Living
Interactively with God
Psalms 17
Jim Davis
Salvation’s
story is interactive.
God invites us to become a
living part of His-story. God
seeks to become the God of our
salvation as he draws us into
his ongoing work. We are invited
to share in the lives of the
biblical characters as we learn
valuable lessons from their
lives. We are surrounded by a
great cloud of witnesses
inviting us to become part of
God’s story (Hebrews 11:1-12:3).
The Hebrew writer says “The word
of God is living and active”
(Hebrews 4:12). When we allow
God’s word to come alive in our
hearts we become a participant
and not just an observer.
As I read Psalms
17 I realize the psalmist idea
of salvation is about how God
fits into his ongoing struggles.
We see the psalmist’s
interaction with God. He is
expecting God to act. He
believes God is a participant in
his struggles.
Psalms 17:1-10
17:1 A prayer of
David.
Hear, O LORD, my
righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my
prayer —
it does not rise
from deceitful lips.
2 May my
vindication come from you;
may your eyes see
what is right.
3 Though you
probe my heart and examine me at
night,
though you test
me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved
that my mouth will not sin.
4 As for the
deeds of men —
by the word of
your lips
I have kept
myself
from the ways of
the violent.
5 My steps have
held to your paths;
my feet have not
slipped.
6 I call on you,
O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me
and hear my prayer.
7 Show the wonder
of your great love,
you who save by
your right hand
those who take
refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the
apple of your eye;
hide me in the
shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked
who assail me,
from my mortal
enemies who surround me.
10 They close up
their callous hearts
and their mouths
speak with arrogance.
11 They have
tracked me down, they now
surround me,
with eyes alert,
to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like
a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion
crouching in cover.
13 Rise up, O
LORD, confront them, bring them
down;
rescue me from
the wicked by your sword.
14 O LORD, by
your hand save me from such men,
from men of this
world whose reward is in this
life.
You still the
hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have
plenty,
and they store up
wealth for their children.
15 And I — in
righteousness I will see your
face;
when I awake, I
will be satisfied with seeing
your likeness. NIV
Salvation Is
about God’s Interaction
David
enters into every battle
focusing clearly on what God has
done and is about to do for him.
He strove to see his battles
from God’s perspective. He seeks
to understand God’s activity in
every struggle.
When David was
about to enter into battle with
Goliath he says:
1 Samuel 17:34-37
34 But David said
to Saul, "Your servant has been
keeping his father's sheep. When
a lion or a bear came and
carried off a sheep from the
flock, 35 I went after it,
struck it and rescued the sheep
from its mouth. When it turned
on me, I seized it by its hair,
struck it and killed it. 36 Your
servant has killed both the lion
and the bear; this
uncircumcised Philistine will be
like one of them, because he has
defied the armies of the living
God. 37 The LORD
who delivered me from the paw of
the lion and the paw of the bear
will deliver me from the hand of
this Philistine." NIV
David’s
battles are not just personal
battles.
He understands that he is caught
up in a battle between heaven
and earth (2 Corinthians
10:3-6). He seeks to understand
his battles from God’s
perspective. David interacts
with God. God was as much a part
of his life while he was at work
tending the sheep as he was in
his personal battle with
Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:45-47
45 David said to
the Philistine, "You come
against me with sword and spear
and javelin, but I come against
you in the name of the LORD
Almighty, the God of the armies
of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will hand
you over to me, and I'll strike
you down and cut off your head.
Today I will give the carcasses
of the Philistine army to the
birds of the air and the beasts
of the earth, and the whole
world will know that there is a
God in Israel. 47 All those
gathered here will know that it
is not by sword or spear that
the LORD saves; for the battle
is the LORD's, and he will give
all of you into our hands." NIV
David never
enters his battles alone—he
takes God with him.
In psalms 17
the psalmist petitions God to
intervene. He
makes his petition with such
boldness.
Psalms 17:1-5
Hear, O LORD, my
righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my
prayer —
it does not rise
from deceitful lips.
