The name and might of God ㅡ Ps 54 ㅡ

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50102161972

 

>> 1 Save me, O God, by thy name, and vindicate me by thy might. 2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For insolent men have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before them. 4 Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. 5 He will requite my enemies with evil; in thy faithfulness put an end to them. 6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to thee; I will give thanks to thy name, O Lord, for it is good. 7 For thou hast delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. (Ps 54) <<

 

This Psalm 54 is a poem written by David when some of Ziphites went to Saul and said to him that David had come to them and hidden himself among them. A man who has nothing to eat right now seeks God who will feed him. Looking at the birds flying in the air, this man will think of 'God who feeds the birds'. What God could David think of when he wrote this Psalm 54?

 

As you know well, Saul was the first king of Israel; and shortly after this man became a king, he was told by Samuel the prophet that God deserted him and deposed him because he had disobeyed God, and that the kingship would go to another man. Afterward at the command of God, Samuel designated David as king and anointed him. David became Saul's son-in-law and a general of Saul's army upon some occasions, and Saul realized that David had been designated as king by God.

 

Now, what's the way for Saul and his house to live in that situation? He must obey God's will and hand over the throne to David without any resistance, although it could hurt his pride. His house wouldn't have perished if he hadn't thought Samuel's declaration to be 'a political remark of a strange prophet', but had repented his sins deeply, obeyed God, and handed over the throne to David. David was the last man to destroy his father-in-law's family without reason. It could be the second-best for Saul to have David (his son-in-law), a competent man, become a king although his own son couldn't become a king. But Saul once again opposed God's will. Saul persistently persecuted David and tried to kill him. What's the result? His house went to ruin. Some sons of wicked fathers are not wicked. Jonathan, Saul's son, thought that it was God's will for David to become king, so he became David's supporter, died honorably, and king David, his friend, praised him as a righteous man. On the contrary, Saul, Jonathan's father, left his ugly marks here and there in the Bible. David, who was good at writing, left detailed accounts of the injustice he suffered from Saul to the generations to come. Unlike his father Saul, Jonathan knew his place, and became a faithful friend of David who would become a king. This is 'the measure of faith (Rom 12:3)' . And this is 'to lead a life worthy of the calling to which one has been called (Eph 4:1)'. It is a very good attitude to know one's place and to yield (to the will of God) meekly.

 

Thinking of Saul and Jonathan, I am reminded of the vice of the Korean church, namely, the problem of the inheritance of large-sized church. Even if the father-pastor shows some strange religious behavior, his son should not respect his will, damaging the glory of God. All the sons and the fathers who committed the inheritance of church will leave stigmata in the Christian history like Saul. The Bible tells us not to envy the prosperity of the wicked. Let me give you an example. There is a thief. This thief keeps stealing always successfully without being caught. And what a strange blessing(!) to him! Happy event on happy event in his house. His children are healthy, they get good jobs, his wife wins lottery, ... . Now the thief thinks that God does not care about the world, so he steals much bolder, and fills his house with a lot of good things he stole. But my brethren, the mountain of the stolen goods itself is a deadly curse to the thief! If the thief is arrested one day, people will see the pile of the goods he has stolen, and will judge the whole life of the thief. "Oh, what a terrible thief!" The success and prosperity of the wicked is the prosperity of sin, which is absolutely empty success, eternal loss, ruin, and death. That's why the Bible tells us not to envy the prosperity of the wicked. God so works that the wicked achieve vain success. So they dig their own graves. The empty prosperity of the wicked turns into filth that will eventually be thrown into their faces.

 

As large churches began to emerge in Korea, some awakened clergymen and laymen pointed out some problems, saying, "That's a wrong ministry!" When the pastors who had such a wrong philosophy of ministry ignored the criticism and decided to continue the ministry of greed, they stepped in the way of empty prosperity. Great inspiration for sermons flowed like a waterfall into the pastors of such greedy ministry. They worked miracles to heal patients. A lot of people gathered into their churches. So they became pastors of churches with tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of church members. But what was the result? "Look at that greed!"

 

When Saul disobeyed God and persecuted David, a righteous man, with the power of king, his name was defiled and he lost his power. When some pastors of large churches in Korea engaged in greedy ministry, and when some of them gave their churches to their sons, their beautiful name 'God's servant' was changed to 'greedy false pastor', and the respect they should have received was changed to contempt. And all words of God they had preached lost power and the authority of the word of God also, because their sermons became 'religious speeches of false pastors' however plausible they looked. Even non-Christians respect Catholic priests who are not greedy. Ask non-Christians in Korea if they respect pastors of large churches in Korea. You can hardly find those who respect them. It's a shame. Let's keep in mind once again that greed and religion are incompatible with each other! Isn't it the men receiving respect from non-Christians who can preach the gospel to the non-Christians? I'm not criticizing all large churches. There should be some a limit to the size of the church. Ironically indeed, it seems that a church whose size is suitable even in the eyes of non-Christians is a church of suitable size. People of the world seem to think a church to be suitable and healthy if it has members less than one thousand.

 

Saul's power of king approached David like a high mountain. When David fled from Saul who sought his life and hid himself in the village of Ziphites, the Ziphites went secretly to Saul and told him David's hiding place, according to Saul's order, "If any one sees David, report him to me!" David couldn't even breathe on account of Saul himself and his kingship. Therefore David prayed to God, "Save me, O God, by thy name, and vindicate me by thy might. (v. 1)" My brethren, rely on the Lord's name and authority. It is your most reliable and sure support.

 

David is a man who has family and subordinates to take care of. If he dies, hundreds of lives are at stake. David must not die. Some people in the world must die while some must not. David must not die. Saul decided to kill this David. Saul would kill David even though David had said to him, "My king, I'm your loyal servant. I'll never kill you and take your throne," and even though David didn't kill him when he could kill him, thereby showing his true mind. David and Saul became mortal enemies to each other. The game will end only if one of them dies. So David, looking to the name and might of God, prays to God. "The enemies have done evil to me. Revenge me, Lord. Destroy those outlaws according to your faithfulness. Let me see their destruction." Is this a prayer that wishes the misfortune of the enemies? It would be better for Saul, David's enemy, if he was killed by the punishment of God. It is because Saul would only plot to kill David, a righteous man, if Saul continued to live. The longer the life of a wicked man who is determined to do evil, the greater his sin. The end of the life of the wicked is good for the kingdom of God, a grace for the righteous, and good for the wicked himself. David besought Saul to live a good life, but he refused to listen and sought to kill David, therefore David couldn't help but give such a prayer to God. This prayer is a just prayer of David to God, a prayer for the kingdom of God, for David's family and his men, and for David himself who must not die. This prayer is not so much a prayer lacking love that hopes that the enemy would go wrong, as the last just prayer of the righteous.

 

We must not abuse our position and power like Saul. We shouldn't mistake it for our own. Your honor and power ought to be used for the glory of God, for the kingdom of God, and for the weak. If you misuse political power, religious power, and academical power, you'll lose all your honor and power and will ruin, like Saul. David became a good king, and obeyed God and served the people. Even the kings of the neighboring countries acknowledged his power, and many people have remembered his name as a great name for a long time.

 

And we must rely on the name and power of God, our last and righteous Advocate, while living on earth. If you, in your life, rely not on your own power or on others' power but on the name of God and his power like David, you'll overcome all the persecution of the wicked and stand on the top like David. "God is my helper (v. 4)" Hallelujah!

 

May God make you stand on the top.

 

Chong Tack Kim

                                   - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -