The Israelites were blocked by the Red Sea. The Egyptian army was hard on their heels.
Then an amazing thing happened. Moses raised his staff, and the seawaters parted, and they crossed over onto dry land, safe from their enemies.
King David, remembering this event many years later, says:
“The Lord satisfies you with good things, and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.”
David is reminding himself of the great salvation that happened in Moses’ time because he needed to be reminded. His life was tumultuous. King Saul became jealous of his military successes and tried to kill him. David had to go into exile and hide like a dog.
Later on, he sinned with Bathsheba. His kingdom became cursed, descending into chaos. Even his beloved son turned on him and raised an army to depose him. This is why there are so many psalms where David begs the Lord to save him from his enemies.
But in Psalm 119, he is reminding himself that God is faithful to those who love Him. “He redeems your life from the grave, and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness.”
How about us? Are there times when we find ourselves in a bit of a pickle?
Sometimes the things that happen to us are not our fault. David did not betray Saul. In fact he went out of his way to spare Saul’s life. Likewise, sometimes we find ourselves in terrible situations in our own lives where we have done nothing wrong.
At times like that, it’s good to listen to the soothing words of King David: “The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all who are oppressed.”
At other times, our own sins catch up with us. We find ourselves in terrible messes, like David with Absalom. And we know we have only ourselves to blame.
At times like that, David speaks intimately to the most secret part of our souls: “He forgives all your sins and heals all your infirmities.”
Yes, we are sinners from the time our mothers conceived us. Yes, we tend to do things we know we should not do and fail to do the things we know we should do.
Life is a long and winding road, and now and then we find ourselves tangled in the brambles and briars. That’s when we need to hear these words from King David the most:
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so is His mercy great upon those who fear Him.”
David led a long and tumultuous life with many ups and downs and far more terrifying situations than most of us ever experience. And yet, in the end he says this: “As a father cares for his children, so does the Lord care for those who fear Him.”
Dear children of the heavenly Father, today let us gather ourselves safely into His bosom, as the old hymn says. Let us set aside the tempests in our lives and let His loving-kindness wash over us and give us peace.
Just like King David of old.
Written by Jay Trott