2 May my
vindication come from you;
may your eyes see
what is right.
3 Though you
probe my heart and examine me at
night,
though you test
me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved
that my mouth will not sin.
4 As for the
deeds of men —
by the word of
your lips
I have kept
myself
from the ways of
the violent.
5 My steps have
held to your paths;
my feet have not
slipped.
David
approaches God with such
assurance. His transparence is
astounding.
He knows that
God tries all hearts. David
knows full well what it is to
have God examine one’s heart.
God searches his heart in the
night. God sees every motive of
David through the darkest of
nights. David knows nothing is
hidden from God.
Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word
of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the
heart. 13 Nothing in all
creation is hidden from God's
sight. Everything is uncovered
and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give
account. NIV
The beauty
of the psalms is that we see
firsthand what it is like to
invite God into our daily
struggles as an active
participant. David
experiences the penetrating
effect of God’s living word in
his struggles.
David’s
plea is not coming from a heart
that has never sinned. He is not
coming to God because he
believes his sanctification
hides his sins from God’s face.
His boldness comes from a heart
that understands forgiveness and
mercy as well as the pain of
God’s discipline. It comes
knowing God is a part of his
ongoing struggles. God has
intervened in David’s life
numerous times as David’s judge
and executioner. There are times
when David is the one being
judged and punished. God’s
judgment keeps David on the
right path despite his failures.
This is salvation—knowing God is
actively working in our hearts
and in our world to accomplish
his will in both. Believe me it
is both rewarding and at times
very painful.
Allowing
God’s Law to Guide
David
enters into an interactive
relationship with God as he
seeks to live righteously.
God’s law is about allowing God
into our lives to guide and
discipline our lives. As David
comes to God in Psalms 17, he is
concerned about how to deal with
his enemies in accordance with
the law. The law requires him to
love his enemies. He seeks God’s
intervention because it is not
an easy task. In the midst of it
all God is searching David’s
heart in the night.
Psalms 17:3-5
3 Though you
probe my heart and examine me at
night,
though you test
me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved
that my mouth will not sin.
4 As for the
deeds of men —
by the word of
your lips
I have kept
myself
from the ways of
the violent.
5 My steps have
held to your paths;
my feet have not
slipped.
It is true
that legalism cannot save us,
but God’s law keeps David on the
right path.
David is sanctified through the
grace of God. God has cleansed
him and made him holy through
mercy and forgiveness. Yet, he
knows God’s mercy and
forgiveness does not give him a
license to do as he pleases. He
knows there are consequences for
breaking God’s law. He knows
what it is to come under the
judgment of God’s law. God’s law
crushes his heart in his
adulterous affair with
Bathsheba.
Psalms 51:6-9
6 Surely you
desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me
wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with
hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I
will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy
and gladness;
let the bones you
have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face
from my sins
and blot out all
my iniquity. NIV
David knows
mercy and forgiveness firsthand.
He also knows what it is to reap
what you sow. He knows mercy and
forgiveness will not negate the
consequences of breaking God’s
law. As David seeks God’s
intervention he is very
concerned about doing the right
thing himself—especially toward
his enemies. He is concerned
about following God’s commands
concerning how to treat his
enemies.
I have learned
one thing about my enemies. I
need to be very careful how I
treat those I consider to be my
enemies for God has a way of
bringing my actions back upon my
head. I do not have to like my
enemies. I do have to love them.
Love is simply seeking another
person’s highest good. I may not
be able to maintain good
emotional feelings toward them.
I must do what is right while
dealing with them. I am
obligated to seek their highest
good. I shouldn’t gloat over my
enemies’ difficulties. If I do
so, I may find myself
experiencing the same troubles.
It is one thing to have God
deliver your enemies into your
hands and quite another to seek
to destroy your enemy by your
own hand. After all, while we
were enemies of God, Christ died
for us.
This is the
purpose of redemption.
Until we master this attitude
toward or enemies our world will
never be a better place to live.
