A Psalm of David: When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”
3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 6 I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
7 Arise, LORD! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.
I read this passage this morning and thought to myself, “I really don’t have ‘thousands of people assailing me,’” at least none to my knowledge. I could imagine David’s heartbreak when he was crying out to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies with the additional pain of his son Absalom trying to kill him. I can’t relate to this specific situation (although I believe my son, when I have him, will eventually kill me) so I tried contextualizing the passage for myself.
Now we don’t have many “foes” today unless you’re a gang-member, in which case you have bigger problems. But I like to look at different circumstances and situations that cause me to be distracted from truly trusting in the Lord completely. I stress out about having a mortgage now. What’s the big deal? The Lord has faithfully provided for me my entire life. Is He really going to stop now? I stress out about eventually becoming a father and thinking about how badly I’m going to mess up my kids. What’s the big deal? My buddy Bryan has a 4th child coming and he's doing alright. I’m afraid my Lakers won’t 3-peat because up to this point of the season they stink. What’s the big deal? They do this every year only to turn it on in the playoffs. And what are the chances of Phil Jackson NOT 3-peating? I think you get the point.
These things are “foes” in my mind. Foes that battle my faith in the Lord. But as David said, “Strike all my enemies on the jaw” (v. 7). I love that part! It’s not only “Lord deliver me from my enemies and also kick their @$$.” I’m not saying that David was in the right frame of mind when he said this nor am I condoning "striking people on the jaw" but the main point is clear. Namely, “from the Lord comes deliverance” and all the self-afflicting anxiety I give myself or the lies from the enemy whispered into my ear that I’m tempted to believe will be defeated by God’s overwhelming blessings and goodness.
God’s overwhelming blessings and goodness: In a time when it has become difficult for many people finically He’s given both my wife and I good jobs. I have the most beautiful and loving wife in the world, married into a crazy but yet amazing family, a great church, a growing Grace Group (home bible study), friends who are like brothers, Laker season tickets, semi-obedient dogs, a great little sister, and a wonderful home with a great master bathroom. Yes, I think it’s time to take those anxieties and “strike them on the jaw.”
"Better a God whose mystery we cannot understand (but who has given us grounds for trusting when we cannot understand) than one whose adequacy we cannot rely on, or whose interest we cannot be sure of."
- John Goldingay
Those "strike my enemies on the jaw" passages in the Psalms area little baffling, aren't they? I think of it this way. Since David is a follower of the Lord, then God's enemies are his enemies. When it comes to God, and those who hate God, who do we want to win? God or his enemies? I want God to win, therefore, no matter how PC you want to put it, if you are praying and asking God to finish history, then you are praying for his enemies to be the losers of history. You are praying for God to strike his enemies on the jaw (which would be praying for God to act justly and do right). Think of Goliath, he came out to mock Israel at the 3rd and 9th hours, the hours that Israel offered sacrifices to God. Goliath knew what he was doing, he was mocking Israel's God who was so powerless that he couldn't protect his own people. I suggest that it was a good thing for David to want God to win that battle.
ReplyDeletethat is a very good point uncle John, context is key. The "strike my enemies on the jaw" passages are baffling especially when viewed in the light of how Jesus handled His earthly ministry. But yes, we ultimately want God to win. And I believe it's clear that in the NT context it doesn't include striking people on the jaw.
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