Savoring the Scripture

Courage in Times of Deep Water Psalm 69 I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. Psalm 69:2 In our psalm today, David expresses his hardships in vivid language. We can sense his desperation when we read the first few verses that describe his difficulty with phrases like “the waters come up to my neck,” and “I sink in deep mire.” He continues, “I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.” He’s weary with his crying. His throat is parched  because of his continual cries. He is weary with waiting on God. We do not know the circumstances that have brought David to this place where he feels like he is drowning in affliction, but I’m thankful we do not have all the details. In his commentary on the Psalms, Longman says, “The troubles are not specific, which is in keeping with the purpose of the Psalms to provide templates of prayers for later worshippers who have similar, though not identical, issues.” Without specifics, we are able to insert ourselves ...

Prayer through Persistent Trouble Psalm 56 Thus in this short Psalm, we have climbed from the ravenous jaws of the enemy into the light of Jehovah's presence, a path which only faith can tread. Charles Spurgeon I am loving going through the Psalms this year. How kind of God to give us so many comforts in one book. The Psalms give vocabulary to the expression of our emotions. They face the reality of our humanness while then directing us to truth. Today’s psalm is no different. David is again the author and is again facing his enemies. The “chorus of this psalm” is the repeated truth, “in God I trust; I shall not be afraid” (56:4). We also see the trouble which led David to remind himself to trust the Lord, we see: men trample him, oppress him, attack him, injure his cause, their thoughts are against him for evil, they stir up strife, lurk, watch his steps, and wait for his life. And David repeats three times that these men and their evil deeds are against him “all day long” (56:1,2...