Yesterday we read about the LORD anointing a new king – David. A young shepherd would become the most renowned king of the nation. He trusted in the LORD and sought to defend his glory – which is why he stepped forward to fight Goliath. As we saw in 17:45-47, David’s bravery and courage came from his confidence in who God was. And his reason for taking on this intimidating opponent was “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”
We saw David win the favor of Saul and the friendship of Saul’s son, Jonathan. But soon, Saul’s wicked heart would take over and he would become fearful of and hateful towards David.
And again, we see the contrast between the faithful and the unfaithful.
Saul was consumed with his own welfare and security, and he acted on those fears. David was consumed with his love and trust in the LORD, and he acted on those things.
Psalm 11, while not telling us the specific circumstances that David is writing about, fits nicely into our reading today in 1 Samuel. The first three verses of the psalm tell of the crisis that is being faced – and in verse three, he questions what hope can there be for the righteous if the principles of justice and morality (the foundations) are destroyed. Meaning if there is no justice for the righteous – what hope is there? The last verses answer the question. Justice belongs to the LORD who is in his temple, on his throne, and he is in charge.
And that is where David’s hope was in the midst of this crisis. Though in his flesh he was lamenting and questioning – his heart was focused on the goodness and faithfulness of the God whom he served. He knew the answers to his questions could only be found in what he knew to be true about the Lord.
May it be so with us.
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