{Disclaimer: these are my rough teaching notes I use in my Mishkan Katan weekly broadcasts. There will be "typos". Proceed at your own risk, lol.You can find all my Mishkan Katan video teachings on my YouTube channel: genahood2818 . Look on the playlist called Messianic LAMB TV Network.}
Boker Tov! As I am writing this lesson, I am sitting up in the TN mountains, where friends and family have come to spend a few days. The snow is coming down. I was born and raised in the Deep South. So, anytime we get to see snow, it is a celebration.
This morning, as we continue our Psalms study, session XXVII in the series, we will be looking at Psalm 56, to begin. This is another of the Davidic psalms, and like others we have studied, there was at least one specific incident in David’s life, which inspired the writing of the psalm. This psalm has quite a lengthy superscription, the introduction to the psalm, which in most translations appears between the psalm’s title/number and the first actual verse. Turn with me to psalm 56, if you are not there already, and let’s look at this superscription.
For the director of music, the leader. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath. 0) For the leader. Set to “The Silent Dove in the Distance.” By David; a mikhtam, when the P’lishtim captured him in Gat:
Like many other psalms, the words are directed to the director of music, the conductor/leader of the Levitical choir. A specific tune or melody is then mentioned, “A Dove on Distant Oaks”, or as another translation put is “The Silent Dove in the Distance”. Doves are mentioned in both psalms 55 and 56, interestingly enough. (Do you remember “wings of a dove” from last week’s teaching?) David calls this psalm a “mikhtam”. We have likewise looked at this style of poetry before, as it appears in six of the psalms, the first being Psalm 16. The other five appearances of the word are in psalms 56-60. And, to refresh your memory, no one is precisely sure what the word mikhtam means. The translators just spelled it phonetically and called it a day. However, it is closely related to a Hebrew word “Katham”, which means an engraving, which could indicate that the psalm should be engraved on tablets for prosperity. Another idea is that it means “golden”, as in - - “precious, valuable, a golden poem, worth its weight in gold”. David is indicating that this writing is to be cherished, treasured and to be carried down through generations. He must have thought quite highly of this work of his. Others believe michtam is a technical musical term, to instruct the musicians how to perform the psalm/song. And then, finally, David indicates that he wrote this psalm after he had been captured by the P’lishtim in Gath/Gat.
That’s a lot more information than we are usually given to “set” a psalm, isn’t it? That in itself should tell you that this psalm is special.
What specific incident in David’s life could this psalm have been referring to? Well, it is an incident we looked at in our study of previous psalms, specifically Psalms 34 and 52. In Psalm 34, David was celebrating his deliverance and miraculous escape from the Philistines; and, in Psalm 52, we looked at this incident in between David’s time at Nob and his fleeing to the cave at Adullam. However, in this psalm, psalm 56, David is focusing on the extreme, overwhelming fear he felt when he was a captive of King Achish of Gath, and his Philistines, the FIRST time he fled into that territory, as recorded in 1 Samuel 21. In Psalm 55:7, he was wishing he had wings of a dove, to fly away, and in Psalm 56, it appears he did “sprout wings” and fly to Gath! Unfortunately, he did not find rest there, however. David has four touchstones in his life, concerning the Philistine city of Gath.
The first of these concerns Gath being the hometown of the famous giant, Goliath. This is recorded in 1 Samuel 17.
The second interaction with Gath is the story that inspired Psalm 56.
The third such touchstone is found in 1 Samuel 27, where we find that David fled to the realm of King Achish AGAIN, this time with 600 men in tow, and proposed to make an alliance with him. At that time, he stayed there several months, slaying Philistines under the guise of slaying Israelites. That stay in Gath ended when Hashem provided David yet another miraculous escape! Another story for another day…
And, then the fourth episode with Gath is recorded in 1 Chronicles 18, where David captures the city after he has taken possession of the throne of Israel and received the Davidic Covenant.
