This psalm was written by David to celebrate a communal deliverance rather than a personal one. It is not possible to discover the particular invasion that David is describing, but it was obviously one in which God’s people were in great danger. Likely it was written after an attack by the Philistines because they were the enemies that Israel faced during David’s reign. Whenever it was written, David composed it because he wanted others to use his words when praising God.
As we know, this psalm was later positioned among the songs of ascent that were used by the Israelites who travelled from other places, including foreign lands, to Jerusalem in order to attend the annual feasts. When they gathered in Jerusalem, they would recollect how strong the enemies of Israel had been, how the empires of Assyria and Babylon had seemed to have destroyed the people of God. Yet even although they had gone into exile, the Lord, who was on their side, delivered them.
They would know, of course, that the deliverance from the Exile was not the first time that the Lord had helped them when all seemed lost. Their beginning as a nation, when they left the land of Egypt, was also such a time. They were slaves, enduring a painful, purposeless existence when God came to their rescue and delivered them by his great power.
There are several lessons that can be taken from this psalm as we consider the state of God’s cause today. Firstly, we should realise the fierceness of the enemies of God’s people. David gives vivid descriptions of his foes: wild animals, overwhelming storms, raging torrents. These descriptions illustrate what these enemies want – the utter destruction of the church. We are not facing enemies that are going to show compassion because we are weak. This is a reminder of the reality of spiritual warfare. God has given us armour to wear for our protection (Eph. 6:11-20), and if we don’t have it on, we will be wounded.
Secondly, we should not judge a situation by appearances. It is common for us to hear and say that the church is weak today, with the impression being given that in the past it was not weak. But the church has always been weak; the difference between the church of the past and the church of today is that God came and delivered his church in the past and he has not yet come and delivered today’s church. As we look at the situation today, we are to view it in the light of God’s character, particularly his promises to bless sinners, and of his power.
Thirdly, the psalm shows that deliverance from God may not come until we are at our wits’ end. The Israelites were facing imminent destruction in the face; they had no way of escape. Sometimes I wonder if the church in Britain has yet reached that place. We have our initiatives (nothing necessarily wrong with them), although some are announced as if they were the answer to our problems. In his mercy, the Lord blesses these efforts, but his blessing is comparatively small compared to the past. After all these initiatives we are still in a desperate state. The majority of people in churches are over the age of fifty, and we don’t need calculators to tell us that something has to happen or else the church will disappear in Britain within a few decades. Yet there is little evidence of desperation among Christians, a desperation that would cause them to wrestle with God to come and give prosperity to his church. It is a healthy spiritual sign when believers are at their wits’ end because then they will be forced to their knees.
Fourthly, the psalm tells us that during the onslaught we have to remain at our posts and not run away. David and his men lined up for the battle even although the enemy looked more powerful than they. The same is required of us. We have to make it clear that we are on the Lord’s side. One way in which we do it is by telling others what he has done, by speaking about his way of salvation. Another way is by praying for mercy to be sent by God.
Fifthly, when deliverance comes, God should get all the glory. In the psalm, he is praised for setting the people free. It was not David’s military skills that brought it about (although the Lord may have used him in the process of deliverance), and he is careful to say that the glory should be given to God. The Lord alone is their help and in his name is all their confidence.
Sixthly, when God delivers, he often delivers completely. This is depicted in the illustration of the bird escaping from a trap. Their release was one that both showed their weakness and the Lord’s power. They were unable to contribute anything to their rescue, it was all the Lord’s doing. But it was an effective deliverance. They were given total freedom from these enemies, something like the experience that the children of Israel had on the shores of the Red Sea when they saw the Egyptian enemy dead on the shore. Of course, the defeat of those enemies did not mean that there was no battles to be fought in the future.
Seventhly, the incident described in the psalm is a common experience of God’s people. It recurs throughout the history of the church. Whatever the time in which it lives, there will be enemies to face.
There can be enemies within the church, as Paul warned the elders of the church in Ephesus: ‘For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them’ (Acts 20:29-30). These enemies teach wrong doctrine. There are educated, refined people in the worldwide church today who deny the truths of the Bible. We feel helpless in refuting their knowledge. But we should ask the Lord to protect us and to rise and defend his cause. And he will eventually.
The world and the devil were involved in fighting God’s people in the past, and they are still at it. Their tactics may have changed, the ideas they promote may be different, but their goal is the same – the destruction of Christ’s kingdom. They can use alternative religions, political theories, advances in science and technology, materialism, anything. We are asked why Christianity is right and other religions wrong, and when we give the right answers we get nowhere; the tenets of the Christian faith are not the basis of the ideas of the political parties; scientific discoveries are used to deny the biblical account of the origin of the universe; technological advance, that has brought many social benefits, has become the main hope of millions of people instead of Christ. And there are other weapons ranged against us.
What should be our response as we face all this? We should imitate these pilgrims and continue to gather in Jerusalem. They no longer had the glory of the great reigns of David and Solomon nor had they yet experienced the fulfilment of the promises regarding the coming of the Messiah. But they continued to gather in Jerusalem. So should we. We should not dishonour the church of Christ just because it seems to be weak.
What is our hope as we face all this? The answer is God. Our response is not to be pessimism nor panic. We are to retain full confidence in the gospel as the power of God to change the lives of sinners and we are to expect to see them converted through our prayers and witness. And we are to be optimistic that the God, who delivered his church in the past from the attack of powerful enemies, will yet deliver it on a grand scale. In the meantime, we should take up Isaiah’s challenge: ‘You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth’ (Isa. 62:6-7).
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