Strength from Surrender
Seeking clarity from god……
Commentary:
Going through the life of David, as we have been, we see what we might consider a great man. He was a man with great accomplishments. He was a man with great failures. And what we know now is that David was anything but great. If there was any greatness in him, it could only be defined in the fact that David was a man with great sin, and because of that he was in desperate need of God’s mercy and grace. ~BeforeTheFoundationsOfTheEarth~
In this prayer, David perceives life as a difficult journey that can be pursued successfully only with the Lord's guidance. ~BibleRef~
It is the mark of a true saint that his sorrows remind him of his sins, and his sorrow for sin drives him to his God. ~BlueLetterBible~
Verse by verse summary……
S - Scripture
first version nlt, second niv; my thoughts are in italics
1 O Lord, I give my life to you. In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
am i fully committed as i was when i first ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior - david cries out, likely arms wide, in a posture of submission while speaking to our Heavenly Father in surrender.
2 I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
similar to david, when i’m struggling or in trouble, i like to talk out loud - “i trust in you, God” - perhaps more of reassurance of what i know is true even uncertain times.
3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
as crazy as it may sound, this kind of reminds me of hoping whatever was aimed at me or was to cause me harm would come back onto the person or people who wanted to do it to me.
4 Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.
in times of struggle, we should ask Jesus for help and not try to figure things out on our own; basically to put aside any pride and wanting to boast of what we did on our own.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
david knew where true salvation comes from - in The Lord - and continues to place his trust and hope in Him.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
again, another reminder for me to speak of God’s promises - that His mercy is great and love endures from days past and even now.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.
all, if not most, of us have been taught that God doesn’t hold in a ledger your wrongs, past mistakes, sins you’ve committed. in this i feel as david did in asking and pleading that The Lord would forget all that he or i had done - including the pain and hurt caused; then reminding Him of how good He is: being so merciful, offering us His unfailing love, to be remembered by Him.
8 The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
we have the ultimate example in Jesus of learning what is right and also doing what is right; should we stumble along the path of life, He is always there to help us get back on track - how awesome is that!
9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
in humility, not being puffed up and prideful, The Lord is able to show and teach us His ways.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
if we are true in following what The Lord teaches, He shows us His unconditional love - mercy and grace.
11 For the honor of your name, O Lord, forgive my many, many sins. For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
i imagine this cry out to The Lord is because, like david, we want to bring honor not shame and we need to being by asking for forgiveness - which includes genuine repentance.
12 Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose. Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
fear is one of reverence, not of being terrified - though one could make that argument. because He continues to love on us, he guides us to where we need to be.
13 They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land.
in this reverent fear, we can be blessed
14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
if you revere The Lord, he treats you as a friend and teaches you all the things that you will need in life
15 My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.
The Lord sees everything, something we as humans cannot and need his help to see and find the traps of life, all of which we need Him to get us out of
16 Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
we need to call out to Jesus because He and our Heavenly Father knows what we’re going through and can provide the comfort and reassurance we need
17 My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. 18 Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins. Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.
tell God how you are truly feeling, don’t hide anything from our Lord, as He wants to hear it from our hearts, minds, and mouth
19 See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me! 20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
regardless of how much pressure we have from the outside, the world, God is who we need to turn to for help - enemies, problems, circumstances and situations, DO NOT be afraid to cry out to God as He’s not too busy, too tired to listen and support us
21 May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.
our part is to live a life of integrity, being honest and upright - with that ask the Lord to guard and protect our life
22 O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles. Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
the plea isn’t only for ourselves, but all of God’s people