This psalm has two main themes. The first is understated, but it underlies the entire scope of the situation. The first theme is that David should not have gone to find help in the land of the Philistines in the first place. In so doing, in leaving the land of Israel, he left the will of God. He was trusting that the Gentiles would give him the safe haven that so tragically he was denied among his own people. Instead, he found himself as helpless as a dove caught in a trap, a dove whose song was silenced by fear.
The second theme is one I mentioned briefly earlier, and that is how to deal with overpowering fear, in the face of the most dire of circumstances. We’ll explore those themes in more detail after we work through the psalm. Let’s begin reading in verse 1.
(1) Show me favor, God;
for people are trampling me down —
all day they fight and press on me.
(2) Those who are lying in wait for me
would trample on me all day.
For those fighting against me are many,
Most High,
The attacks on David were coming from all directions and were relentless.
(3) when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
Simple and powerful, the childlike faith that conquers fear.
(4) In God — I praise his word —
in God I trust; I have no fear;
what can human power do to me?
The sages say David kept coming back to Hashem’s promise to him, through the prophet Samuel, that he would one day be king of Israel. No matter his circumstances, David hung on to that precious promise. That promise sustained him. His faith in the unshakeable word of God caused David’s faith to remain unshaken.
(5) All day long they twist my words;
their only thought is to harm me.
(6) They gather together and hide themselves,
spying on my movements, hoping to kill me.
Especially when emotions run high in human interactions, words get twisted. The meaning the speaker tried to convey was taken by the hearer and re-shaped into something the speaker did not intend. This has happened to most of us. This kind of word twisting is never benevolent or kind or beneficial to the one who spoke the words. Instead, the intent of the hearer is to distort the words with the intent to harm the speaker.
When I prepared this lesson, I read on Facebook a post by Hillel Fuld, an Israeli Orthodox Jew, who is also a journalist. In his post, Hillel related a story where a malevolent person took some of Hillel’s written words and twisted them in an effort to blackmail him. It was a horrifying thing to read about. The evildoer, and that is not too strong a word, was attempting to use Hillel’s words to ruin him entirely. The incident happened a few months ago, and he was just now able to talk about it. The incident was very much like these two verses. First, the enemy of Hillel and of Israel laid in wait, watching, spying, waiting for just the right situation to twist and pervert. Then, once the targeted words had been “gathered”, the twisting began. Fortunately, in Hillel’s case, the situation was resolved with out deadly slander or physical death. There’s more than one way to “kill” someone. Awful!
(7) Because of their crime, they cannot escape;
in anger, God, strike down the peoples.
(8) You have kept count of my wanderings;
store my tears in your water-skin —
aren’t they already recorded in your book?
These verses are such a comfort to me! I am so thankful to serve Hashem, who knows the very number of the hairs on my head. Nothing escapes his notice. And, how amazing He counts even my many tears, my sorrows, collecting (figuratively) all of my tears and moans and groans in his water bottle! The sages say, in Bava Matzia 59a: “Even when all the gates of heaven are locked, the Gate of Tears is never shut.” The sages go on to say that the tears of the righteous will become the invigorating, fresh dew that will be used by Hashem to revive the dead on the day of the Resurrection. Be that as it may… He records in his books, his ledgers, in his record, every minute detail of my life. I am not insignificant, and neither are you! Neither is my pain insignificant or wasted. It all has meaning and purpose, for His glory, for the advancement of His kingdom.
(9) Then my enemies will turn back
on the day when I call;
this I know: that God is for me.
What a bold statement! “This I know: that God is for me.” Can we say that today? The apostle Paul reiterated this when he said, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Implied in that question is the assumption, the bedrock tenet of faith that says, “God is for His beloved, for the Bride of His Son.” That is we, Family of Faith, Children of the King, Bride of Messiah. He is FOR us.
