What Can Man Really Do to Me

Psalms 56:3-4 ESV

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can flesh do to me? You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?  Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.”

David is in great distress in Gath, as he learns that certain people in the city are planning to kill him (56:1-2). The increased danger he faces drives him to an increased dependence on God (3-4). Enemies watch his every move, plotting how they could best attack him (5-7).

David had become so tense with fear that he could not sleep at night. (Verses 8-9) God would take notice of David’s afflictions and troubles, which had caused so many tears, and remember them, and deliver him out of them.

The Romans had a custom, that in a time of mourning (on a funeral occasion) a friend went to one in sorrow and wiped away the tears from the eyes with a piece of cloth. They then squeezed the tears into a small bottle of glass or earth, which was carefully preserved as a memorial of friendship and sorrow.

God sees our worries, our fears, and he sees every tear that falls from our eyes. He is not oblivious or unconcerned. His delay is not to cause us more pain and suffering, but it is to give us the where-with-all to run to Him and empty our lives out to Him.

Notice that David resolves His complaint and worry by saying, “Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.” When we see the worry, the pain, the anxiety subsiding, don’t forget to thank God!

Prayer:
O Lord You know what we are going through, You see each tear that falls, You know the anguish of our hearts. Open our eyes to see Your salvation, to see the path that You want us to follow. Deliver us O God! In Your name Lord, Amen!