14O God, proud ones rise against me, and a group of violent ones seek my soul, and they have not set You before them.
Hmmmm. Several thoughts cross my mind. First is that Jesus Himself could have prayed this exact prayer. We shouldn’t be surprised to suffer the same fate. Jesus never did anything but love people. He taught them the truth, healed them, fed them, and sought always to do them good. Unfortunately there was a group of proud, violent men always waiting in the shadows for a chance to kill Him! And kill Him they did.
It has long been my observation in this world that no matter how good a cause you may champion, no matter how worthy a project you might try to implement, no matter how sincere your love for a group of people, there will always be fierce, mean, hateful opposition. A man told me once about a particular issue which he felt he should confront and asked my opinion. I told him he was right but, if he chose to pursue it, he should realize that, before it was over, it would cost him his life. If it was worth that, then, yes, he should dive in. I didn’t say that to discourage him, but only to make him count the cost. Too often people (including myself) dive into such things imagining that a good cause will enjoy the support of most people. Instead, you get seemingly nothing but opposition and hatred. The better part of wisdom is to realize that going in.
When we see that is what Jesus got, it should sober us all. No more imagining ourselves carried along on a wave of adulation. Even when we do seem to enjoy widespread public support, we’d better remember that’s what Jesus got on Palm Sunday. Less than a week later they crucified Him.
I’ve heard them called the “hate-brigade.” In one town, the clerk told me they are the C.A.V.E. people – Citizens Against Virtually Everything. No matter what you try to accomplish, they are always there, fighting against you.
David was a good man. He was a good king. He intended to do his people good. Yet here we find him deeply afflicted by his own personal hate-brigade. It is interesting to note that his response was not to give up the cause but rather to take the matter to the Lord in prayer. Just like Jesus.
A disturbing thought is to realize the very people who opposed Jesus and who were in fact responsible for His murder were the religious establishment of His day. The very group from which Jesus should have enjoyed the most sincere support instead were His most bitter enemies. The Pharisees were the “fundamentalists” of their day – the people who seemed most committed to the Scriptures and to living a religious life. But the truth is, as much as they all impressed each other, their religion was a totally external sham, a religion of do’s and don’ts, of legalistic self-righteousness, and devoid of any real relationship with God. As a result, they had no heart for a man like Jesus, a man who was too busy loving God and people to pay any attention to their “rules.” So they crucified Him.
The scary fallout from this is to realize that, even if we think we are the champions of faith in this world, we’d better take serious stock of our hearts before God. David exposes in this verse the root problem – pride. Presumption, arrogance, insolence. The most hideous thing about pride to me is that, even though it is horrifically ugly, if it’s my problem I can’t see it. Pride blinds me to itself. I never detect it because I see it in my life. I first detect its symptoms, then as I pray for God’s help, I will actually finally see it, so I can repent of it. But it is an elusive evil. The Pharisees didn’t think they were proud. They were quite sure they were right! Yet they crucified the Messiah Himself.
If we are not vigilant, if we don’t sincerely try to guard against this subtle sin, then one way or another we will join the hate-brigade. Yes. Us. We need to beg God to deliver us from the sin of pride. Even the religious establishment itself becomes satan’s minions when their hearts are full of pride. God help us.
So, as I live my life, even if I think I’m pursuing good causes, I shouldn’t be surprised when I get not adulation but rather bitter opposition. Before I take up a cause, I should honestly count the cost – am I willing to endure the opposition? Can I proceed expecting it? And will I stay the course to the end, regardless? Rather than giving up in the middle, can I resolve to take the opposition to the Lord in prayer?
Secondly, God deliver me from the sin of pride. I don’t want to join someone else’s hate-brigade. Obviously from this verse, if I allow myself to live in the sin of pride, one way or another I will become one of the “violent” ones and fail to set the Lord before me. I will one way or another oppose someone sincerely trying to do good. I could even end up crucifying the Messiah! I DON”T want to do that. I don’t want to be that kind of person. Yet pride is the very skin I live in. Good thing His name is Jesus. “… for He shall save His people from their sins.”
Lord help us to stay the course even when proud people oppose us – even if it is the very religious establishment itself – and God deliver us from our own pride, lest we become the opposers. Give us the grace instead, to truly be supportive and encouraging to those who are trying to do right.
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