(10) In God — I praise his word —
in Adonai — I praise his word —
This verse contains two of Hashem’s descriptive names, which evoke two of His magnificent characteristics. (All His characteristics are entirely holy and just, but David is highlighting here these two.) IF you do not know the meanings behind the various names of Hashem in Scripture, you might miss this. The first name, translated in the CJB as “God” is the Tetragrammaton, the name which the ancient sages interpreted as “God the Righteous Judge”, take name that evokes His strict justice. The second name, translated as “Adonai” in the CJB, emphasizes God’s mercy and kindness. So, the fuller meaning here is something like this: “when God is disciplining me by allowing me to undergo fiery trials and hard times, I praise His word. And, when He is merciful to give me less troubled waters in my life, I will praise His word.” In “good times” and “bad”, that is. The sages of the Mishnah wrote and taught this, and according to Rev Samuel bar Nachmani, the obligation to praise the name of the Lord at all seasons of life is derived from this verse.
(11) in God I trust; I have no fear;
what can mere humans do to me?
This question, asked very similarly in verse 4, reminds me of the admonition by Yeshua which is recorded in Matthew 10:28 (TAW) - - “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear Him more who is able to destroy the soul and the body in the fiery hell.” The two verses, 4 and 11, however, use two different words that are both translated “humans” in each case. In verse 4, the word “basar” is used, which is better translated “flesh”. Here, in verse 11, the word “adam” is used, which is better translated “person”. Some of the commentators say that these are synonymous. However, others say, and I agree, that they have different meanings. In the case of verse 4, “flesh” is a derogatory reference to David’s heathen enemies, whereas, “adam” is a more honorable reference, reserved for David’s Jewish brethren. It’s an interesting distinction.
(12) God, I have made vows to you;
I will fulfill them with thank offerings to you.
This translation is a bit misleading. A better translation of the original Hebrew is this: “Upon me, O Elohim, are your vows.” In other word, Elohim (God) has placed His vows upon David. What vows? The commentator, Alsich, maintains that these are the vows of the Davidic covenant and that David is here vowing, in reciprocation, to fulfill those vows, that covenant, in his life. Part of that is in not only making offerings of thanksgiving periodically on the altar of the Tabernacle, but routinely on the altar of his heart. We can learn from this that this is how we should respond to the great salvation and grace of HaShem, which has been given to us. We should respond accordingly.
Why should we do this, live like this, as did David? We are told in the final, triumphant verse of this psalm.
(13) For you rescued me from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling,
so that I can walk in God’s presence,
in the light of life.
This verse has multiple levels. Yes, David was delivered miraculously from physical death at the hands of Achish on at least two occasions. He was delivered from physical death at the hands of Saul on multiple occasions. Through the power of God’s Ruach/Spirit, David was granted eternal salvation as well, because God chose him and David trusted in Him. Those of us who come to Hashem through Yeshua, who trust in Him and belong to Yeshua have been rescued from eternal death as well, hallelujah! Meanwhile, not only will we not “stumble” or fall into the fires of Hell at the judgment, He likewise keeps our feet from spiritual stumbling as we walk with Him in our earthly life. We can walk “in the light of life”, rather than stumbling around like blind men, who walk in spiritual darkness. The sages say the phrase “the light of life” refers to the day when we will walk with God’s literal presence in the olam haba, the world to come, the restored “Eden”, heaven on earth, so to speak. This is the place spoken of in Revelation 21:1-3.
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,[a] for the old heaven and the old earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer there. 2 Also I saw the holy city, New Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See! God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he himself, God-with-them, will be their God.
The Jewish sages say this is the most sublime reward to which a person can aspire. As believers in Yeshua, we echo this belief, broadening it to include our Mashiach, whom we long to see panim el panim, Hebrew for “faces to faces”.
Allright, I’d like to spend our remaining time together this morning exploring the major theme of this psalm, which is trusting in God in the face of overwhelming fear.
What is the greatest fear? Try to answer that in your own mind.
