Read Psalm 54. 1O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might. 2O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. 4Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. 5He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them. 6With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. 7For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
Yes, this prayer is born out of David’s betrayal by Doeg and the rejection he faced from his own tribesmen, but if we listen closely we can hear this psalm coming from the mouth of our Lord on that great gospel weekend. Just like his father, David, Jesus will turn to God in his disillusionment and desperation. God’s response can’t simply be words; it must be action also. And it was – he has delivered me from every trouble.
Whereas David’s freewill offering, an offering without vow or duty, came AFTER his deliverance, Christ’s freewill offering of his life upon the cross came BEFORE his deliverance. Before triumph. Before vindication. Christ’s freewill offering IS our deliverance, our triumph, our vindication.
To live is Christ allows us to move from despair to freedom on this same path as David with God as our helper, and the Lord Jesus as the upholder of our life, seeing beyond the insolence around us and looking in triumph on our enemies. A triumph in Christ that allows us to overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
You: In what ways have the wicked around you been discouraging you?
You in Christ: Do you see yourself as victorious or as victim? Be honest.
Christ in you: Is there an enemy in your life that you need to do good to today from the power of Christ?
Pray: Father, keep me from discouragement when I see people doing wrong and getting away with it. Help me to trust Christ’s freewill offering as I overcome evil with good. Amen.
To Live is Christ 