who obey them.
12 People cannot see their own mistakes, so don’t let me commit secret sins. 13 Don’t let me do what I know is wrong. Don’t let sin control me. If you help me, I can be pure and free from sin. 14 May my words and thoughts please you. Lord, you are my Rock—the one who rescues me.
David, summing up all that he said about the Word of God, declares that the only thing which can interfere with the Word having its full effect is us.
We are the problem.
If we cannot benefit from the Word, it is not because there is anything wrong with it. It is us who are the problem. Who can discern their own errors?
We are all victims of hidden failure in our lives.
Psalm 139:23-24 Easy-to-Read Version
23 God, examine me and know my mind. Test me and know all my worries. 24 Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a] Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]
Contemplate for a time if these ancient words of scripture excluded “God”
23 ME, examine me and know my mind. ME Test me and know all my worries. 24 ME Make sure that I am not going the wrong way.[a] ME Lead me on the path that has always been right.[b]
If we are the only one’s who are examining ourselves …
If we are the only one’s who are trying to know our own minds …
If we are the only one’s testing ourselves to get at the core of our worries?
If we are the only one’s who are investigating our own “wicked ways?”
Then making sure we where smart enough, wise enough, brutally honest enough, tough enough on ourselves, to hardcore “tough love” ourselves, to accept, heartfelt confess, the .0000001% chance we are going the wrong way?
“Knowing” exactly how much a PhD we are in knowing ourselves, caring for ourselves, instantly perfectly completely correcting, and directing ourselves?
What gets accomplished?
Who accomplishes what?
Who makes sure they get all of the credit for what was accomplished?
If we examine ourselves, we usually look fine – in our view of our facts, we are perfectly fine – no worries – no anxieties – as we set off to swim all the oceans?
Everybody, including themselves, thinks what he does is right. We cannot see, refuse to see, our own errors, we won’t acknowledge these errors, yet these hidden errors are constantly affecting us so we cannot see truth the way it is.
How big a 100% fool can we make of ourselves in the privacy of our homes?
Strutting around in public like some fluorescent tie dyed Peacock in full bloom, How big a 100% fool can we put on the world’s biggest most vivid movie screen?
If we aren’t ourselves becoming even .0000001% self conscious of these errors?
Therefore, we desperately need to be delivered from hidden errors by someone eternally, infinitely, more wise, more honest, more sacrificing of self than we are capable of being or would even entertain one thought we would want to be.
That is what severely hinders our desire for the Word — these hidden errors.
The Psalmist faces the fact that something is wrong with us, so he concludes this Psalm with a wonderful prayer: Forgive my hidden faults (Psalms 19:12b).
Are you so fully and completely contrite of heart to confess with all of your soul and all of your so called strength all of your alleged might that is your prayer?
We know what will happen to ourselves, by ourselves, by our indomitable self wills, dare ourselves to pray for that forgiveness, wait on ourselves to answer.
NOTHING OF ANY AUTHENTIC VALUE OR ANYTHING OF ETERNAL WORTH!
Do you know what will happen when you pray that way AND also include God?
One might allow themselves to fantasize that God will take a sponge and wipe around inside you so that you will not even know what those hidden faults were.
But God does not do that.
Isaiah 55:8-11 Easy-to-Read Version
People Cannot Understand God
8 The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine. 9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.
10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky and don’t return until they have watered the ground. Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow, and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat. 11 In the same way, my words leave my mouth, and they don’t come back without results. My words make the things happen that I want to happen. They succeed in doing what I send them to do.
His way of dealing with hidden faults is either to send somebody to point them out to you – someone like Nathan who entered David’s throne unannounced.
To bring them out, shake them out through some circumstance in which they are suddenly confronted with what they have done or said, and suddenly realize that it is 1000% ugly and they have been caught not by man, but by God himself.
2 Samuel 12:1-14 Easy-to-Read Version
Nathan Speaks to David
12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men in a city. One man was rich, but the other man was poor. 2 The rich man had lots of sheep and cattle. 3 But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb that he bought. The poor man fed the lamb, and the lamb grew up with this poor man and his children. She ate from the poor man’s food and drank from his cup. The lamb slept on the poor man’s chest. The lamb was like a daughter to the poor man.