Just last night, I was having a conversation with am 18-year-old about flying in an airplane. She absolutely refuses to do it. She will take a 12-hour car ride to Minnesota, and not feel fear at all, even though most likely the chances of her having a serious accident are far greater in the car. She has an extreme fear of flying in a plane. But, bad as that is, as limiting as that is to experiencing life, that is not the greatest fear, is it?
A few years ago, I encountered a bear “in the wild”. Was I fearful? No….because I was in a car at the time. But, if you encountered a wildcat or a bear or a poisonous snake, in very close proximity, unprotected, that would engender fear, would it not? The greatest fear, though? Nope.
What about getting that bad medical news, about yourself or your family member? Maybe it contains a phrase similar to “six weeks to live”, “mere days to live”….I’ve gotten that message in regards to a loved one. Fear of losing someone so very loved by me? It’s awful. It’s hideous. The greatest fear, though? Nope.
What or whom do you fear? Here are some additional common fears which, if not viewed in the truth of Scripture's promises, can incapacitate a person.
Fear of Failure (not walking worthy of one's calling in Mashiach, not being able to provide for one's family, etc.)
Fear of Interacting with Others (Rejection)
Fear of Attack from Evil People
Fear that Loved Ones are eternally, spiritually lost
Fear of Death
The greatest fear is of being unloved, either in the now and now, or especially at the point of death. Yes, people who are afraid to die are afraid because of the pain involved, but mostly they are afraid of what will come thereafter. Will God love me? Does He love me? Will He accept me into Heaven?
Why do you think the children’s song “Jesus Loves Me” has been sung in most of the languages of the world. “Amazing Grace” is another, similar song. Both express the truth that God is love and that He wants a relationship with each of us. The greatest fear is that we will be unaccepted, or that, somehow, the love of God will fail us in our moment of direst need.
The number one thing I am most thankful for in my life is that I am loved by God. Number one. And, because I am loved by Him, I have the antidote to crippling fear. David did too.
What did David say here in this psalm. Glance back over those and find the antidote verbs. Here they are:
Trust (vs. 3), praise (vs. 4 and 10), proclaim (vs. 9), fulfill (vs. 12), walk (vs. 13). Do you see the beautiful progression here? We trust Him in all situations. We praise Him, in every circumstance. We proclaim to an unbelieving world and also to the believing world the magnificence of our God. We fulfill our vows to Him, because He has made covenant with us. We walk with Him, as we live out our lives.
David’s son, Solomon, “got it”. Look at what he says similarly in Proverbs 3:21-26.
21My child, do not let them escape from your sight;
safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.
22So they will give life to you,
and grace to adorn your neck.
23Then you will walk on your way with security,
and you will not stumble.
24When you lie down you will not be filled with fear;
when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant.
25You will not be afraid of sudden disaster,
or when destruction overtakes the wicked;
26for the Lord will be the source of your confidence,
and he will guard your foot from being caught in a trap.
Sounds easy, but it’s not. Don’t you wish sometimes you could just take a “worry pill”, like you might take an antacid? Worry is the extension of fear. Worry is what we do when we feel Iike we have “lost control”. (Hint: we never were in control in the first place, because that God’s job, not ours.) People called by their friends “control freaks” are also usually “worry warts”. This is all based in fear and anxiety.
And, as children of our Heavenly Father, we simply MUST grab hold of the Ruach HaKodesh about this, because otherwise the enemy of our souls will use it to render us incapacitated on the battlefield, in the battle of darkness against light.
When I was young I was anxious for little. Basically, I "had it made". My family was wonderful. My health was fabulous. The "world was my oyster", as the saying goes. I could not figure out why my mother complained about "her nerves", which she did frequently.
Then, at age 16, the first hammer fell. My parents ran into some hardships and separated from each other. (Years later, they reunited, I’m happy to say.) And, over the years, more challenges have arisen. I have had my share of lying awake at night, unable to sleep. Or, waking up in the night and not being able to return to sleep. Some of the instigators of that condition have been caffeine. But, more often, the causal factor has been worry, the state of abiding in fear.
