Rev. Don Campbell

Psalms 17, 35, 54, 64

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, April 18, 2019

“BE CAREFUL OUT THERE”

The picture of Saul is much like that of Satan: “He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush” (Psalm 17:12). Satan, of course, was behind Saul’s evil intent, but he was after Saul as much as he was David. Peter, who experienced Satan up close and personal warned, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:6-11). Satan still roars. Be careful out there!

In Psalm 35:11, David says, “Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know” (Psalm 35:11). The malicious witnesses are easily identified: “And David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the words of men who say, “Behold, David seeks your harm”’?” What David meant by “of things that I do not know” requires some further examination. The witnesses were bringing up supposed incidents of which David had no knowledge. We call these “loaded questions,” in which an unverified piece of information is asserted as truth but is designed to entrap the other person. A classic biblical example is found in Matthew 19:3: “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” They were asking Jesus to choose either the liberal side, which would give a man the right to divorce his wife if she burnt the toast or the conservative side which limited divorce to infidelity. Malicious witnesses still lie. Be careful out there!

In Psalm 54:3, David says, “For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves” (Psalm 54:3). The word “strangers” does not refer to Gentiles or even to Jews whom David did not know. Job’s use of the same word and imaginary is all the comment needed: “He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me. My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me. The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes” (Job 9:13-15). “Friends” still betray. Be careful out there!

In Psalm 64:2-6, David describes his enemies as a throng of evildoers: “Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, ‘Who can see them?’ They search out injustice, saying, ‘We have accomplished a diligent search.’ For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep” (Psalm 64:2-6). Washington Irving wrote, “A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use” (The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1819-1820), ‘Rip Van Winkle’). There are still sharp-tongued plotters of evil. Be careful out there!

CONNECTIONS

1. Do some people see a tart temper and sharp tongue as a virtue rather than a vice?

2. Best known for his comic strip Pogo, animator and cartoonist, Walt Kelly, adapted Commodore Oliver Perry’s communique to Major General Henry Harrison, later to be President Harrison, following a battle on Lake Erie during the war of 1812. Perry’s words were “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” Kelly’s adaptation was “We have met the enemy and they are us.” While there are many dangers “out there” are the greatest dangers sometimes within ourselves as we allow our desires to betray us into sin?