Psalm 31:22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
In the heat of the moment, David misspoke; he hastily said that God didn’t see him. During his troubles, David accused his Lord of unfaithfulness, of turning his back on him. “I am being mistreated,” perhaps he thought, “and God is looking the other way.” Despite his thoughtless speech, God heard the pleas of the psalmist and answered those prayers.
There are so many lessons here to be learned. Here are three.
1. There is a lesson about hasty speech.
Someone said, “speaking without thinking is like shooting without aiming.” Isn’t that true in so many ways? It is a dangerous practice and likely to bring someone harm. I often remind myself of this Bible passage.
James 1:19–20 19Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
God has given us two ears and one mouth for a reason; he wants us to listen twice as much as we talk. He warns us not to rush to angry conclusions, and yet we shoot off our mouths before we engage our minds, or at least I do. Would anyone else confess to this crime?
I believe it was Henry Ward Beecher that warned, “speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”
Oh, how I wish I would have taken the time to load that weapon of mine with blanks before shooting it!
2. There is a lesson about being seen.
David said that God had turned away from him and was not looking his way. How many have also fallen into this trap?
The suffering saint thinks God has turned his back upon him and says, “I am cut off from before thine eyes.”
The sinner hides his wicked deeds from daylight, deceiving himself into believing that he is cut off from all sight, but a Heavenly witness saw it all, and to make matters worse, he is also Judge.
The Sovereign sees you in your suffering.
God sees you in your grief.
God sees you in your sin.
He will see you again very soon, face to face.
3. There is a lesson about our Savior
Despite David’s sinful speech, God still heard and helped him. Is that not an excellent example of the grace of our great God?
How could God not turn his back on us after all the things we have said and done? The answer, the Father turned his back on his Son so that he wouldn’t have to turn his back to sinners!
My 2021 Bible Reading Plan
March 4, 2021
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