Worship in WORD
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Ps 31
14 But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. 18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. NIV
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Ps 31 14 But
I am trusting you, O Lord, saying,
"You are my God!" 15 My
future is in your hands. Rescue
me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. 16 Let
your favor shine on your servant. In your
unfailing love, rescue me. 17
Don't let me be disgraced, O Lord, for I
call out to you for help. Let the
wicked be disgraced; let
them lie silent in the grave. 18
Silence their lying lips—
those
proud and arrogant lips that accuse the godly.
Holy
Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable
Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. |
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Ps 31:14-18 14 But I
trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. 15 My
times are in thy hand:
deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. 16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies'
sake. 17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD;
for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be
silent in the grave. 18 Let the lying lips be put to
silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the
righteous.
KJV |
Ps 31:14-18 14 But I trust in you, O Lord;
15 My times are in your hand;
16 Make your face shine on your
servant;
17 O Lord, let me not be put to
shame,
18 Let the lying lips be mute,
ESV |
A. Action – v. 1
B. Appeal – v. 2
C. Acknowledge – vv. 3-4
D. Abandon – v. 5
E. Abhor – v. 6
F. Acclaim! – vv. 7-8
II. Help! – vv. 9-18
1.
Soul sickness – vv. 9-10
2. Societal scorn – vv. 11-13
1.
Surrender – vv. 14-15
2.
Shine – v. 16
3.
Shame
– v. 17
4.
Silence
– v. 18
IV. Heart – vv. 23-24
Thought flow: Hope→Help!→Hail→Heart
David fled to the LORD for
refuge (vv.
1-5). He felt the warm, calming breeze of God’s presence in the eye of the
storm (vv.
6-8). In verses 9-13,
he is fretting over the increasing volume of lies spewing from the mouths of
his enemies. Lies that have caused many of his so-called friends to flee from
David as well. Feeling forgotten by all, he turns to the friend that “sticks
closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24b).” In
verses 14-15,
he professes his confidence in the LORD and pleas for rescue from his persecutors.
He continues his petition through verse 18.
Verse 15 & 16 follow the
same pattern from different focal points. In verse 15, David focuses on God’s
hand that has the power to deliver him.
My times
are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my
persecutors! ESV
In verse
16, David focuses on the face of God that can bring favor and salvation.
Make your
face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! (ESV)
He follows in verses 17 &
18 with a quadruplet
of “Lets.” First, he starts out with a
continuation of his petition in verse sixteen but from a negative standpoint.
O Lord,
let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you (v. 17a ESV)
He
follows it with three imprecations against his enemies. * (see note below concerning
this if you wish)
1. let the wicked be put to shame (v. 17b)
2. let them go silently to Sheol (v. 17c)
3. Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt (v. 18)
In his
prayer, it is as if David is asking God to shine His face on him in such a way
that His glory will be reflected in David’s face and not the shame of his
enemies. That this shame, instead, will be reflected in the face of his enemies.
Not only this but their lips will be silenced as well.
Did David
wish ill on his enemies out of a vengeful spirit? I don’t think so. Did he want
them dead? Perhaps, but not so much from the hurt they brought David alone, but
for the harm they brought to the “righteous” (v18) in general. And as God’s
anointed king over His people, these lying enemies spoke ultimately against God
Himself. They were God’s enemies!
Death is
the ultimate silencer in the present. If that is what it took to stop the lying,
then so be it. Verse 18 puts it another way and clarifies what David wanted to
happen: “Let the lying lips be mute (ESV).” Verse 18 also displays the depravity of the persons these
lips represented. These were lips that rolled off lies “with pride and contempt
(NIV)” from hearts that “speak arrogantly against the righteous (NIV).”
God’s
word has much to say against the proud and arrogant. Here are just a few:
·
Prov 16:18
Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.
NIV
·
Prov 3:34 (see also James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5 which quote
this verse)
He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.
NIV
·
Mal 4:1-3
"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the Lord Almighty.
