Episode Transcript
Psalm 54 (NASB)
1 Save me, O God, by Your name,
And vindicate me by Your power.
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have risen against me
And violent men have sought my life;
They have not set God before them. Selah.
4 Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
5 He will recompense the evil to my foes;
Destroy them in Your faithfulness.
6 Willingly I will sacrifice to You;
I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 For He has delivered me from all trouble,
And my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.
CONSIDER
Today’s post is from A Meditative Journey Through the Psalms by Timothy and Julie Tennent. He holds the Methodist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School and served as president of Asbury Theological Seminary for fifteen years. She is a gifted musician and was one of the driving forces that helped bring to fruition the Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. We will share some of their writing on the Psalms on Sundays.
This is another psalm written at the time when David was fleeing from his enemies. In this particular psalm, David’s problems are worsened by the betrayal of the Ziphites. David had trusted their loyalty, but they turned against him, revealed David’s hiding place, and promised to turn him over to Saul (1 Sam. 23:19–20). This is a foreshadowing of Christ himself, who was opposed by the religious forces arrayed against him and then, in the end, betrayed by one of his own disciples. We expect the world to oppose us, but when we are betrayed by those close to us, it brings an agony beyond description.
There are several features of this psalm that we should notice. First, it is truly amazing (as we have noticed throughout this series of psalms) that compositions of praise are built around experiences like this. It is almost unprecedented in contemporary hymnology and choruses to highlight themes like this. The psalms assume that we are in conflict with the world and never anticipate the modern expectation of congeniality. Second, given the weight of anguish in this psalm, it is truly amazing that even in the midst of difficulties, the psalmist looks back from a future point when his deliverance has taken place. He has the boldness to speak of this deliverance as if it is a past event, even though he is still in the midst of the trial. David says, “For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes” (v. 7). Looking through the eyes of faith, he sees that he will not, in the final analysis, be delivered because of his own clever strategies or human ingenuity, but by God himself: “For he has delivered me from all my troubles” (v. 7).
This is a great insight for Christians. Because we already know of the final victory of Christ and the final vindication of his church, we have the capacity to look at every difficulty in our life from the perspective of eternity. We can, even in the midst of our trials, look back on it from a future perspective and praise God for his great victory. This is truly a great gift. Even though the kingdom of God has not fully come, we can know through the eyes of faith that he has already secured our victory. Thanks be to God.
For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent
HYMN
Sing Psalm 54 with the Seedbed Psalter today. We suggest the tune ST. ANNE ("O God, Our Help in Ages Past"). You can hear the tune played online by Julie here. If you listen to the podcast audio version, we will sing the psalm in this same tune. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below.
1 Save me, O God, by Your great name,
In might, defend my cause.
2 O hear my prayer, and listen, God,
My mouth upon You calls.
3 For strangers are attacking me,
The ruthless seek my life;
The ones with no regard for God—
They fill my days with strife. Selah
4 God surely is my help, He is
the Lord who strengthens me;
5 In faithfulness, destroy those who
with evil slander me.
6 And I will offer unto You
a sacrifice most free;
I’ll praise Your name, for it is good,
O LORD, You rescue me.
7 For He has saved me from distress,
From all my troubled woes;
My eyes have looked in triumph on
the ruin of my foes.
