Have you ever wanted to build up someone else up by asking the LORD to help them? I know I have. There are so many difficult situations in life that just need the LORD to intervene. All of the human help might be nice, but the thing that is really needed is for the LORD to show up and do His thing. Not only would that solve the problem, but it would demonstrate so many other larger characteristics of the LORD.
Our writer has a series of requests. The unusual part of these requests is that they are not for him. They are for another person. He wants help for someone else. From the last verse it seems as if these requests are for the king. When was the last time you were really wanting something for someone else and asked the LORD to get involved? It is one thing to want blessings for us, and another thing entirely to want blessings for others.
The person needing help is in quite a pickle. The writer uses words like distress, protect, help, and support. We don’t know exactly what the circumstances are that have put this pressure on this friend, but it must be hard enough to have aroused this prayer. Sometimes as we look into other people’s lives we see such distress that we are driven to pray. They need protection from something. They need help from the LORD’s presence. They need help from the source.
Being in right relationship to the LORD involves obedience. Part of that obedience in the Old Testament era involved offering the prescribed sacrifices in Jerusalem. Obedience is an outward sign of the inward change. They had recognized their need, their sin, their dependency on the LORD and the offered the appropriate responses. They went to the Temple and were obedient.
The writer wants the best for this person. Part of what many people feel contributes to this best is when their hopes and dreams come true. When the things we want turn into plans, we want the plans to be completed. It can be devastating when dreams come to an end unfulfilled. Our writer wants success for this other person. They want to share in the joy when victory comes. They want to throw a party, a celebratory parade, showcasing the LORD’s faithfulness to this other person.
And to further encourage the object of this prayerful psalm, the psalm closes with a declaration: Victory will come! The LORD brings it. His answer is on the way. Military might may be what others trust, but we trust in the LORD. He is able to lift up and put down. He is able to humble and to exalt. He is able to pull the rug out from under those who oppose Him, and firmly establish those who line up with His will.
What makes it so hard for us to believe that the LORD will actually intervene in the life of someone for whom we pray? We often say the words, but there is doubt in our hearts. I want to let you know that doubt is a normal human reaction. Our writer expressed his faith, perhaps as a way to tamp down the doubt. He probably wrote this as a way to silence the doubts. He is, after all, praying for the LORD’s intervention, no small thing. Yes, the LORD has shown up in the past and delivered in mighty ways, but right now the distress the king is facing is overwhelming. So overwhelming he must pray for him.
The Arnold Journey 