"He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me; for there were many (that strove) with me." Psalm 55:18
Additional readings: Isaiah 57; Matthew 21:18-32
The fifty-fifth Psalm in its letter is a complaint of David against the grievousness of his temptations. Those against him are too many and too strong, but he knows that God is with him and will save him.
This psalm should appeal to everyone, for there is no one who has not suffered defeat or failure.
In childhood we often do not attain what we desire, and in youth we often set for ourselves mistaken goals which, if attained, would bring us harm. And in manhood and even in old age we have our reverses and defeats. From the beginning to the end of life many of our efforts come to naught, though we may have striven with all our might.
The text reads "from the battle that was against me, for there were many that strove with me." The King James Version is "for there were many with me," but this is not the Hebrew. The difficulties were too great, the temptations more malignant than I was prepared to resist in my own strength. The text does not say that the Lord turned the tide of battle or that the defeat would be turned into victory. But it means that after a defeat or disappointment the Lord will bring a blessing.
We are accustomed to think of victory as good and of defeat as a disaster. But sometimes victory would lead to our ruin. It has done so in nations; and individuals, too, have been made proud and selfish, exalting their own powers. Yet the fact is that we are not able to overcome any evil or to gain any victory by our own power alone.
Nations engage in rivalries. Parties seek political supremacy. The question in the Lord’s sight is, "What will be the use to the world or to the community of our success or failure? What will be the effect on our character?" The question of our individual success or our individual prominence is, in the light of these greater questions, not worthy of consideration. The question of our political, social, or economic success is insignificant if it means a loss of character.
Our purpose may be good, but whether we succeed or fail is not in itself of prime importance. The real question is the encouragement or the humiliation of self-life. The effort we put forth will bring the reward of developing our capacities, but whether victory or defeat will favor the growth of character is the real question involved, and gives whatever importance there is to victory or defeat.
Who cannot see that failures have sometimes contributed the most to our development? We could not see it at the time, but we see it now. This holds also of our internal life. We start out with high ideals, and seek to be self-controlled, kind, and noble in character. But sometimes our actions are not consistent with our aims. Sometimes we have been selfish, sometimes not kind and generous.
We may be able to see the use of failure in worldly ambitions, but are likely to think that failure in spiritual affairs is irredeemable. Yet spiritual life too is within and above the outward virtues; and if the realization of what is apparently a life of ideal virtue means conceit of self-goodness, if it means looking down on our less fortunate neighbors, if it means the development of the "holier than thou" spirit, if in any way our virtue becomes a Pharisee in the heart which boasts of its righteousness, then we had better fail, that we may know that we cannot of ourselves attain this ideal of life. Failure to attain virtue is better than outward righteousness as a cover to self-righteousness in the soul.
We may go even further. Every regenerating person is engaged in a conflict with his evils, and we know that we should search out and conquer them. Yet even here the question of our spiritual life is not determined by our outer success or failure. It is determined by our disposition toward the Lord. If victory means the development of confidence in our own powers, we had better have been defeated. If in defeat we are led to despair in self and to turn to the Lord to redeem us from the battle that was against us, we have come nearer to Him than we ever could through exaltation in our triumphs.
But is there not a danger in such teaching? Can it not be made use of to excuse one from fighting against his evils, saying that he abhors them but that they are too strong for him? I suppose that any truth can be abused. The test is: are we humbled by defeat? Does it lead to the abhorrence of evil, or does it lead to self-justification? Does the evil seem worse or better than before? What do you think of yourself for your failure? If it means that we are brought into a state of recognizing that we are weak, and if we are led to less trust in self and more in the Lord, then the Lord has turned the defeat into victory. The Lord has redeemed our souls in peace from the battle that was against us.
Throughout the Scriptures, the Lord warns us against trust in self. There is sometimes a danger in victory. The Lord warns us, "When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God….and thou say in thine heart, my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy god, for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:10-18).
This truth may be seen most clearly when we consider the purpose for which we were placed in this world. The real aim in life is not that we should attain worldly riches or worldly fame or worldly wisdom, for these are not blessings in themselves, but that we should become recipients of the Lord’s love and wisdom.
We read, "Thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isaiah 57:15). The Lord does not dwell in those achievements or even virtues which man sets up for himself, for human virtues and human goodness are infused with self and meritorious.
So the Lord when on earth told the Pharisees, who were models of outward piety, that the publicans and harlots would go into the kingdom of heaven before them. And He gives the reason, "For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and harlots believed him: and ye when ye had seen it, repented not afterward that ye might believe" (Matthew 21:32).
Mere outward, formal piety has a tendency to harden the heart, and to make men less ready to acknowledge their weaknesses and sins. Hard as it often is to bring sinners to repentance, it is still more difficult to awaken those who "think themselves righteous and despise others" (Luke 18:9).
This doctrine does not in any way encourage sin; it warns against self-righteousness. We are not righteous of ourselves. The evils the Lord here points out are in everyone—the desire for wealth, fame, and power. We have only to look within ourselves to see that this is so. There is no difference in people in this respect. These evils are latent in everyone. The difference is that some allow these selfish ambitions free course, while others see the danger in them and fight against them.
The parable in which this last quotation is found illustrates this: "A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not, but afterward repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father?" (Matthew 21:28-31).
It may be that at first it is only with effort that we give up our own desires and do the will of our Father, but the evil man, like the second son, says yes, without any intention of obeying. The internal of the first son was better than his external, but the external of the second son was better than his internal.
There is another cardinal principle involved here. The Commandments are a covenant between God and us. When we keep this covenant, the Lord is brought into our lives. The Lord is love and wisdom itself, and His purpose in creation is to build up a heaven from the human race.
This helps us to understand many experiences that come to us in life, which would otherwise be shrouded in mystery. How often we hear it said, "Why should this happen to me?" With the regenerating every unwelcome and untoward event is a sign of the Divine mercy. For sometimes attaining our own desires and ambitions would prove a stumbling block to our spiritual progress. What of a little sickness here, or misfortune, if by means of it our eternal welfare is furthered, if by it our self-will is humbled?
Nothing is so valuable to us as to come into a state of trust and dependence upon the Lord. Without this life here is a failure, whatever its outward achievements.
And let us realize that without this dependence we can have no real consciousness of the Lord’s presence, nor come into a living trust in and vital relation to the Lord which is the purpose of our creation, and the chief concern of the Divine Providence which is ever over us.