Some of us visit fear from time to time. It can be a healthy, life-preserving reaction to danger. The last time I felt this was a couple of years ago. I was driving, and was stopped on a two-lane road behind some cars, the front-most of which was waiting to turn left, across oncoming traffic. I glanced into my rearview mirror to discover to my horror that a truck was bearing down on me. Instinctively, and by the grace of God, I swerved my car over to the right, into the shoulder of the road, so as to get out of his way. Fortunately, this distracted driver was alerted by my sudden maneuver. He did not have room to stop, but it did cause him to swerve around the stopped cars on the other side. Thanks be to God the car turning left did not turn in front of him and also that there was no oncoming traffic to collide with him. My fear was so intense that, while it likely saved me from serious injury as well as several others, it made me physically ill. When I got to my destination, less than a mile away, I had to sit in the car a few minutes to just recover. So, our Heavenly Father gave us the “flight or fight” fear instinct for our survival. However, this type of visiting with fear is not what we are talking about here. I’m referring here to when those of us camp out with fear, making our permanent abode in Worry Town.
Regardless of your entanglements with fear and worry, Paul gives us his antidote in Philippians 4:6-7 (NET). Turn there with me for a moment if you will.
6Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 7And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
My friend, Donna, has a little dog named Parker. He is cute as a button. I had the chance to visit her in Vancouver, BC, years ago, shortly after she had welcomed him into her family. So, I got to observe her training him, specifically, training him not to chew inappropriate objects. This is what she would do. When he'd start to chew something inappropriate, she would stop him by saying, "Not this....THIS!" And, she'd give him a chew toy. She facilitated an "Instead...".
Paul's "Instead" in verse 6 is pivotal. In order to replace a worrisome habit (pun intended...I do love me some puns!), in this case the habit of worrying, you absolutely MUST replace it with something else. Otherwise, you will remain stuck in Worry Town.
With what does Paul say to replace worry and anxiety? Prayer: prayers of thanksgiving and also prayers of petition (supplication, "gimme" prayers).
Let’s do a very brief recap on prayer. There are prayers of petition/supplication (gimme), which is how most people pray most of the time. There are prayers of intercession (gimme for someone else's need). There are prayers of thanksgiving and confession and adoration. Those are the basic types of prayer. Finally, there are prayers of spiritual command or warfare; they are in a category all their own.
So, back to our verses in Philippians. Here, Paul advocates replacing thoughts of fear and worry with prayers of petition and thanksgiving, although I often run through the other categories too when worry is chasing me.
A pivot is called for. What is a pivot? For the past year, I have been studying dance. Last night, in class, I thought about this application as I watched my instructor execute a pivot. It is a quick, sharp, sudden turn to send you in the opposite direction. By contrast, sometimes we ladies do what is called “underarm turns”. In some dances, these are done in varying degrees of speed, with varying degrees of flouncing around. These are not pivots. Pivots are quick, decisive. Underarm turns are the “la la la la la”, and pivots are the BAM! Spiritually, we do a pivot when we repent. In fact, the word "repent" means to pivot, or to turn and move in the opposite direction. Pivoting is "pivotal" for defeating worry. It is the "worry pill".
What happens when we pivot to prayer, instead of dwelling in Worry Town? Well, God sends us His peace. Notice that He does not send us "understanding". Our prayers may not yield any greater understanding of the situation that is "worrying" us. Trying to understand things which He never intended us to understand is a rabbit trail that diminishes our faith. Seek not to understand; instead, as David did, seek to TRUST. Accepting His peace, which is greater than any human understanding, builds our faith.
That supernatural peace also keeps us from moving from Worry Town to Crazy Town. Worry can drive you slap-dab crazy, if you don't confront it and pivot.
Some pills are only required once a day, others twice or three times a day. This Worry Pill is one that, in certain situations, needs to be taken almost continually. I have a little plaque in my music room. It’s message is “Pray more. Worry less.” Notice that Paul says, "in every situation". This means that all of life's challenging circumstances need to be covered in prayer, usually repeatedly.
