“Lord, I trust in you alone. Don’t let my enemies defeat me. Rescue me because you are the God who always does what is right.” (Psalm 31:1 TLB).
Interesting petition. David, once again, is calling upon the Lord for deliverance. He does that a lot. Certainly such reiterated pleas are common for this man of war. Someone once observed, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” When the heat of battle is hot, people turn to God–even people who normally ignore God.
In our Country this can be seen whenever some tragedy strikes. As a nation we insist that God leave us alone. We want freedom from all reminders of Him (particular from reminders that speak of moral standards such as the 10 Commandments). But turn up the heat, and we find ourselves crying, “Why would God allow such a thing?” We want God to go away, but then when things get tough, we want to blame Him for not being there! Solomon was right, “A man may ruin his chances by his own foolishness, and then blames it on the Lord!” (Proverbs 19:3 TLB).
David was not this way. His faith, his total trust was in God. The thing that makes this Psalm interesting is it appears that David’s plea for deliverance here is not from the foxhole but from the palace and the enemies he fears are not military generals but malicious gossips (see verse 13).
Truth be told, it is much easier to defend ourselves against physical attacks than it is to protect ourselves against those who spread slanders and lies about us. Experience tells me that physical wounds are far easier to heal than the emotional wounds caused by thoughtless words or the character assassination of unscrupulous gossips.
Regardless of the type of attack one may face, God has the ability to deliver those who will put their total faith in Him.
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