“In the presence of my enemies”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, November 6, 2023
Psalm 57 (Forward, p. 8) CEV p. 588
The future king David is once again describing his rather uncertain and perilous plight as he seeks to evade the relentless predations of his foe, King Saul. He uses two very powerful images to describe his plight. Interestingly, both images convey the impression of stealth and cunning on the one hand and incredible peril on the other.
The first image is that of the Asiatic lion, a ferocious beast once resident in much of the Middle East but now extinct. It was note-worthy for its stealth, cunning, viciousness, boldness and strength, so it is no wonder that David choses this image to describe his enemy:
“I live among lions, who gobble down people! They have spears and arrows instead of teeth, and they have sharp swords instead of tongues” (verse 4);
The other image is also one of cunning, namely a well-laid, well-placed trap that could capture a person unawares:
“Enemies set traps for my feet and struck me down. They dug a pit in my path, but fell in it themselves” (verse 6).
It is fairly obvious that while neither image is to be taken literally, they certainly do convey a sense of his peril. Nevertheless, it is interesting, and highly instructive, to see just what David’s response is to all of this:
Not surprisingly, he continues in his prayer to God for deliverance
help and maintains his unwavering trust in God. That, perhaps, is to
be expected.
But then, he also breaks forth into praise, singing and making music
to God on his harp. Given his hour of extreme peril, this sounds
rather ‘extreme’, rather unlikely, but is this not exactly what Paul and
Silas are described as doing around midnight in the prison in Philippi?
(see Acts16:25).
For me, this is a bit of a wake-up call. Praying to God for help is one thing, something to be expected, but praising Him, thanking Him in the midst of worries and troubles, whoa, that is not always something that comes initially or naturally. More likely, I am to be heard complaining or griping about the person or situation than thanking God. And yet, we are instructed to praise God along with our prayers and supplications (see Philippians 4:6) and to give thanks in and for everything (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). And so, I need to ‘pull up my socks a bit’ in this regard. Perhaps you are like this as well.
Forward notes: “They have dug a pit before me, but have fallen into it themselves” (verse 5b).
“Most of us are familiar with Jesus’s admonition to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Some traditions have understood this Golden Rule from a different perspective: what you do want done to you, do not do to others.
“One example of the inverse of the parable is found in a story about Esther. Haman, a court official of King Ahasuerus of Persia, planned the downfall of his bitter enemy, the Jewish exile Mordecai. Unfortunately for Haman, not everything went to plan—and Haman is impaled on the pole he had set up for Mordecai.
“In Psalm 37, we see this reversal: ‘The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow to strike down the poor and needy, to slaughter those who are upright in their ways. Their sword shall go through their own heart, and their bow shall be broken” (15-16). And in today’s psalm, we hear about those who fall into a pit of their own making.
“Sometimes, those who plan harm for others are caught in their own snares”.
Moving Forward: “What do you think of this reading of the Golden Rule?”