4 “Then a traveler stopped to visit the rich man. The rich man wanted to give food to the traveler, but he did not want to take any of his own sheep or cattle to feed the traveler. No, the rich man took the lamb from the poor man and cooked it for his visitor.”
5 David became very angry with the rich man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this should die! 6 He must pay four times the price of the lamb because he did this terrible thing and because he had no mercy.”
Nathan Tells David About His Sin
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that rich man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I chose[a] you to be the king of Israel. I saved you from Saul. 8 I let you take his family and his wives, and I made you king of Israel and Judah. As if that had not been enough, I would have given you more and more. 9 So why did you ignore my command? Why did you do what I say is wrong? You let the Ammonites kill Uriah the Hittite, and you took his wife. It is as if you yourself killed Uriah in war. 10 So your family will never have peace! When you took Uriah’s wife, you showed that you did not respect me.’
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am bringing trouble against you. This trouble will come from your own family. I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you. He will have sexual relations with your wives, and everyone will know it![b]12 You had sexual relations with Bathsheba in secret, but I will punish you so that all the people of Israel can see it.’”[c]
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan said to David, “The Lord will forgive you, even for this sin. You will not die. 14 But you did things that made the Lord’s enemies lose their respect for him, so your new baby son will die.”
That is the way God cleanses us from hidden faults.
He hardcore pries open the secret places.
Usually he does it through other people, because we cannot see ourselves but other people can see us.
These faults are hidden to us but not to others.
They see them very plainly.
And we can see their hidden faults better than they can.
You say, I don’t see how they can be so blind.
Well, someone is thinking that very same way about you.
We do not see ourselves.
That is why it is always proper to say, Lord, forgive my hidden faults.
Help me to see myself through the eyes of a friend who loves me enough to tell me the truth.
David closes this psalm with these often quoted words which are so wonderfully penetrating that we should pray them often:
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalms 19:14).
That is a wonderful prayer, is it not?
This is the attitude that will open the Word of God to us.
When you pray that kind of prayer before you read the Word, you will find that God will (gently in God’s way, hardcore our way) talk to us in a marvelous way.
Deliver Me From Evil
Psalm 19:12 Amplified Bible
12 Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
When I was in grade school, there were many times that I thought a teacher or a parent had eyes in the back of their head.
I could not get away with anything I was not supposed to be doing.
Sometimes my hidden thoughts were identified by those who were not even looking at me. And to prevent me from even trying something out of line, they loudly whispered for all to hear, “Just remember, God sees everything you do.”
Having someone watching our every move can help to keep our secret actions in check, but what about our thoughts and the things we are tempted to say?
When we allow the bright light of God’s law to shine into our inner self, it truly illuminates our hidden faults and lights up a warning.
Without God’s law we are blind to what separates us from God.
The psalmist knows that he cannot see his faults by looking into a mirror.
He looks instead into God’s law and asks God to forgive not only his visible sins but also his hidden faults.
And the God of the Bible does forgive.
Knowing the fact of God’s forgiveness assures the psalmist that he will be blameless in God’s sight. Not completely perfect yet, but blameless now.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 40 Amplified Bible
God Sustains His Servant.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
40 I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear [with great reverence] And will trust confidently in the Lord.
4 Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies. 5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of your wonders, They would be too many to count.
6 Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them; You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word]; Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne]; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly; Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness], As You know, O Lord. 10 I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart; I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation. I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your compassion and tender mercy from me, O Lord; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. 12 For innumerable evils have encompassed me; My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see. They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, make haste to help me. 14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together Who seek my life to destroy it; Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored Who delight in my hurt. 15 Let those be appalled and desolate because of their shame Who say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!” 16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!” 17 Even though I am afflicted and needy, Still the Lord takes thought and is mindful of me. You are my help and my rescuer. O my God, do not delay.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 