Others May Fail. God Won’t. Bank on it.

David is one of my favorite Bible characters. I’ve kept a close eye on him lately because I plan to teach ladies in India a character study on David shortly. Why don’t I teach them a character study on a woman from the Bible? Because we don’t know as much about any character as we do David, and it doesn’t matter—man or woman—we can all learn how to navigate life from looking at David’s testimony. In our study today, we see more of what David endured and how he did it. He couldn’t have done it without God. He knew that.

Ps. 119:85  The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.	David continues on with the grief his enemies caused. In his day, they often captured man or beast by digging a pit and covering it with twigs, hoping the intended would fall in. Wicked men use wicked schemes. But we know that God often uses their schemes to catch them. (Think of Haman in Esther.) David knew this fact well. Elsewhere he wrote He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. Psa 7:15
(86)  All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.	David could have focused entirely on the plight his enemies caused, but he was a master at encouraging himself in God, so he coupled thoughts of his unjust treatment with thoughts of God’s faithful commandments. Maybe another way of looking at his prayer in this verse is “Your commandments are faithful, my enemies are not. Help me.” As long as he had this godly focus, he could expect an answer. 1Jn 5:14-15  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  (15)  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
(87)  They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.	This is the sentiment of true godly people. It reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Dan 3:17-18  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  (18)  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Like David, they also determined not to forsake God’s precepts, no matter what happened to them.
(88)  Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.	It’s a breath of fresh air when we, like David, realize we can appeal to God’s lovingkindness. David did it often. That is a whole study in itself. But God commits himself to showing us lovingkindness, which is better than life (Ps. 63:3). Here he appealed to God’s lovingkindness with the promise that it would benefit God, because David would keep God’s testimonies. It’s OK to say, “God, if you don’t come through for me in a special way, I’m going to fall in every way there is to fall.” Watch what God does.