PSALMS 17

1 (A Prayer of David.) 

Hear the right, O Yahweh, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.

3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.

5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O El: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.

10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.

11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;

12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

13 Arise, O Yahweh, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

14 From men which are thy hand, O Yahweh, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

David was king of a prosperous and successful nation. He subdued all his enemies round about, and enjoyed all the power and wealth and respect that natural man could wish. But he was never a "man of the world having his portion in this life." God was too real to him.

He was too simple and genuine and unaffectedly humble. Weak though he was, these were the basic qualities of his heart, and he was chosen as the most suitable medium for the recording of the Psalms. They are far more than David's thoughts, but David was the one whose mind was most in tune with them.

15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Many of the holy garments portrayed in the Psalms are far too large to fit David, but David, more than any other, burned with a realisation of the infinite desirability of the full stature of the perfect man in Christ Jesus.

Bro Growcott

I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

You doubtless did right in making sure your standing in Christ in reimmersion. The doctrine that Christ will judge the living and the dead at his appearing is one of the elements of the gospel-(Rom. 2:16; Acts 10:42; Heb. 6:1, ) the lack of which at a former immersion it is dangerous to tamper with as a possible invalidation of our position. And what is necessary to give validity to immersion is necessary as a basis of fellowship. No believer could, therefore, remain connected with a body repudiating this element of truth.

But there is a difference between the rejection of a truth and a defective knowledge of it. Men may have believed that Jesus will perform the office of judge at his appearing, without having perceived that it involves the appearance of the righteous before him in an unglorified state.

This, as a matter of detail, and subsequent growth in knowledge, may have escaped their recognition, while fully receiving Christ as the appointed arbiter of human destiny. It is well, therefore, to leave it to individual conviction as to whether re-immersion is requisite in such cases.

Where, as in some cases, the doctrine of judgment was unknown or distinctly rejected, there is no alternative to the position you have taken up, but where as in other cases, it was believed without being thoroughly understood, it is well to waive objection where the truth is now received, leaving it with every man to decide for himself whether, upon doubtful ground, he is prepared to face the momentous problem of the judgment seat.

The Christadelphian, Jan 1872