You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. (Psalm 71:5-6)
Jewish commentators say that, in order to truly appreciate the sentiment expressed in these words, one must understand the circumstances of David’s youth. According to tradition, from his youngest years David was misunderstood and reviled by his brothers, and some expositors say, even by his father. In fact, there is a belief in Judaism that David was regarded by some of his family members as a mamzer, i.e. illegitimate, and was consequently shunned and scorned. According to some scholars, this is why David lamented, “I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children” (Psalm 69:8).
To a degree, this fraternal disdain for David appears to be validated in Scripture. When David brought food to his brothers just before the encounter with Goliath, his older brother accused him of pride and insolence. David’s response was simply, “What have I done now?” (1 Samuel 17:29). It could be argued that the rejection David experienced mirrored what Messiah had to endure when He was rejected by his brothers and countrymen. If that be so, then we must conclude that this was by God’s design. In some ways, David’s life was a prophecy and a parable meant to portend things to come and to teach us all important principles to live by when we found ourselves in difficult situations.
Consider this: if David was ostracized by family and neighbors, the situation explains why David learned, from an early age, to look to the Almighty for comfort and security rather than from men. As he said, “From my youth, You have been my security. I have relied upon You from birth.” It is sad to think that so many have experienced this level of rejection. It’s one thing to be rejected by strangers but to be regarded as a stranger by one’s own flesh and blood is hard. But it is written, “When my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10). Therefore, may our praise, in concert with David, be continually of the One who will never forsake us but has promised to be with us always, “even to the end of the age.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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