The purpose of the law is to
direct our hearts to this end
with the aid of God’s Holy
Spirit. This kind of living will
allow God’s glory and goodness
shine through us despite our
troubles. It is no accident that
David is called a man after Gods
own heart (Acts 13:22).
The law
does not eradicate God’s grace.
Christ sacrifice saves us from the law’s condemnation but forgiveness
and grace does not erase our
need to obey God’s law.
The law teaches how to live
graceful lives. If we live in
grace we must extend that grace
to others.
Too often
the Christianity of our day
seeks to disparage the law of
God as we dwell on grace and
forgiveness.
Yet,
spiritual laws are comparable to
the laws of physics that govern
our world.
Kim Fiedler Marauszwski
wrote,
“It's the word "law" itself that
garners bad press when people
become mired in the minutia of
religious legalism. If you think
of it more like the laws of
physics, it's just how things
operate within God's kingdom.”
Seeking to defy
the law of gravity as you jump
off a six story building has
consequences. So it is when we
defy the spiritual laws within
the kingdom of God. Although
Christ saves, there is a sense
in which God’s law judges us as
the law allows us to reap what
we sow.
There are
consequences to breaking the
laws of our natural world as
well as breaking God’s moral
law.
Just read the decline of God’s
creation in the first six
chapters of Genesis. These six
chapters give us a thumb nail
sketch of what happens when our
world defies the laws of
creation. The kingdom of God is
about obeying these laws.
The Old Testament
record of salvation history
reveals God’s supernatural
order.
To live in the kingdom of God we
must understand the laws of the
kingdom. We must understand
there will be repercussions to
breaking these laws. We will
reap what we sow.
The law brings
condemnation—forgiveness does
not erase the consequences of
breaking the law. This is why we
must accept God as the God of
our salvation. Only God can
salvage our failures as we allow
him to discipline us through
them. It is why we need God to
step in and salvage the messes
we make in our lives. It is why
we proclaim him as the God of
our salvation.
Participating
in God’s Divine Nature
The
positive aspect of the law of
God is about how to live
differently in a world engulfed
in darkness.
The law teaches us how to become
the light of the world. The law
teaches us how to live
productive lives. The law
teaches us how to love our
neighbor as ourselves, even if
he/she is our enemy. This is the
summation of the law of God
(Romans 13:8-10). The law cannot
justify us. Only Christ can
justify. The law cannot save us.
Christ saves. However, the law
can guide us.
It is the
law that gives rise to Jesus’
Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus’ teaching is the very
heart and core of what the law
is all about. He meant it when
he said heaven and earth shall
pass away, but the law would
remain.
Matthew 5:17-20
17 "Do not think
that I have come to abolish the
Law or the Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but to
fulfill them. 18 I tell you the
truth, until heaven and earth
disappear, not the smallest
letter, not the least stroke of
a pen, will by any means
disappear from the Law until
everything is accomplished. 19
Anyone who breaks one of the
least of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same
will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven, but whoever
practices and teaches these
commands will be called great in
the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I
tell you that unless your
righteousness surpasses that of
the Pharisees and the teachers
of the law, you will certainly
not enter the kingdom of heaven.
NIV
The intent
of the law is to call us to live
graceful lives for God’s glory
and goodness.
It is the only way we can truly
enter into an interactive
relationship with God through
Christ. Salvation calls for a
life time of repentance toward
God as we live in his grace. The
law actually teaches us how to
live graceful lives. We will
never understand God’s grace
until we learn to live
gracefully.
2 Peter 1:3-11
3 His divine
power has given us everything we
need for life and godliness
through our knowledge of him who
called us by his own glory and
goodness. 4 Through these he has
given us his very great and
precious promises, so that
through them you may participate
in the divine nature and escape
the corruption in the world
caused by evil desires.
