Living Interactively with God

Psalms 17

Jim Davis

Salvation’s story is interactive. God invites us to become a living part of His-story. God seeks to become the God of our salvation as he draws us into his ongoing work. We are invited to share in the lives of the biblical characters as we learn valuable lessons from their lives. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses inviting us to become part of God’s story (Hebrews 11:1-12:3). The Hebrew writer says “The word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). When we allow God’s word to come alive in our hearts we become a participant and not just an observer. 

As I read Psalms 17 I realize the psalmist idea of salvation is about how God fits into his ongoing struggles. We see the psalmist’s interaction with God. He is expecting God to act. He believes God is a participant in his struggles. 

Psalms 17:1-10
17:1 A prayer of David.

Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer — 
it does not rise from deceitful lips. 
2 May my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right. 

3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. 
4 As for the deeds of men — 
by the word of your lips 
I have kept myself 
from the ways of the violent. 
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped. 

6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer. 
7 Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand 
those who take refuge in you from their foes. 
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings 
9 from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me. 

10 They close up their callous hearts
and their mouths speak with arrogance. 
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. 
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover. 

13 Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword. 
14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,
from men of this world whose reward is in this life.

You still the hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children. 
15 And I — in righteousness I will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. NIV

Salvation Is about God’s Interaction

David enters into every battle focusing clearly on what God has done and is about to do for him. He strove to see his battles from God’s perspective. He seeks to understand God’s activity in every struggle. 

When David was about to enter into battle with Goliath he says: 

1 Samuel 17:34-37
34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." NIV

David’s battles are not just personal battles. He understands that he is caught up in a battle between heaven and earth (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). He seeks to understand his battles from God’s perspective. David interacts with God. God was as much a part of his life while he was at work tending the sheep as he was in his personal battle with Goliath. 

1 Samuel 17:45-47
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." NIV

David never enters his battles alone—he takes God with him. In psalms 17 the psalmist petitions God to intervene. He makes his petition with such boldness. 

Psalms 17:1-5
Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer — 
it does not rise from deceitful lips. 
2 May my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right. 

3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. 
4 As for the deeds of men — 
by the word of your lips 
I have kept myself 
from the ways of the violent. 
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped. 

David approaches God with such assurance. His transparence is astounding.  He knows that God tries all hearts. David knows full well what it is to have God examine one’s heart. God searches his heart in the night. God sees every motive of David through the darkest of nights. David knows nothing is hidden from God.

Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. NIV

The beauty of the psalms is that we see firsthand what it is like to invite God into our daily struggles as an active participant. David experiences the penetrating effect of God’s living word in his struggles. David’s plea is not coming from a heart that has never sinned. He is not coming to God because he believes his sanctification hides his sins from God’s face. His boldness comes from a heart that understands forgiveness and mercy as well as the pain of God’s discipline. It comes knowing God is a part of his ongoing struggles. God has intervened in David’s life numerous times as David’s judge and executioner. There are times when David is the one being judged and punished. God’s judgment keeps David on the right path despite his failures. This is salvation—knowing God is actively working in our hearts and in our world to accomplish his will in both. Believe me it is both rewarding and at times very painful.

Allowing God’s Law to Guide 

David enters into an interactive relationship with God as he seeks to live righteously. God’s law is about allowing God into our lives to guide and discipline our lives. As David comes to God in Psalms 17, he is concerned about how to deal with his enemies in accordance with the law. The law requires him to love his enemies. He seeks God’s intervention because it is not an easy task. In the midst of it all God is searching David’s heart in the night. 

Psalms 17:3-5
3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin. 
4 As for the deeds of men — 
by the word of your lips 
I have kept myself 
from the ways of the violent. 
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped. 

It is true that legalism cannot save us, but God’s law keeps David on the right path. David is sanctified through the grace of God. God has cleansed him and made him holy through mercy and forgiveness. Yet, he knows God’s mercy and forgiveness does not give him a license to do as he pleases. He knows there are consequences for breaking God’s law. He knows what it is to come under the judgment of God’s law. God’s law crushes his heart in his adulterous affair with Bathsheba.

Psalms 51:6-9
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 
9 Hide your face from my sins 
and blot out all my iniquity. NIV

David knows mercy and forgiveness firsthand. He also knows what it is to reap what you sow. He knows mercy and forgiveness will not negate the consequences of breaking God’s law. As David seeks God’s intervention he is very concerned about doing the right thing himself—especially toward his enemies. He is concerned about following God’s commands concerning how to treat his enemies.

I have learned one thing about my enemies. I need to be very careful how I treat those I consider to be my enemies for God has a way of bringing my actions back upon my head. I do not have to like my enemies. I do have to love them. Love is simply seeking another person’s highest good. I may not be able to maintain good emotional feelings toward them. I must do what is right while dealing with them. I am obligated to seek their highest good. I shouldn’t gloat over my enemies’ difficulties. If I do so, I may find myself experiencing the same troubles. It is one thing to have God deliver your enemies into your hands and quite another to seek to destroy your enemy by your own hand. After all, while we were enemies of God, Christ died for us.

