June 12, 2015

SAFETY GUARANTEED

Psalms 60–66

Barbara Stoerner
Friday's Devo

June 12, 2015

Friday's Devo

June 12, 2015

Central Truth

In the midst of opposition and adversity, David was confident in the Lord and relied on Him as his ultimate refuge. We are called to put our feelings aside and lean on God, our mighty fortress.

Key Verse | Psalm 61

From the ends of the earth,
I cry to you for help
when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
for you are my safe refuge,
a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
safe beneath the shelter of your wings!
(‭Psalms 61‬:‭2-4)

Psalms 60–66

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam 1 60:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
    you have been angry; oh, restore us.
You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
    repair its breaches, for it totters.
You have made your people see hard things;
    you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.

You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
    that they may flee to it from the bow. 2 60:4 Or that it may be displayed because of truth Selah
That your beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

God has spoken in his holiness: 3 60:6 Or sanctuary
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
    and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet;
    Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I cast my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.” 4 60:8 Revocalization (compare Psalm 108:10); Masoretic Text over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
10  Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11  Oh, grant us help against the foe,
    for vain is the salvation of man!
12  With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes.

Lead Me to the Rock

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.

Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.

Let me dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Prolong the life of the king;
    may his years endure to all generations!
May he be enthroned forever before God;
    appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

So will I ever sing praises to your name,
    as I perform my vows day after day.

My Soul Waits for God Alone

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
10  Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11  Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12      and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
    according to his work.

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10  they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
11  But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Hide Me from the Wicked

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
    preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
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.

But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
    all who see them will wag their heads.
Then all mankind fears;
    they tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.

10  Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD
    and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!

O God of Our Salvation

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Praise is due to you, 5 65:1 Or Praise waits for you in silence O God, in Zion,
    and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hear prayer,
    to you shall all flesh come.
When iniquities prevail against me,
    you atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
    to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
    the holiness of your temple!

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
    O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas;
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
    being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it; 6 65:9 Or and make it overflow
    you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
    you provide their grain,
    for so you have prepared it.
10  You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
    and blessing its growth.
11  You crown the year with your bounty;
    your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
12  The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
    the hills gird themselves with joy,
13  the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
    the valleys deck themselves with grain,
    they shout and sing together for joy.

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
    sing the glory of his name;
    give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.” Selah

Come and see what God has done:
    he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
He turned the sea into dry land;
    they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
    who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
    and has not let our feet slip.
10  For you, O God, have tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
11  You brought us into the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12  you let men ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

13  I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will perform my vows to you,
14  that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15  I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16  Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17  I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was on 7 66:17 Hebrew under my tongue. 8 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue
18  If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
19  But truly God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20  Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

Footnotes

[1] 60:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
[2] 60:4 Or that it may be displayed because of truth
[3] 60:6 Or sanctuary
[4] 60:8 Revocalization (compare Psalm 108:10); Masoretic Text over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph
[5] 65:1 Or Praise waits for you in silence
[6] 65:9 Or and make it overflow
[7] 66:17 Hebrew under
[8] 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue

Dive Deeper | Psalms 60–66

I tried to act as normal as possible as my husband and I left our weekly community group meeting one December night, but once we got in the car my true emotions came out. "Did you hear what she said to me? That really hurt me. I can't meet with them again. I don't feel safe at all now," I told him. I wasn't even thinking about what I had said or done to my friend. I was letting my emotions determine where I found safety.

In this portion of Psalms, David makes it evident that his enemies are out to destroy him, but he still trusts in God as his protector, safe refuge, fortress, and shelter. He encourages others to do the same in Psalm 62:8: "O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge."

You might not have someone trying to kill you like David did, but the same fear and anxiety can occur in the adversity you face. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." The Bible also says that He "causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28) He is in the business of restoring safety and trust in relationships. We have to learn to trust Him, rely on His safety, and be obedient to His call on our lives—no matter our feelings.

After much prayer and thought, we met with my friend and her husband, even though we were nervous. We identified and worked through the hurt and distrust that occurred on both sides. We asked for each other’s forgiveness. The honest reconciliation was a turning point in our community group and caused our bond to grow even stronger.

Discussion Questions

1. "It's not the absence of conflict that determines the health of my relationships. It's knowing how to handle the conflicts that inevitably arise." (Lysa TerKuerst, Proverbs 31 Ministries) What’s the health of your relationships? How are you handling conflict in those relationships? If you need some help, here’s a great resource Watermark has created to help you in this area: www.watermark.org/fileadmin/pdfs/conflict_field_guide_web.pdf.

2. In what areas of your life do you allow your circumstances to define your safety?

3. While his enemies were after him, David continued to trust the Lord and cry out to Him. He also urged others to do the same. How is your trust in the Lord pointing others to Him? What, if anything, needs to change for that to happen?

4. How has the Lord been a refuge in your life?