What are our options in the day of trouble? Worry, fear, complaint, anger, run & hide or maybe a combination of all these? We need to do what David did when “a band of ruthless men” were seeking to kill him (14) – plea to God for grace & call upon the Lord our God (6-7). Yes, David hid out in the rocky refuge of Adullam, when King Saul hounded him like an animal (1 Samuel 22:1). That was the least he could do. But the best response he had was to pray. His prayer was bold, direct & specific: “Answer me,” “preserve my life,” “save your servant” (1-2), and “be gracious to me,” “gladden the soul of your servant” (3-4). (See also verse 16.) David asks for help because he is “poor & needy” (1) and “godly” (2). I can readily identify with confessing that I am “poor & needy.” But “godly”?! Yes! IF we understand that designation to mean to be a person who looks to God as his Master for all his needs (That’s what a servant did in those days). To be godly also means you are a person who trusts in God and has the true God as his God and not an idol (2b). David, the godly man, is contrasted with the ruthless hounders who “do not set [God] before them” (14). With David I recognize Yahweh as Lord, i.e., Adonai (Hebrew word), which means sovereign master, the one in charge (3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15). I can also appeal to God on the same basis as David: he is “good & forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon [him] (5) AND “A God merciful & gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love & faithfulness” (15). This is the kind of prayer God’s people need to echo as we deal with the virus pandemic. If we do this, it will help us keep our God-centered focus, which is likely the essence of what it means to be godly. This reminds me of Psalm 32:6-7:
“Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
“You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah” [Think about that.]
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