Final thoughts:
1. No Shame! There is no shame in praying to replace worry and then falling asleep doing that. There've been times I've felt guilty because I fell asleep praying. Ridiculous! God grants the sleep of peace as an answer to our prayers. So, don't let Satan steal your peace over that false condemnation. Often, people worry most when they are lying in bed at night.
Don't you just love little kids, who can sleep almost anywhere? Their bodies demand rest and, well, they just "konk out", as the expression goes.
The other day I ran across an article that listed the worst medications for ongoing human health. The number one offender was sleep aids, not the occasional use, but the continual use of those in the person's life. Do you find that shocking? I did!
Now, full disclosure: I have never used a sleeping pill. We all have our physical challenges, and that is just not one of mine. Believe me....I have others!
Occasionally, though, I do have trouble getting to sleep; or, I wake up between 3-4 a.m. and can't return to sleep for an hour or two. I was reminded of this recently because I chose to read some psalms before going to bed. I wasn't sleepless, just "hungry". Afterwards, I went right to sleep!
Don't you just love little kids, who can sleep almost anywhere? Their bodies demand rest and, well, they just "konk out", as the expression goes. The other day I ran across an article that listed the worst medications for ongoing human health. The number one offender was sleep aids, not the occasional use, but the continual use of those in the person's life. Do you find that shocking? I did!
Now, full disclosure: I have never used a sleeping pill. We all have our physical challenges, and that is just not one of mine. Believe me....I have others!
Occasionally, though, I do have trouble getting to sleep; or, I wake up between 3-4 a.m. and can't return to sleep for an hour or two. I was reminded of this last night because I chose to read some psalms before going to bed. I wasn't sleepless, just "hungry". Afterwards, I went right to sleep!
There are various other reasons for sleeplessness: physical pain, grief, worry, anger, etc. And, honestly, there are Psalms that are great to help us Christians "re-center" and re-focus our hearts. It would be impossible to mention all of them in one, mere blog post.
But, since this is a personal devotional blog, here are some I read last night or have found helpful recently to help me sleep. I'm not going to reproduce all of the texts here. Take a short tour through these on your own and bookmark those which resonate with you currently.
Psalm 17, particularly verses 1-3 and 15
Psalm 4:8
Psalm 3, particularly verses 3-5
Psalm 121, particularly verses 3-4
Psalm 139, particularly verses 7-12
Psalm 62, particularly verses 5-8
Psalm 116:7
So, these are just a few that you might find a comfort on those late nights. I am a "morning person" and, very tired from a long day tend to see things more bleakly than I do in the morning. Even if you are not "sleepless in (your town)" you may need some encouragement.
My suggestion, if you are plagued by this nocturnal worry, is to build yourself a bank of favorite scriptures that you can read at night before bed. (There are others which are wonderfully comforting but are not in the book of Psalms.) Put them beside your bed and feed your spirit nourishing food before you turn out the lamp.
2. No Shame! There's also no shame in praying over something repeatedly. EVERY TIME you are pounced on by worry, pray. Every.Single.Time. Pray boldly and unashamedly!
3. Take counteractive measures as directed. There are times when, during times of prayer, the Holy Spirit directs us to take appropriate actions to counteract a worrisome situation. Test those according to the Scriptures, and verify that it's the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart. And, then, be obedient to His voice.
Worry Pills: Take as often as needed. ;)
In closing, remember this Antidote to Fear
We love and serve THE One who "holds all things in His hands". If we trust, committing ourselves and our circumstances to God, we can be certain, absolutely certain, that He will:
do what is right
guide us
be with us through every adverse condition
use all of our situations for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom
work things out "for our good" (especially when things seem like crap all around us). (Romans 8:28)
It may not be that He "works things out" the way we'd like, but we can have bedrock, rock-solid trust in His goodness and His sovereignty.
Where is room for fear in that? No room. He, and He alone, is our salvation, our sanctuary, our "safest place".
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