NIV
·
Zeph 2:10-11
10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,
for insulting and mocking the people of the Lord Almighty.
11 The Lord will be awesome to them
when he destroys all the gods of the land.
The nations on every shore will worship him,
every one in its own land.
NIV
Liars
fare no better:
Rev 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
NIV
Even Psalm 31 itself contains a
warning to the Proud:
Love the Lord, all his faithful people!
The Lord preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full. (v. 29 NIV)
Pride is self-idolatry. It sets
up a wall between itself and God and His people. Pride has its fingers in
its ears to block out the truth. Its foundations are sinking sand. Pride is selfish
and self-destructive. Many others may be destroyed when pride finally
implodes upon itself.
David
knew this and sought instead the favor (“shine upon Your servant”) of the one
in whom he found shelter. He knew that a humble spirit is the substance of the
building material that God uses to build up His people. In vain do they build,
who build with the wood, hay, and stubble of pride. In vain do they build, who build
without the help of the Lord.
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Ps 127:1 ESV
The Message
(a paraphrase) puts it rather colorfully:
If God doesn't build the house,
the builders only build shacks.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)rved.)
Ø Pride builds a shack – Humility builds a stronghold
Ø Pride builds a shoddy shanty – Humility builds a sturdy shelter
Ø Pride builds an unholy hut – Humility builds a holy haven
Worship in Witness:
So I must ask myself: Do I seek His face? Or to save face? Do
I build with the eternal materials found in God’s word? Or the inferior materials
of the flesh? Do I follow the designs of the Devine architect? Or the flawed
blueprint of this fallen world? Do I build in such a way that gives all the
credit, recognition, and glory to the LORD? Or do I seek the praise of this
world or even of other believers? For, in the end, it is God who is in us that wills and works for His good pleasure (See Phil. 2:13).
And just in case you are
wondering what God’s design will look like when He’s finished, consider these
verses:
Romans
8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
NIV
2 Cor
3:18
18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
NIV
1 John
3:2
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
NIV
The
Father’s plan is for us to look like His Son!
And lest
we think that we can just sit back and watch
the master-builder build while we take an extended break, John exhorts us:
1 John
3:3
Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
NIV
I alluded
above to Paul’s promise to the Philippians in Chapter 2 verse 13, but note what
precedes it:
Phil
2:12-13
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.NASB
Father,
Let me build my life according
to the pattern of Your Son.
May I use the materials that
You have provided,
not slothfully, but skillfully by
the power of Your Holy Spirit.
Let me build with humility,
seeking Your favor to shine upon me,
not ashamed of the Son,
whose image You are constructing in me.
I know I am surrounded by
mockers and liars who threaten me -
“There is terror on every side.” (v. 13)
But I am surrounded by Your presence.
I am protected in Your armor.
I wield the mightiest of weapons -
the power of Your word.
Let me labor with one hand on
the work -
with the other on Your sword.
