1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have made your people see hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger. – Comment: David commences by lamenting the situation that he and the nation are experiencing as he prays! Had God rejected them or was He in the midst of Israel’s problems disciplining them? David is pouring out his heart and feelings to God. A thing which God asks of all of us – be honest with Him! We cannot pull the wool over God’s eyes!
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
5 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us! – A whisper of hope as David remembers that God had still placed a streaming banner over His people. A hope which God had not and does not remove! His promise to them to be their God!
6 God has spoken in his holiness: – For a few verses we are not to hear David’s lament, but God’s version of what is happening!
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my sceptre.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.” – This indicates the extent area-wise of God’s caring for Israel and the reference to a helmet speaks of the military power and the sceptre of God’s rule. Seems as if God has contempt of those surrounding nations who oppose His rule.
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes. – David goes through a period of doubting, pleading and ends up with confidence in God! So often the fear and doubting is mirrored in our lives. We cannot hide those fears and doubts from God, and I don’t believe that He wants us to. The important thing is that we come to a point of assurance that God is God, as David did! Hopefully with maturity and experience in walking with God, the confidence in God will come sooner into our thinking and action!
1 Peter 5: 6-7 – Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Prayer: Thank You Lord that You are trustworthy to the nth degree!
As I read it! 