PSALM 69

But as for me, my prayer [is] to You, O LORD, [in] the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation. 14 Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. 15 Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me. 16 Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness [is] good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. 17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. 18 Draw near to my soul, [and] redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies. …

20 Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked [for someone] to take pity, but [there was] none; And for comforters, but I found none. 21 They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

PSALM 69:13-18, 20-21

IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME

Timing is everything. My first hybrid-online class was a lesson in procrastination. I remembered at the last moment that I had an assignment due in just thirty minutes in the online portal for Hebrew class! I rushed to get to a computer, log in and remember as much Hebrew as I could before the clock expired. Sometimes we want to put things off, deadlines loom large, and we wish that the appointed hour wasn’t upon us. But then there are those moments that can’t get here fast enough. I remember being a kid at Christmas trying to pressure my parents into letting us open our gifts early! It seemed like the time between when the present was under the tree and we got to unwrap it took forever.

David knew a thing or two about timing. He was surrounded by his enemies. He had more enemies than he could count. As he figured it, the only way out of his situation was for the Lord to deliver him. Indeed the Lord was on his side, but he had to do the hardest thing which was to wait for the Lord. His timing is perfect. His deliverance happens at the exact right moment, He’s never late, but He is also never early! So David commits his prayer to the Lord and trusts in His timing.

In the meantime, David does more than he possibly knows. By penning his struggles of being chased down by Saul and others, he writes prophecy. While taking poetic license to his own struggles he actually vividly details a few of the details of the crucifixion of Jesus. David was in real trouble and needed a real deliverer, but one day God would bring a greater deliverance from a greater enemy!

God’s timing is everything. It demonstrates that our existence past, what we might call history, is in his hands. We might surmise that if our history is in his hands, then our existence future is also in his hands. Indeed we can trust that God has a purpose for us and is drawing all History to it’s rightful conclusion with Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that will all happen in His time. Not a moment too late or a moment too soon, God is always on time. Now we have to do the hardest part, which is to wait, but like David our waiting can be active praise for God who is always on time.

PRAYER

Father, Thank you that you are always on time. Too often, like a young puppy I want to run ahead of the pack, I want to know the answers before I’ve asked the questions. I’m not comfortable in persecution. I don’t enjoy it when others speak ill of me or are mean to me. But like Paul, I am learning to be content in all things. I rest content knowing that you are God and you are in control and you are always on time. So I actively wait for you Lord! You are worthy of all glory! Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here.