The poet and Nobel prize recipient W. B. Yeats wrote:
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed up
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed,
and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction,
while the worst are full of passionate intensity.
When people become idolatrous, ignoring God’s truth and following their own passions God says that He “gives them over to the sinful desires in their hearts… to shameful lusts… and depraved minds so that they do what ought not be done… envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice… God-haters… inventing ways of doing evil… things that deserve death… and approving of others who practice such evil.” Romans 1:24-32
Yeats was right, such behavior unleashes anarchy on the world.
David describes the same dire circumstances in Psalm 31. David is being pursued by “arrogant” people who “cling to worthless idols.” These people hate God and hate God’s children, and will stop at nothing to see believers destroyed.
They are coming after David. Jesus used the words of Psalm 31 to describe how the false teachers of his day came after him. And faithful Christians today are pursued and silenced as well. In the West, Christians are increasingly marginalized and told to be silent. Faithful Christians may lose friends, social standing or even jobs. In totalitarian societies like North Korea or China, Christians risk losing freedoms. In Islamic societies Christians may lose their children and their lives.
Are Christians in a no-win situation?
When God gives unbelievers and God-haters, over to follow their folly, does God abandon Christians as well?
Psalm 31 gives the answer…
| Psalm 31 For the director of music A Psalm of David | When the Arrogant Pursue |
| 1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. 2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. 4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. 6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the Lord. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. 9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction,[b] and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life. 14 But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and be silent in the realm of the dead. 18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. 19 How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues. 21 Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. 22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. | I. How does David describe his enemies? vs 4: trap vs 6: cling to idols vs 11: contempt vs 13: slander conspire / plot vs 15: pursue vs 18: lying / proud / arrogant vs 20: intrigues vs 21: besiege vs23: proud Have you ever been opposed or plotted against by arrogant people who have no fear of God? II. How does David describe himself? vs 1: shame vs 9: distress / weak with sorrow / in grief vs 12: forgotten as if dead vs 13: in terror vs 22: cut off from God If you have been besieged by such people and circumstances then you know how David felt… weak, fearful, grieving, forgotten, in terror, alone, cut off from God. III. How does David describe God? vs 1: refuge vs 2: rock / fortress vs 3: lead and guide vs 5: truth vs 7: love vs 15: in control vs 16: unfailing vs 19: great and good vs 20: shelter / presence / dwelling / safe vs 21: wonderful But despite your feelings, no matter how bad the attacks, your God of truth and love is your safe shelter and fortress. IV. David’s conclusion: vs 5: Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. vs 15: My times are in your hands. V. David’s Advise to Believers who are facing overwhelming opposition vs 23: Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. vs 24: Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. |
When facing peer pressure, ostracism, or more serious attacks, when denying God might seem like the wise thing to do, given the dire circumstances, remember your creator and his unwavering love and provision for you. You may lose social standing, you may lose friends, you may lose a job, you may lose your life, but none of that can in any way compare to God’s eternal provision for you. That is something that you can never lose. “Whatever resistance we see today offered by almost all the world to the progress of the truth, we must not doubt that our Lord will come at last to break through all the undertakings of men and make a passage for his Word. Let us hope boldly, then, more than we can understand; He will surpass our opinion and our hope.” John Calvin
Return to “The Psalms”