And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! 2 Timothy 4:18 (NKJV)
When we recite the Lord's Prayer, we come upon this phrase: "deliver us from evil." It can mean deliver us from sin, as we all fall into temptation daily. It can also mean deliver us from the evil one, meaning the devil or from men who are opposed to God.
When we read Psalm 54, the preamble tells us the specific event in which David prayed for deliverance from men who were focused on his destruction. We read about this event in 1 Samuel 23, beginning in verse 15:
David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this." And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home. Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon? Now come down, O king, according to all your heart's desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king's hand."
We see that the residents of Ziph were willing to give up David to Saul so that he could be killed. It is interesting to note that the Ziphites were Israelites. They were not foreigners like the Philistines or Edomites. In fact they belonged to the very tribe that David belonged to, the tribe of Judah. He was one of them, yet they were willing to betray him into Saul's hand. This was a foreshadowing of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus into the hands of the Pharisees.
Knowing this, David prayed this prayer in Psalm 54
O God, save me by Your Name, and vindicate me by your might. O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. He will return the evil to my enemies; in Your faithfulness put an end to them. With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your Name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
I. DAVID'S COMPLAINT
A. My Enemies Are Malicious
After calling on God to hear him, David calls these men "strangers" and "ruthless men". The Hebrew word "stranger" here can mean "estranged" or "strange men," even "the insolent." Technically, they were David's kinsmen, as they were all from the tribe of Judah. Yet to David they showed a rude and arrogant lack of respect. They called for David's life to gain favor with the king. They were looking out for themselves at David's expense.
David also calls them ruthless. This same Hebrew word is also translated terrible, oppressor, mighty, strong, and violent. It can mean awe-inspiring or terrifying. This was no small thing. David feared for his life.
At times, we also may be fearful. We may be in physical danger like David was, or we may fear for our family, our friends, or our finances. 1 Peter 5:8-10 says, "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." In times of distress, may we call out to God like David did.
B. My God Is Mighty To Save
On whom does David call? He calls out for salvation and for vindication, not from the soldiers who were in his ranks, but from God. David specifically calls on the name of the Lord--not that he called God by name, but he invokes the reputation, fame, and glory that His name implies. Romans 10:13-14 says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?" God's reputation precedes Him.
Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary, "He appeals to God's strength, by which He was able to help him, and to His name, by which he was engaged to help him, and begs He would save him from his enemies and judge him, that is, plead his cause and judge for him. David has no other plea to depend upon than God's name, no other power to depend upon than God's strength, and those he makes his refuge and confidence. This would be the effectual answer of his prayers (v. 2), which even in his flight, when he had not opportunity for solemn address to God, he was ever and anon lifting up to heaven: Hear my prayer, which comes from my heart, and give ear to the words of my mouth.
Proverbs 18:10 says, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe." Jeremiah 15:21 says, "And I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless." Isaiah 49:25 says, "Thus says the Lord: even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant shall be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children."
II. DAVID'S COMFORT
A. The Proclamation
"Behold, God is my helper," David says in verse 4. He goes on: "The Lord is the upholder of my life. He will return the evil to my enemies." Then in verse 7, is this confident conclusion. "For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies." There are three separate statements of faith.
1. God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. Someone asked Fred Rogers about his response to a particular tragedy. "When I was a boy," he said, "and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers.' You will always find people who are helping." While it is always good to see people helping other people after a tragedy, David was not calling on other people. His help was in God and God alone.
Unbelievers often accuse Christians of using God as a crutch. I don't think this is what David meant by helper. God is not there to assist me to do something I could do when I was younger, or that I could do on my own if only I had more strength. No, God's ability is not limited like that. The term "upholder of my life" is not a crutch; it's not even a stretcher, although that is more in line with the original meaning--one on whom I can lean, can find rest, can lie down on while He carries me. This is why God could say in Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still." God is sovereign; He will work out His will and His way, and deliver us in the process.
Now God may use people to work out His will and His way. In our reference passage in 1 Samuel 23, we see that when Saul did pursue David, he was very close to finding him and bringing him to trial. Verse 26 says, "Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men to the other side of the mountain." Suddenly, in verse 27 a messenger came to Saul, and said, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land." Saul had to call off his search for David because it was more important to fend off a foreign attack from the Philistines. Coincidence? I don't think so.
2. He will return the evil to my enemies. God is able to turn the tables, to bring the same measure of trouble to evil men that they themselves were trying to bring to the godly. Matthew 7:1-2 says, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you."
In the book of Esther, the evil Haman built a gallows on which to hang Esther's uncle Mordecai; in the end, it was Haman himself who was executed on that same structure, while Mordecai lived. In Judges 11, Jephthah was looked down upon by his half-brothers because he was the son of a prostitute. They all rose to positions of power in the army, but looked down on Jephthah because of his lineage. In the end, however, when the people were in dire straits, they came to Jephthah and asked him to lead them against their enemies.
And this brings us to our third point.
3. He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. God is faithful. He is unchanging. David knew from experience what God could do. Why would he doubt God now? Psalm 37:25 says, "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or His children begging for bread."
Our own experience can testify to the goodness of God. We have seen His mighty works, not only in scripture, but in our own life experiences. Does that mean He will always keep us from danger? No, but it does mean He will deliver us, just as He has done so many times before.
B. The Prayer
"In Your faithfulness," David prays, "put an end to them. With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your Name, O Lord, for it is good." Because of God's nature, David can rest assured that He will work all things out for His glory. If we remain faithful to Him, then it may also work out for our good. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." If we are called according to His purpose, then when God works His purpose in us we will be better off. We may not be where we wanted to be, especially if our desire was to benefit ourselves. God may not have purposed us to be wealthy or famous, or to have anything resembling success in the eyes of the world; but if He works out His purpose in us and we are called to that very purpose, then we are to be envied.
Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." This is the reason that David could bring a freewill offering, a sacrifice that was not required to fulfill a vow, or to pay for a sin that had been committed. In the book of Exodus, when God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle, the people brought freewill offerings. That is, God did not command for them to give anything toward the building of the Tabernacle. There was not some giant building fund or giving campaign like you see in so many churches. As God moved in their hearts, so they gave, and the result was a mobile Temple that was more ornate and beautiful than any of the tents in which they dwelt.
Notice the verb tense in the promise that David makes. I will give You praise. He knew that whatever the outcome, he would end up praising God, both in this life and the next. Like Job, he knew that God's name would be praised whether he lived or died; but somehow I think this was a statement of faith. When God delivered Him from the hands of his enemies, David would give God praise, no matter how long it took.
When I was growing up in a Baptist church, we would sing this hymn by W. A. Ogden1 ’TIS the grandest theme through the ages rung;
’Tis the grandest theme for a mortal tongue,
’Tis the grandest theme that the world e’er sung,
“Our God is able to deliver thee.”
-refrain- He is able to deliver thee,
He is able to deliver thee:
Though by sin oppressed, go to Him for rest;
Our God is able to deliver thee.
2 ’Tis the grandest theme in the earth or main!
’Tis the grandest theme for a mortal strain,
’Tis the grandest theme, tell the world again,
“Our God is able to deliver thee.”
3 ’Tis the grandest theme, let the tidings roll
To the guilty heart, to the sinful soul,
Look to God in faith, He will make thee whole,
“Our God is able to deliver thee.”
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