5 For this very
reason, make every effort to add
to your faith goodness; and to
goodness, knowledge; 6 and to
knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and
to perseverance, godliness; 7
and to godliness, brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, love. 8 For if you
possess these qualities in
increasing measure, they will
keep you from being ineffective
and unproductive in your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 9 But if anyone does not
have them, he is nearsighted and
blind, and has forgotten that he
has been cleansed from his past
sins.
10 Therefore, my
brothers, be all the more eager
to make your calling and
election sure. For if you do
these things, you will never
fall, 11 and you will receive a
rich welcome into the eternal
kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. NIV
Jesus spent
his time defining the nature of
his kingdom the very essence of
Christianity.
He spent his time revealing in a
very practical down to earth
manner what we must become
individually for the purpose of
salvaging a lost world. We are
to become the light in a dark
world as we take upon ourselves
the very nature of God.
I am
convinced the only way you can
come to a point where you
delight in meditating upon God’s
law is by learning how practical
and powerful it is as you seek
to live it.
The gospel truly
is the power of God unto
salvation (Romans 1:16). God’s
power has given us everything we
need through our knowledge of
God. When we seek to live God’s
law the gospel of Christ becomes
the medium through which God
exerts his power in our lives as
he brings his word to life in
us. This is the power that
salvages what is left of our
lives on planet earth. When our
meditation and prayers are
directed to this end God’s power
overcomes our circumstances. He
makes the mountains low and
valleys high leveling a way
through our circumstances
(Isaiah 40:3-5).
Engaging
ourselves in the knowledge of
God enables us to live
productive lives.
This is so because it places God
at the very center of our lives.
God made promises to Abraham
when he called him to follow
him. God promised Abraham that
he would bless those who blessed
him, curse those who cursed him
and that he would make Abraham a
blessing to all mankind (Genesis
12:1-4). When we declare our
faith in the promises of God
through Christ we inherit all
the blessings God promised to
Abraham.
Galatians 3:26-29
26 You are all
sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you
who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with
Christ. 28 There is neither Jew
nor Greek, slave nor free, male
nor female, for you are all one
in Christ Jesus. 29 If you
belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise. NIV
God’s
promises to Abraham remind us
that we are under the protection
of the grace of God in difficult
situations.
We are reminded
of God’s interaction in our
lives. This is the
key to our survival. It was the
key to David’s survival.
Psalms 7:6-13
6 Arise, O LORD,
in your anger;
rise up against
the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God;
decree justice.
7 Let the
assembled peoples gather around
you.
Rule over them
from on high;
8 let the LORD
judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD,
according to my righteousness,
according to my
integrity, O Most High.
9 O righteous
God,
who searches
minds and hearts,
bring to an end
the violence of the wicked
and make the
righteous secure.
10 My shield is
God Most High,
who saves the
upright in heart.
11 God is a
righteous judge,
a God who
expresses his wrath every day.
12 If he does not
relent,
he will sharpen
his sword;
he will bend and
string his bow.
13 He has
prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready
his flaming arrows. NIV
Conclusion:
What do you do
when you are waiting upon God to
act?
You participate in the ongoing
work of God. We invite God to
participate in our lives as we
strive to become productive
citizens of the kingdom of God
through our knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We allow the
unalterable laws of God’s
kingdom to guide our lives.
It takes
patience and perseverance.
In
psalms 13 negative thoughts run
through David’s mind as he waits
upon God to act.
His waiting has led him to think
negative thoughts as he pleads
for God’s help. He begins to
wonder if God has forgotten him.
Yet—the psalm concludes with a
declaration of David’s trust in
God.
Psalms 13:1-2
How long, O LORD?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you
hide your face from me?
2 How long must I
wrestle with my thoughts
and every day
have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my
enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and
answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my
eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will
say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will
rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in
your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices
in your salvation.
6 I will sing to
the LORD,
for he has been
good to me. NIV
Salvation
is not a mystery.
Salvation is simply about
trusting God to actively
participate in our lives. We
have a supernatural God who
intervenes in our lives in a
natural down to earth way. Just
look at the life and ministry of
Jesus. This is God.
