This psalm says much about the struggles of God’s people in a world of sin and corruption. There has always been an adversarial relationship between the righteous and the unrighteous, the godly and the godless, the sinner and the saint; perhaps coming to its ultimate illustration in Christ on the cross. Forsaken and betrayed by a friend (John 13:18); scorned and ridiculed by those who arrogantly stood in judgment of Him; He was beaten and spat upon by those whom He allowed to serve as His executioners.

We must be cautious should we consider this Psalm and David’s response a model for our own response to troubles we face.  This psalm may, perhaps, serve as a mirror we hold up and see our own reflection—full of anguish and despair.  Truly, we live in a violent world that is increasingly more hostile to Jesus Christ and His teaching.  In the midst of trial, how many of us have desired wings with which to escape to a refuge far removed from the troubles we face (Ps. 55:6-8).  The temptation to call upon God to destroy our enemies is real indeed; but, is this an appropriate response for us?

Rather than looking to David and the desires of which we may be able to relate, we need remember him who was the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15).  Christ is our model.  He is a reflection of God Himself.  He taught us that those who wish to destroy our bodies are not to be feared (Matt. 10:28).  He taught us to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39).  And, lets not forget that even in His own agony and pain, inflicted by those He came to save (John 1:11), Jesus did not pray for their destruction. He prayed for their forgiveness. His love for man, even men who rejoiced in his suffering, never weakened nor ceased to be expressed.  Let Christ be our example, as He said… “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing,” (Luke 23:34).

The last words of the Psalm need to be our enduring theme.  Trusting God means to turn all that we fear over to Him to deal with as He wills.  This does not mean that we trust that God will bring about exactly what our heart desires, but rather that we place all that we are entirely in His hands to do as He desires.  We trust that, whatever may come, our perfect Father is working to bring about our good and His glory.  As Jerry Bridges so aptly expressed,

“If we are going to learn to trust God in adversity, we must believe that just as certainly as God will allow nothing to subvert His glory, so He will allow nothing to spoil the good He is working out in us and for us.”

Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts, New ed. (Colorado   Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 2008), 26.

When an enlisted man delivers a message from a commanding general, he carries with him the authority of the officer who sent the message, regardless of the rank of the one receiving it.  The message itself bears the same power as if the order was given directly by the commander himself, as it is given in his name.  There exists no greater authority in all of creation than that of our creator, God.  By saying, “Save me by Your name,” David’s plea is that God would save Him as an act of unimpeachable, irrefutable, and irresistible authority. To call upon the name of the Lord is to call upon God Himself.

This Psalm consists of two general parts. The first is a plea for deliverance from violent men who seek David’s life (vs. 1-3). The second part is a statement of the confidence David has in God’s deliverance, and his confidence in his own standing before God. The song concludes with a profession of God’s worthiness of praise.

David’s confidence was not based on a simple feeling of God’s affection for him. It was firmly based on God’s promise to place him on the throne as King of the nation.  God would certainly deliver David from this threat for He always keeps His promises.  When reading the account in 1 Sam. we see that not only was David sure of this, but Jonathan and Saul were sure of it as well (1 Sam. 23:17).

In his commentary, William de Burgh tells us that the church has long regarded this psalm as one of several that point to the crucified Christ on the cross. Bonar points out that Jesus , just prior to His arrest, prayed along these same lines for his disciples when He prayed, “Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one as we are one,” (John 17:11).  Clearly, we see from this psalm where we are to turn for help in times of trouble. When facing the persecutions of this world, we have nowhere else to look but to the Lord. In His name are our defense, our salvation, and our strength. We can have confidence that He will always keep His promises. Our correct and necessary response to Him is unceasing praise. We praise Him because He has already delivered us from the destruction we rightly deserve.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10, NASB95)

‎Just as we saw in Psalm 14, the fool here is not someone who lacks knowledge or the ability to discern. That would be an entirely different word in the Hebrew.  The fool in question here is someone who has willfully turned away from God, stands back, and mocks Him. No greater fool exists.

‎We live in the age of “the new atheist.” This is a moniker assigned to those who publicly ridicule believers as being irrational and unreasonable.  Their predominant claim is that the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis that has been tested and proven false.  We’ve seen them on TV, heard them on the radio, and we who know the truth shake our heads at the utter foolishness of their rant.

‎God knows all things, sees all things, and does all that He intends to do.   To say, with surety, that God does not exist is tantamount to saying; “I know all things, see all things, and discern all truth; and I’m telling you that there is nobody who knows all things, sees all things, and discerns all truth.” In actuality, there is very little that is new about the new atheism. There have always been scoffers. Proverbs 21:24 names them.  They laughed at Noah, and then begged for help when the rain came.  They jeered at the army of Israel then fled when their hero was felled by a rock flung by a shepherd boy. And, they nailed the Son of God to a cross, placed him in a tomb, and still deny against all evidence that God raised Him from the dead.

‎It’s important to remember that the atheist is not our enemy. Even those annoying hyper-intellectuals who have made careers out of publicly ranting against God are nothing more than casualties of a war being waged by a foe that is already defeated.  Their rants do nothing to hinder the gospel, and should they die in their sin, they will stand before God with no defense for their wickedness (Rom. 1:20).  Rather than our disdain, they deserve our pity.  They have embraced the lie of Satan, and in their pride and arrogance have set themselves against the God who provides every breath they take.  Arguing against a scoffer will only bring dishonor and insults (Prov. 9:7-8). They are frighteningly deceived—pray for them.  But remember God will be glorified either in their salvation, or their destruction (Rom. 9:22-23).

‎This Psalm, however, is not only referring to those who loudly and publicly dishonor the living God with the passion and zeal of an evangelist. When we proceed through life without regard to our dependence on Him; or, when we charge ahead with our own agenda, forgetting that it is God who directs our steps, we are acting like practical atheists. The psalm tells us that it is a fool who says “in his heart” there is no God.  Do you cry out to the Lord only when a crisis arises? Do you worship on Sunday and reserve the rest of the week for yourself?  Are you neglecting the importance of abiding in Christ?  When these things are true of us, we are playing the fool. There is no greater fool that he who knows the truth, but chooses to ignore it.

‎Richard Dawkins was asked what he would say to God if, when his dies, he finds that he has been wrong about Him. He responded, “I would ask him why he didn’t make himself known to me.”  Could he stand before the creator and sustainer of all that exists, who alone possesses infinite power, and in his utter arrogance suggest that God has somehow failed to make His presence known?  Perhaps he could; but I fear for his soul.

‎“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” Hebrews 10:31.