— Amen
Worship
in Promise, Poem, Prayer, and Praise
Pride’s Defeat
Tear down the walls of pride
Behind which we try to hide
Uproot the root of conceit
That blossoms into defeat
Build in us the image of Christ
Who for our sins, was sacrificed
Plant within us seeds of humility
That gives us a humble ability
To walk in the strength of meekness
And not with haughty weakness
Your Boundless Supply
Lord,
I’ve built my life with useless
things
The wood of worry, the hay of haste
The straw of sin, all bound with
strings
Yet to this life may I apply
The gold of good, the silver of
sacrifice
The jewels
of joy from Your
boundless supply
Amen
Empty Me by Chris Sligh (A song that has more meaning if you know he
was an American Idol finalist in year 6 of the show)
I’ve had just enough of the
spotlight when it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood
And I’ve tasted my share of the
sweet life and the wild ride
And found a little is not quite
enough
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could
change
Empty me of the selfishness
inside
Every vain ambition and the
poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart
holds to
Lord, empty me of me so I can
be
Filled with You
I’ve seen just enough of the
quick buys, of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be
drawn away
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could
change
Empty me of the selfishness
inside
Every vain ambition and the
poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart
holds to
Lord, empty me of me so I can
be
Filled with You
‘Cause everything is a lesser
thing
Compared to You, compared to
You
‘Cause everything is a lesser
thing
Compared to You so I surrender
all
Empty me of the selfishness
inside
Every vain ambition and the
poison of my pride
Empty me of the selfishness
inside
Every vain ambition and the
poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart
holds to
Lord, empty me of me so I can
be
Lord, empty me of me so I can
be filled with You
Oh, filled with You
Empty me
Lyrics and Video: https://awesomechristianmusic.com/chris-sligh/empty-me
* Note: Some may be struggling with a problem these imprecations in verses 17 & 18 might bring in the light of our Lord’s teaching in Matthew 5:4 to “love your enemies.” I do not wish to go into an extended discussion of this. I have already done this in a previous journal entry. Here is the link to it if you want to delve further into the subject:
https://journal4christ.blogspot.com/2019/01/january-7-2019-word-ps-281-5-28-to-you.html
I have also included a rather lengthy
excerpt below in the “Further Notes:” section. It is identified by the
title: Imprecations in the Psalms
Further Notes:
Here is the fourth excerpt from
Lange’s commentary (Phillip Schaff, General Editor).
[Matth. Henry: They that
have in sincerity avouched the Lord for theirs may expect the benefit of His
being so, for God’s relations to us carry with them both name and thing.
—It is the wisdom and duty of every one of us solemnly to commit our
spirits into the hands of God to be sanctified by His grace, devoted to His
honor, employed in His service, and fitted for His kingdom.
—Let those that are airy and gay take heed of running into extremes,
and never set sorrow at defiance; God can find out ways to make them melancholy
if they will not otherwise learn to be serious.
—Such swallow friends the world is full of, that are gone in winter.
Let those that fall on the losing side not think it strange if they be thus
deserted, but make sure a Friend in heaven that will not fail them, and make
use of Him.
—There is enough in God’s goodness both for the portion and
inheritance of all His children, when they come to their full age, and for
their maintenance and education during their minority. There is enough in bank,
and enough in hand.
—The saints are God’s hidden ones.
—Special preservations call for particular thanksgivings.
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Psalms
31:16-18
The misery of the godly is the
absence of the smile of heaven. The soul cannot be still while such darkness
and such chill continues. It knows that the Lord can instantly cause brightness
to return. Hence the strong petition, "Make Your face shine." This light
is full salvation. Therefore faith adds, "Save me for Your mercies'
sake." God's mercy is the only plea, but it is mighty and prevails. Mercy
implored is mercy won. Grace ceases to be grace if it rejects the supplicant's
cry. Prayer will never hang down its head abashed.
(from Commentary on the Psalms,
by Henry Law, Biblesoft formatted electronic database Copyright © 2014 by
Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Many of the lament psalms include an
imprecatory prayer (3:7; 5:10; 6:10; 7:14–16; 28:4–5; 31:17–18; 37:2, 9–10, 15,
20, 35–36; 40:14–15; 54:5; 55:9, 15, 23; 59:12–13; 63:9–11; 64:7–9; 71:13;
79:6, 12; 139:19–22; 140:9–10). These psalms are ascribed to David (35; 58; 69;
109), to Asaph (83), and to an unknown writer (137). The expression of hatred
and the desire for vindication is not to be limited to the Psalms. It is also
found in the prayers of Jeremiah (11:18–20; 15:15–18; 17:18; 18:19–23;
20:11–12) and Nehemiah (6:14; 13:29).
In these prayers the people of God prayed for
the Lord’s judgment, vengeance, and curse (execration) on their enemies. Their
hatred for their enemies seems so opposed to the teaching of Jesus Christ and
to the Christian emphasis on love that we must ask, How can a Christian read,
sing, or pray the imprecatory psalms? How do these expressions of hatred
correspond to Christ’s teaching on love? These psalms force us to look at
prayer against the enemies of God and of the psalmists’ relationship between
the Old and the New testaments.
