Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.
For the choir director; according to [a]Jonath elem rehokim. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has [d]trampled upon me;
[e]Fighting all day long he oppresses me.
2 My foes have [f]trampled upon me all day long,
For [g]they are many who fight proudly against me.
3 [h]When I am afraid,
[i]I will put my trust in You.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
What can mere [j]man do to me?
5 All day long they [k]distort my words;
All their [l]thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They [m]attack, they lurk,
They watch my [n]steps,
As they have waited to take my [o]life.
7 Because of wickedness, [p]cast them forth,
In anger put down the peoples, O God!8 You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know, [q]that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my [r]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have delivered my soul from death,
[s]Indeed my feet from stumbling,
So that I may walk before God
In the light of the [t]living.
As David looks at the danger around him, he asks an important question, “What can man do to me?” Well, we could probably come up with a list: they could lie about us, steal from us, abuse us, maybe even kill us… That’s something, isn’t it?
For someone who has not put their faith in God, yes. The things man does to us seem to change our lives in ways we cannot control. It wouldn’t be shocking to feel victimized, to feel that the odds are stacked against you. However, for those who trust God with their lives, who follow him, and love him, it’s a different story, but why?
A few reasons come to mind, things that David saw in his own life. The first is that God has a plan for our lives. Nothing and no one can touch us unless God allows it–allow trials he will, but we can take confidence in the fact that His plans are “not to harm us, but to give us a hope and a future.” We are not our own, but were bought with a price, a great price, and God will not give up on that which is precious to him.
Secondly, this life is temporary, and we have a greater hope, of a life spent with our creator. No man can alter that, nothing on this earth can take that away. As Paul reminds us, “to live is Christ, to die is gain”. In other words, whatever happens in this life, it is meant to move us toward our Savior, the one who breathed life into our very lungs. And should we perish in the battle, we will be found with Him who has redeemed us and called us by name. No more pain, no more death, but eternally secure in Him.