Help me, O Lord my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, that they may know that this is Your hand — that You, Lord, have done it! (Psalm 109:26-27)

The need and desire for Divine assistance is a recurring theme in David’s writings. In fact many of the psalms are, in some way, a repeat of the previous one — David is in great trouble and he needs God to deliver him. At the same time, there is another recurring theme in the psalms penned by David — the belief that only God can deliver him and his confidence that God will do exactly that. Moreover, in the verses above, David prays that when his deliverance does come, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind — especially his enemies — that the Hand of God has done this. In other words, he wanted his enemies to see that, in their persecution of him, they had actually been warring against a servant of the Lord.

There are numerous examples in Scripture of people, kings and even nations that have persecuted the people of God thinking that they were no different than anyone else. However, they eventually learned they had made a great miscalculation. For example, there is the Pharaoh who refused to release the Hebrews from their slavery and who famously said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). As it turned out, the Lord introduced Himself to Pharaoh, and in the end, he did let Israel go. And as it also turned out, the Egyptians did acknowledge that it was God who delivered Israel. Just before their destruction, they pleaded with Pharaoh, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:25).

In David’s story and in many others, the people of God are compelled to endure hardship, persecution and the threat of annihilation but the Lord, “according to His mercy,” delivers His people. And when He delivers them from the hand of those stronger than they, it is in such way that there can be no doubt that it is the Hand of God at work. By the way, the Scripture foretells that this story will play out again in the last days. The servants of God will cry out for deliverance from their oppressors and He, in dramatic fashion, will intervene on their behalf, put down their enemies and be recognized in the eyes of the entire world as the King of Kings and Lord of all. It will be, as He has declared — “They shall know that I am the LORD!”

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill