It’s so great to be getting into the Psalms as a church!
We’ve heard a lot of positive feedback from people keen to get stuck into the Psalm, especially tackling how it fits together as a whole book.
One of the tricky things I find with the Psalms is working out how they apply to us as Christians, given they were written for Israel, before Jesus. Plus they often address situations where I’m not sure I’ve faced or will ever face. It can be hard to relate.
But dig a little deeper, with a soft and prayerful heart, and there are great riches to be found.
An example of this happened to me the other day, reading Psalm 17.
It starts off with David asking God to vindicate him coz he’s done nothing wrong. For example, verse 3:
“Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.”
So how can I relate to this? I know if God was to probe my heart he’d see the wretched sinner that I am! But if you look at the context I think David here is talking about a specific situation where he’s been unjustly treated by wicked people.
”hide me in the shadow of your wings
from the wicked who are out to destroy me”
So then I thought - Yeah, I can think of many situations where I feel like I’ve tried to do the right thing, no evil plans in my heart, but it’s backfired and someone takes it the wrong way or they misinterpreted what I meant.
Vindicate me Lord…
But wait a second. Who are my enemies? Who is out to destroy me?
Pretty much all the scenarios that came to me as I first started trying to relate to this Psalm were situations between myself and other Christians. Even my spouse!
But we ought never think of my brother or sister in Christ as our enemy.
Our true enemies are sin, the flesh and the devil. Seeking to drive us away from delighting in God, walking his ways. Or cause divisions and bitterness between us.
These enemies might sometimes be at work in a brother or sister, or (most likely) in both of us. But we must be careful not to make an enemy out of our brother or sister for whom Christ died.
As God’s precious church we’re called to live at peace with one another, bearing with one another in love, just as Christ has loved us.
I think this is the first time God’s rebuked me by how a passage doesn’t apply to me rather than how it does.
Praying God would use this season in the Psalms to nourish you and produce much fruit for our church and his glory.
In Christ,
Andy.