Joel M Bradshaw

4Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.–Psalm 54

Today’s psalm came with a notation in the text of when it was written. Here is the context. 1 Samuel 23…

14David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

15While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. 16And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

19The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.”

21Saul replied, “The Lord bless you for your concern for me. 22Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.”

David was a fugitive on the run. And he praised God in our psalm today as his helper. This Hebrew word first described Eve in Genesis 2. God made a helper for Adam. So ladies, if you ever took umbrage at this, just remember that the word is also used to describe God. God is our helper. There is no greater honor than being described with a word that also describes God.

In the psalm David called upon God to save him, to vindicate him, to hear him, and even to return trouble to his enemies. The Hebrew word for upholder literally reads ‘with those who uphold’. So David saw God as one who holds him up and also with others who do so. David had such allies like noble, selfless Jonathan.

The best part of the psalm for me is the ending…

6With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good. 7For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

David had seen the faithfulness of God at work. God had been his upholder and helper from the beginning. And David obviously had been paying attention to the deliverances that only God could provide.

Look for the hand of God at work in your life. Pay attention to our wondrous, faithful God who provides for you. In faith, turn to him as your helper and upholder. This means you do not find such ultimate purpose and direction within yourself. You look upward for answers, not inward. Had David done otherwise, he would have killed Saul and taken his throne. Instead he waited and trusted in God’s timing. May that be our stories as well.–JMB