This is the purpose of redemption. Until we master this attitude toward or enemies our world will never be a better place to live. The purpose of the law is to direct our hearts to this end with the aid of God’s Holy Spirit. This kind of living will allow God’s glory and goodness shine through us despite our troubles. It is no accident that David is called a man after Gods own heart (Acts 13:22).

The law does not eradicate God’s grace. Christ sacrifice saves us from the law’s condemnation but forgiveness and grace does not erase our need to obey God’s law. The law teaches how to live graceful lives. If we live in grace we must extend that grace to others. 

Too often the Christianity of our day seeks to disparage the law of God as we dwell on grace and forgiveness. Yet, spiritual laws are comparable to the laws of physics that govern our world. Kim Fiedler Marauszwski wrote, “It's the word "law" itself that garners bad press when people become mired in the minutia of religious legalism. If you think of it more like the laws of physics, it's just how things operate within God's kingdom.” 

Seeking to defy the law of gravity as you jump off a six story building has consequences. So it is when we defy the spiritual laws within the kingdom of God. Although Christ saves, there is a sense in which God’s law judges us as the law allows us to reap what we sow. 

There are consequences to breaking the laws of our natural world as well as breaking God’s moral law. Just read the decline of God’s creation in the first six chapters of Genesis. These six chapters give us a thumb nail sketch of what happens when our world defies the laws of creation. The kingdom of God is about obeying these laws. 

The Old Testament record of salvation history reveals God’s supernatural order. To live in the kingdom of God we must understand the laws of the kingdom. We must understand there will be repercussions to breaking these laws. We will reap what we sow. 

The law brings condemnation—forgiveness does not erase the consequences of breaking the law. This is why we must accept God as the God of our salvation. Only God can salvage our failures as we allow him to discipline us through them. It is why we need God to step in and salvage the messes we make in our lives. It is why we proclaim him as the God of our salvation.

Participating in God’s Divine Nature

The positive aspect of the law of God is about how to live differently in a world engulfed in darkness. The law teaches us how to become the light of the world. The law teaches us how to live productive lives. The law teaches us how to love our neighbor as ourselves, even if he/she is our enemy. This is the summation of the law of God (Romans 13:8-10). The law cannot justify us. Only Christ can justify. The law cannot save us. Christ saves. However, the law can guide us.

It is the law that gives rise to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ teaching is the very heart and core of what the law is all about. He meant it when he said heaven and earth shall pass away, but the law would remain.

Matthew 5:17-20
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. NIV

The intent of the law is to call us to live graceful lives for God’s glory and goodness. It is the only way we can truly enter into an interactive relationship with God through Christ. Salvation calls for a life time of repentance toward God as we live in his grace. The law actually teaches us how to live graceful lives. We will never understand God’s grace until we learn to live gracefully.

2 Peter 1:3-11
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 

10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. NIV

Jesus spent his time defining the nature of his kingdom the very essence of Christianity. He spent his time revealing in a very practical down to earth manner what we must become individually for the purpose of salvaging a lost world. We are to become the light in a dark world as we take upon ourselves the very nature of God.

I am convinced the only way you can come to a point where you delight in meditating upon God’s law is by learning how practical and powerful it is as you seek to live it. 
The gospel truly is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God’s power has given us everything we need through our knowledge of God. When we seek to live God’s law the gospel of Christ becomes the medium through which God exerts his power in our lives as he brings his word to life in us. This is the power that salvages what is left of our lives on planet earth. When our meditation and prayers are directed to this end God’s power overcomes our circumstances. He makes the mountains low and valleys high leveling a way through our circumstances (Isaiah 40:3-5). 

Engaging ourselves in the knowledge of God enables us to live productive lives. This is so because it places God at the very center of our lives. God made promises to Abraham when he called him to follow him. God promised Abraham that he would bless those who blessed him, curse those who cursed him and that he would make Abraham a blessing to all mankind (Genesis 12:1-4). When we declare our faith in the promises of God through Christ we inherit all the blessings God promised to Abraham.

Galatians 3:26-29
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. NIV

God’s promises to Abraham remind us that we are under the protection of the grace of God in difficult situations. We are reminded of God’s interaction in our lives. This is the key to our survival. It was the key to David’s survival.

Psalms 7:6-13
6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice. 
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high; 
8 let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High. 
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked 
and make the righteous secure. 

10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart. 
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day. 
12 If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow. 
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows. NIV

Conclusion:

What do you do when you are waiting upon God to act? You participate in the ongoing work of God. We invite God to participate in our lives as we strive to become productive citizens of the kingdom of God through our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We allow the unalterable laws of God’s kingdom to guide our lives.  

It takes patience and perseverance. In psalms 13 negative thoughts run through David’s mind as he waits upon God to act. His waiting has led him to think negative thoughts as he pleads for God’s help. He begins to wonder if God has forgotten him. Yet—the psalm concludes with a declaration of David’s trust in God. 

Psalms 13:1-2
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me? 
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts 
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation. 
6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me. NIV

Salvation is not a mystery. Salvation is simply about trusting God to actively participate in our lives. We have a supernatural God who intervenes in our lives in a natural down to earth way. Just look at the life and ministry of Jesus. This is God.