Psalm 54

Deeply Rooted Trust

1. Read the entire psalm one time through.
   
   ¹Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might.
   ² Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.
   ³ Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life— men without regard for God. Selah
   ⁴Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
   ⁵Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them.
   ⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, O LORD, for it is good.
   ⁷For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
   


2. Background: David writes this psalm after the Ziphites have told King Saul David's location. Through the entire Psalm, you see a sincere plea for deliverance matched with a confidence that deliverance will occur.



3. Read verse one. Do you see any parallelism? "...by your ______, ...by your _____. " The name and power of God are synonymous. We see here how "His name represents all that God is and what He has done" (Constable). Think of a name of the Lord that you use often. What does that name communicate about God?



4. In verse 2, what does David ask of the Lord?



5. In verse 3-4, David is expressing that the ones who attack him are "ruthless men" who are "without regard for God." Are these other believers? Are these men who desire to do the Lord's will?



6. Read verse 5. On what basis can David ask God to "destroy them?" Refer back to verse 3. Does David's plea for destruction align with the Lord's revealed will? Think about this. David knows that he is anointed as king, and that God's intends to place him on Saul's throne. How does this change your view of his desire for their destruction?



7. David can "expect divine assistance because their hostility was contrary to God's revealed will"(Constable).



8. In verse 7, how do you see David's absolute confidence in the Lord's delivery? Notice the tense of the verbs.
   

Summary: As believers, we can expect to be delivered from circumstances and people that impede upon God's will being carried out in our lives. David trusted in what God had revealed to Him, and this confident trust influenced the way he prayed. Listen to the way you pray today. Does your complete trust in the Lord come out in the way you pray? If not, ask the Lord to give you a deeper confidence and trust in His plans for your life.

"Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

Source: http://www.soniclight.com (Dr. Constable’s notes)