The Old and New testaments hold in tension
the requirement of love and the hatred of evil. The requirement of love,
including one’s enemy, comes from the OT (Lev 19:17–18; Prov 25:21). God is
constant in his expectations, as he exemplifies love for his creation (Ps 145;
Matt 5:45), even by the giving of his Son (John 3:16). But the NT also teaches
that people are accountable to the Lord for their deeds (Acts 17:30–31) and as
such are subject to God’s wrath. The Lord Jesus proclaimed a judgment on
Korazin and Capernaum (Matt 11:21–24; Luke 10:13–15) and strongly rebuked the
leaders and the unbelief of the Jews (Matt 7:23; cf. Ps 6:8; Mark 11:14; 12:9).
The apostles counted the heretics and evildoers likewise accursed (1 Cor 5:5;
16:22; Gal 1:8–9; 5:12; 2 Tim 4:14 [cf. Ps 62:12]; 2 Peter 2; 2 John 7–11; Jude
3–16). In the parable of the unjust judge, our Lord encouraged the godly to
persevere in prayer, confirming the conviction that God is just, as he will
“bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night”
(Luke 18:7).
In this spirit we must appreciate the cry of
the martyrs in heaven, as they pray for God’s vindication (Rev 6:10) and
rejoice in the judgment of the wicked (18:20; 19:1–6). The apostle Paul also
encouraged oppressed Christians to look forward to the return of our Lord as
the time appointed for God’s vindication of the church (2 Thess 1:6–10; cf. Ps
79:6). In this light we may appreciate the perspective of the psalms.
Brueggemann writes,
The Psalms are resources for spirituality.…
That is, the spirituality of the Psalms is shaped, defined, and characterized
in specific historical, experiential categories and shuns universals. Such
recognition does not require a fresh exegesis of each psalm, so much as
hermeneutical insistence about the categories through which the psalms are to
be understood. But if I read it rightly, these Psalms characteristically
subordinate “meaning” to “justice.” The Psalms regularly insist upon equity,
power, and freedom enough to live one’s life humanely. (Message of the Psalms,
pp. 175–76)
But indiscriminate hatred is wrong. The
psalmists wrote under the inspiration of God regarding the nature of evil. They
were intoxicated with God’s character and name (9:16–20; 83:16–17) and were
concerned with the manifestation of God’s righteousness and holiness on earth.
Since evil contrasts in every way with God’s nature and plan, the psalmists
prayed for divine retribution, by which God’s order would be reestablished (109:6–21)
and God’s people would be reassured of his love (109:21, 26). C.S. Lewis, too,
was sensitive to the piety of the psalter when he wrote on the place of justice
and judgment in the Psalms. He observes that the cry of the psalmists may be
explained, because they “took right and wrong more seriously” (Reflections on
the Psalms, p. 31).
Thus the imprecatory psalms focus on the
reality of evil and the hope of restoration. This is a very relevant question.
C.S. Lewis rightly asks us to use the Psalms as a way of seeing this world as
it is: “Against all this the ferocious parts of the Psalms serve as a reminder
that there is in the world such a thing as wickedness, and that it … is hateful
to God” (ibid., pp. 19, 33). Further, we caution against a wooden interpretation
of the imprecations, as Kidner observes, “Here we should notice that invective
has its own rhetoric, in which horror may be piled up on horror more to express
the speaker’s sense of outrage than to spell out the penalties he literally
intends” (Psalms 1:27).
For the Christian it is most important to
uproot any selfish passions, judgmentalism, and personal vindictiveness,
because those who practice these come under the judgment of God (Gal 5:15;
James 4:13–16). These psalms help us to pray through our anger, frustrations,
and spite to a submission to God’s will. Only then will the godly man or woman
be able to pray for the execration of evil and the full establishment of God’s
kingdom.
VanGemeren,
W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, pp.
830–832). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
Wow, what a thorough study and teaching. Awesome! God bless
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