May 10, 2014
 #7. The removal of Fear (Psalm lvi. 3).It is a far cry from the story of the men of valour of I Chron. v. 20, which formed the basis of the last article of this series, to the one we are now to consider, where the historic reference over Psalm lvi., “Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath”, sends us back to I Sam. xxi. 13, to find David feigning madness, scrabbling on the doors of the gate, and letting his spittle fall down his beard.
David was “sore afraid of Achish, the king of Gath” (I Sam. xxi. 12), and Psalm lvi. gives something of the hidden history of that period of David’s perilous life. The critics have not been backward in declaring that the title of the Psalm has nothing in it corresponding with history, but in this, as in many other judgments pronounced by them, their reading has been superficial.
De Wette alleges that in the record of I Samuel, it is not stated that the Philistines laid hold of David, but Hengstenberg draws attention to the words “in their hands” of I Sam. xxi. 13, and others have observed the “escape” of I Sam. xxii. 1. When we remember that David, in fleeing from Saul, had put himself into the hands of Goliath’s people, we may well understand his sense of peril, even though the historic account of I Sam. xxi. makes little or nothing of it. It is the Psalm written of that period that draws the veil aside, and where the words “sore afraid” (I Sam. xxi. 12) find an exposition:
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee” (Psa. lvi. 3).
This trust in God is also a trust in His Word. God had made promises to David, and, although they were separated from fulfillment by years of wandering and persecution, David knew that God would honour His word. So, in verse 3, we read of David’s trust in the Lord when he was afraid, but in verse 4, as he trusts in His word, his fear departs:
“In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me” (Psa. lvi. 4).
The structure of the Psalm shows how these items are repeated:
Prayer offered.
A1 | 1, 2. The antagonism of the enemy: “Swallowed me up.”
B1 | 3, 4. Trust and praise: In God and His word.
Deliverance Expected.
A2 | 5, 6. The antagonism of the enemy: “My words”, “my steps”, “my soul”.
B2 | 7-11. Trust and praise: In God and His word.
Prayer answered.
A3 | 12, 13. Deliverance from death and falling.
B3 | 13. Walk before God in the light of the living.
How different do the same things appear when viewed from the standpoints of man and of God. The attitude of the Philistines and other enemies of David was alarming. The figures used are those of the “thirst for blood”; the “snuffing” of animals close on their prey. Fighting was “daily”; his words were “wrested”; his steps “marked”; they waited for his “soul”. Over and above these things David was an exile, “Thou tellest all my wanderings”. These were in the menacing things that inspired fear in David. Then, as his trust in God and in His Word took hold upon his heart and mind, these ferocious enemies were seen to be but “flesh” and “man”, and concerning both David said, “I will not fear”, “I will not be afraid”. As trust in God and in His faithfulness to His word increases, so fear of man and all that he can do decreases.
To us, as to David and the disciples of old, comes the cheering call:
“Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matt. xiv. 27).
(From The Berean Expositor Volume 34, page 213).
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Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan.
May 9, 2014
#6. Prayer and Deliverance (I Chron. v. 20).Trust in the Lord is not confined to one aspect of experience, but, as the Scripture itself enjoins, should be exhibited “at all times” (Psa. lxii. 8), and not only at “what time I am afraid” (Psa. lvi. 3). As we have seen in the case of Hezekiah under the threats and taunts of Rabshakeh and Sennacherib, it is nevertheless true to experience that times of great peril or distress are often occasions when trust rises to its supreme place.
“Th... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan.
May 9, 2014
#4. Types of the Usurpation.When we read the blessed words, “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth” we know that they refer to Christ; He Who was born at Bethlehem, Who lived as man, and Who died and rose again. When Satan is said to be worshipped in Rev. xiii. 4, his agent, the Beast, who was slain and who had been raised again, is, according to verse 12, worshipped too. Throughout the unfolding of the ages there have been men who were outstanding types and foreshadowings of this final “Man... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan.
May 8, 2014
#5. Hezekiah’s pre-eminence (II Kings xviii. 5).It is interesting and sometimes corrective to observe exactly what feature is singled out by the Holy Spirit as of eminence in the lives of those who figure in the Scriptures.
For instance, were we to be called upon to do so, what one thing of eminence should we choose out of all the many incidents in the life of Joseph? It is morally certain we should not have lifted into isolated pre-eminence the fact that Joseph “gave commandment concernin... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan.
May 8, 2014
#3. The Objects before the enemy:
“Dominion” and “Worship”.We have seen from the teaching of Scripture that the great enemy, the prime antagonist, in the conflict of the ages, is Satan. We need not be disciples of Hegel to reach the conclusion that contraries are a very real part of any given thing. Though he stand all day in the market place, no man can be a “seller” unless another becomes a “buyer”. To eliminate the idea of “husband” and to think only of the idea of “wi... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan.
May 7, 2014
#2. “The Enemy.”We meet references to an “enemy” in one form or another in thirty out of the thirty-nine books of the English Old Testament, and in thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. If we were to widen the scope to include all references to enmity, strife, contentions, war, battle, arms and armour, we should have to include a still larger proportion of the books of both Testament.There is one enemy however who stands out above all others, and who antedates them ... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan. Posted In : bible study
May 7, 2014
#4. The association of trust and hope (Psa. lxxi. 5).We have before us at the moment certain blessings and experiences which are linked together in the Scriptures with that form of trust which can be represented by “clinging” to the Lord.
In the present article we consider the relation of “hope” with “trust” which is indicated in Psa. lxxi. 5.
“For thou art my HOPE, O Lord God, Thou art my TRUST from my youth.”
The word “youth” is used with some latitude: it can refer to a ne... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan. Posted In : bible study
May 6, 2014
#1. The Field Surveyed.In this opening article we must explain the general scope of the series, and the object we have in view.
Behind all the enmity that belongs to the world of human history, lies the greater and deeper enmity that exists in the spiritual world. In these studies we shall attempt to survey this conflict of the ages, and seek to discover the respective goals that the conflicting parties have in view. By examining Israel’s history we shall obtain many sidelights on our subjec... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan.
May 6, 2014
#3. The blessedness of this trust (Psa. xl. 4).In the O.T. there are seven different words translated “Trust”. These we considered in the opening article of this series. We discovered that the first one of this set of seven has the significance of “clinging”, as the Melon plant does by means of its tendrils. Out of the hundred or more occurrences of this word we selected seven, and set them out on page 13. The first of this set of seven was the “blessedness” that was pronounced up... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan.
May 5, 2014
Truth is so vast and its implications so great, that the
mind is compelled to analyze, dissect and separate in order to attain to
some semblance of understanding, but both teacher and taught should
ever remember that truth so dissected is dead: we are but conducting a
post-mortem examination. Consequently we differentiate between faith and
works, and can consider each separately, yet in strict truth “faith if
it hath not works is dead, being alone” (James ii. 17), and so are works
... Continue reading...
Posted by Marvin Pagkanlungan. Posted In : bible study
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About Me
I am a 66-year-old former political activist who became a Christian in 1991. I did not write these articles ( I am not academically qualified to be a writer or bible teacher ), I just gathered them from various sources and re-posted them here "to enlighten all as to what is the stewardship (committed to the Apostle Paul) of the mystery that hath been hidden from the ages in God" - Ephesians 3:9.
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