Getting out of the pit of death ㅡ Ps 56 ㅡ

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50102497839

 

>> 1 Be gracious to me, O God, for men trample upon me; all day long foemen oppress me. .... 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust without a fear. What can flesh do to me? .... 8 Thou hast kept count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle! Are they not in thy book? .... 13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, yea, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. (Ps 56) <<

 

In 1 Sam 21, David fled from Saul to Achish the king of Gath in the land of Philistines. But Achish's servants told him to beware of David and said to him that David had achieved such brilliant results in war that Israelites praised him, saying, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." So Achish began to see David with suspicion. David felt threatened and acted as if he had been a madman. Then Achish kicked out David. David saved his life by a narrow margin. After this ordeal, David wrote this psalm 56.

 

You can meet dangers in the days of your life. It may be a dangerous person or a deep trap. Kim Jong-il is called a very dangerous person in Korea these days. But for an individual, some people are much more dangerous than Kim Jong-il. They are pretty(?) lewd women who don't believe in God or just believe in him superficially. When a strong gangster is threatening you with a knife, your body reflexly reacts against the attack. But if a pretty girl, smiling and without any weapons, approaches a man, he usually is disarmed in mind and body and is easily conquered by her when no one is watching them. Of course, formally the man conquered the girl, but in fact he was conquered by her spiritually and mentally. Those who have committed great sins against God will be put to shame of kneeling down to a (weak!) pretty woman sent by the Devil. Robbers or murderers eventually fall into various deep pits and lose all his wealth, honor, and family, and depart the world without nothing, but with tears. Do you want to see those who have fallen into the pits? They are those who are in prison now. Do you want not to fall into the pit of death? Do not sin!

 

Those who believe in God are sometimes warned of impending danger. Before there is a great ordeal for the church, family, or individual that God allows, God beforehand makes the heart of the one concerned prepare for the danger, so that he or it may overcome the tribulation by faith, knowing that the danger was allowed by God, when it really has come. Sometimes, God tells you in advance whom you should be on the alert about. God lets the pastor know the problematic persons haughty and eccentric in advance lest there should be any friction between him and them while he is ministering. You'll have to move to other church if you ignore that kind of God's warning and fight with such persons. This is a big loss to the pastor and to the church as well. You should teach and deal with such persons with a stern attitude as to the essential matters of Christianity, but you'd better not have an argument with them as to all the unessential matters. Sometimes, before you meet for the first time a man of heresy, God gives you a strong suggestion that you will meet a wicked man. You must firmly reject spiritual fellowship with such a man.

 

A man who committed a grave sin falls into the deep pit of death by God's punishment, so you must not commit sins if you don't want to be cast into a deep pit of death. And you must always inquire of God in order not to fall into the pit. One day, David went into a village in Israel, and he asked God, "My God, the people of this village deliver me up to Saul?" God answered, "They will hand you over to Saul." So David got out of the village and escaped danger. If you are facing important decisions or plans, you must avoid a debauched life and lewd thoughts, or places that should be avoided, must not neglect the worship of God or prayer to God, and must not sing worldly songs instead of Christians songs. If you fill your eyes, ears, and mouth with such worldly things, your mind becomes distracted and confused, so that you can't perceive the warnings or the counsel of the Holy Spirit. If you always hope in God (Ps 42:5), wait for his answer and teaching, and above all, fill your heart with love for God, keep praying and singing praises of God, and inquire of him about his will concerning your plan, he will certainly let you know the future danger you may face, and warn the danger.

 

David inevitably escaped rapidly from Saul to Achish, the king of the Philistines. He had no other choices. Like this, sometimes we may, inadvertently or irresistibly, fall into a deep pit of death. This situation is so serious that you have to cry out, "Oh, I'm going mad!" David acted like a madman, making his spittle run down his beard before Achish. "Oh, it's driving me crazy!" These days, there are many people who exclaim like that. Prayer is the best way for you then. "Be gracious to me, O God (v. 1). When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee (v. 3). Put thou my tears in thy bottle (v. 8)!" And it strengthens us and pleases God, to confess our faith in the faithful God. "In God I trust without a fear. What can flesh do to me? (v. 4)" This passage means that we do not fear anything such as human spears and swords when we think of the faithful God, the great God, the powerful God. So David praises God by faith. "In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, ... (v. 10)" If we keep our faith in such a deep pit and ask God for help, God answers our prayers soon.

 

God is One who moves human heart. King Achish regarded David as a worthless man. He said to his servants, "Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house? (1 Sam 21:15)" If Achish had been a little wiser, he could have perceived that David pretended to be crazy. And had he killed David then, he could have removed beforehand his enemy David who would destroy Philistia later. But Achish thought David to be a worthless man. God can move the heart of king, of the president, even of the wicked, of the judges, of the husband, and of the wife; however, on this condition, that you and God are of one mind, or belong to one and the same party. "This I know, that God is for me. (v. 9)"

 

My beloved brethren, sometimes it benefits us when others see us as worthless people. The Scripture says, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. (Ps 118:22)" Don't be so heartbroken even though you've been rejected by a beautiful woman (or by a very handsome man, if you're a woman) who makes you so ecstatic and makes you out of your mind when you see her. Even if a prestigious university throws you away like a worthless stone, do not stop eating or be so sad. Even if the boss for whom you have worked so hard and so long calls you 'a crazy man' and fires you, that is, even if your life in the world betrays you, do not be so sad. It is God's special ability, to pick up abandoned stones and build great buildings with them. Had David not regarded as an insane man by Achish, he would have lived as a servant of a heathen king until death. However, when he was expelled as a madman, what was waiting for him was the throne of the great king of Israel, a nation of God, and the forefather of Jesus, the Savior of all human beings, according to flesh. Hallelujah! Achish refused him for a useless stone, but God took him and used him for the important cornerstone of the salvation of all humans. High priests and scribes declared Jesus to be a blasphemer and delivered him up to the gentiles for crucifixion, but God made him the head (the foundation stone) of the church.

 

We must not think a man like a cornerstone to be a worthless stone and throw him away. You may usually make such a mistake if you judge a man by appearance, and make rash decisions on personnel matters without praying. It is not good to give up a man just because he has made a mistake once or twice. Every one has some possibility of improvement and development. Humans grow well and become good cornerstones in the soil of education, guidance, forgiveness, and tolerance.

 

On the other hand, we should not be cherished by the wicked. A man in the Scripture says, "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness (even in the palace of a wicked one). (Ps 84:10)" Your life is worthless, however high your position is in the religion that serves an idol, and however well you are living under the grace of the leader of a heretic sect. We must prefer the glory God gives to the glory the world gives.

 

And we shouldn't put others into a pit and harass them. If you dig a pit for others, you will surely yourself fall into the pit; so you must not do such a stupid thing. In particular, God will surely punish those who destroy others' families by usury. (May all punishments and curses in the Scripture be upon those who increase their wealth by high interest rates over 30% per annum, making the poor people poorer! Amen!) On the contrary, we must, if possible, rescue those who have fallen into deep pits. The Bible commands us to help others when we can afford to help others. It's not easy, but a greater blessing will come upon him who does it. When the vessel is clean, the blessing of God is poured into it; if the vessel is large, a great blessing can be poured into it. The more we help others, the larger the vessel of the blessing of God becomes.

 

I pray that God's help may come quickly to you who are in a deep pit.

 

Chong Tack Kim

                           - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -