Following up on Sunday’s message in which I referred to Psalms 9 and 10, I want to comment further on the justification for David’s language.
As you remember, on two different occasions David has opportunity to take Saul’s life (1 Samuel 24 and 26). And he has reason to want Saul dead.
Because of Saul, David has been forced to live like a common criminal in the wilderness, leaving behind his extended family and the comforts of home.
Exacerbating this whole situation is David’s love for the Lord as opposed to Saul’s utter disdain for the One who had anointed him as Israel’s first king. Furthermore, David knew, as did Saul, that once Saul was dead, David would be king.
But Saul is still very much alive. He is still God’s anointed ruler. And that’s the point. Saul is the anointed One. The messiah. (The verb “anointed” and the noun “messiah” both come from the same Hebrew root.) Saul is the one chosen by God, anointed by Him, to lead and protect His covenant people.
And therefore, because Saul is God’s anointed, David will not take advantage of his opportunities to kill the man who had on several occasions attempted to kill David. And now, accompanied by a large contingent of his army, Saul hunts for David as if he were some wild animal.
But David will not lift his hand against God’s anointed. David understood that to do so was to lift his hand against the God who had anointed Saul as king of Israel.
Eventually, Saul will be killed in battle, along with his oldest son, Jonathan. David will become ruler of Judah, and eventually king of the twelve tribes.
Many years before, the prophet Samuel had anointed Jesse’s youngest son, David, as Israel’s future king (1 Samuel 16). Now, in God’s time, in God’s way, the moment arrived for David to ascend to the throne.
If you keep in mind David’s attitude toward Saul, you will better understand David’s response to those who dare oppose him, rebel against, or reject his right to rule over them. Many times throughout the Psalms, David, speaking in the first person, seems to be having a temper tantrum as he rants against his enemies and speaks sharply to his God, almost demanding the Lord to do as he asks.
In fact David, praying as God’s anointed, is calling upon the Lord to remember His covenant promises to His covenant people. When David asks the Lord to destroy those who would dare to raise their hand against him, it’s not because David has too high of an opinion of himself, but instead, it’s because David is anointed of the Lord, and to raise one’s hand against David, or against his people, is to raise one’s hand against the Covenant Lord of heaven and earth, who had declared that these are His people, He is their God, and David is His anointed King.
This explains David’s justification for celebrating in Psalms 9 and 10 the destruction of his enemies and also helps us understand (somewhat) the language used by David and others in Psalms 58, 79, 83, 94, 109, and 137.
As you read the Psalms, remember: some of them are the prayers of God’s anointed king, some the prayers of His anointed priest, and some the prayers of His covenant people. They are seldom individualistic. They are almost always covenantal — the prayers of a covenant people to their covenant God, sometimes rejoicing in how He has kept His covenant promises, and at other times, calling upon Him to remember those promises and deliver His people from the hand of their enemies, for the sake of His glory, honor and praise.
If you keep some of these thoughts in mind, I hopeful that they may help you better understand the strength of the language used throughout the Psalter.
Pastor Caines