For if [a Christian] cannot thank and praise God as well in calamities and sufferings as in prosperity and happiness, he is as far from the piety of a Christian as he that only loves them that love him is from the charity of a Christian. For to thank God only for such things as you like is no more a proper act of piety than to believe only what you see is an act of faith. Resignation and thanksgiving to God are only acts of piety when they are acts of faith, trust and confidence in the divine goodness.
William Law

The Lord Delivers Us From Evil

The Lord Delivers Us From Evil

The Lord delivers us from evil

by Kurt H. Asplundh

“The Angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” (Ps. 34: 7)

There are times in life when we feel deeply discouraged:–about the world, the church, our family and friends, and, perhaps most painfully, about ourselves. Our personal world seems to be in a state of disintegration or collapse. The ideals we have cherished are challenged. Our resolve is weakened. We fall into doubt that there is anything left worth fighting for. The Psalm says it: “Our afflictions are many!”

The word for afflictions here means evils. “Our evils are many!” The phrase describes both the evils that befall us and those that dwell in us. We are afflicted from within as well as from without. This inner affliction is the most grievous. We can accept a blow to our natural comfort and wellbeing. We can sustain the inconvenience of worldly loss and face changes for the worse. We constantly witness examples of courage and endur- ance and the ability of the human spirit to face severe priva- tion. The devastating thing is to see our inner reactions to life: the worm of discontent, the welling up of anger and its desire for revenge, the fantasies of lust, an inclination to deceive, contempt… Many are the afflictions!

“But the Lord delivers him out of them all!” “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned” (Ps. 34: 19, 22). This is the promise given in the Word. There is an answer to the sincere prayer: “Deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6: 13). “The Angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Ps. 34: 7).

Can this really be true? Can we be delivered from evil things? Who can be delivered? And how?

Perhaps we can have a better understanding of this Psalm and its promise when we consider the historical setting in which it was composed. The 34th Psalm is called “A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech.”

If ever a man was afflicted unjustly it was David, the fugitive. Saul was king of Israel, anointed and proclaimed. Yet, because of his disobedience, the Lord had departed from him and the kingdom was given to David, the son of Jesse. David, but a youthful shepherd when the priest anointed him in Saul’s place, was ever a loyal and respectful subject in Saul’s kingdom. Saul did not know that David had been appointed his successor, but his suspicions grew day by day. Saul’s jealousy of this young hero of Israel, slayer of Goliath and champion against the Philistines, grew to an open enmity. The women would sing that Saul had slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands. The comparison galled the king. It drove him to moods of intense jealousy against David. Saul sought to kill him. At last, David had to flee for his very life.

The pursuit by King Saul would tax David’s endurance, courage, and skill. The life of a fugitive is one of constant stress and fear. Yet there were other combats David faced during this period that would tax him more grievously: the inner insinuations from the hells. His loyalty to the Lord’s “anointed” would be tested. Could he refrain from revenge? Could he abstain from opportunities to slay his pursuer? His patience would be tested. How long would he suffer Saul to prevent him from taking his place on the throne? How could he keep yearning ambitions for power at bay and not let them goad him to take the offensive against Saul? True victory for the hells would be David’s deliverance to these inner enemies, not his death at Saul’s hand.

So it is with us. It is not the evils that afflict us from without that are the concern but those that rise up from within.

Surprisingly, David fled to a city of the Philistines to escape Saul, to the city Gath. Here, he was recognized as the Israelite hero who had slain Goliath. In the face of grave danger, David pretended madness, scratching on the doors of the gate and drooling in his beard. The Philistine king was put off by this charade. “Look, ” he said, “You see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? So David was ignored and was able to make his escape.

This was the occasion for the Psalm we are considering. When we think of the circumstances of David at this time, the Psalm takes on significance. Here is a man running for his life, surrounded by enemies, forced to feign madness to survive, and he is inspired to express his sense of complete trust in the Lord. “I will bless the Lord at all times;” David said, “His praise shall continually be in my mouth…. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears…. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him” (Ps. 34).

In its spiritual sense, now revealed, this Psalm is a “celebration of the Lord, because he delivers from all evil those who trust in Him” (PP).

Well and good for David, but what about us? Where can we find such trust? Can we sustain our afflictions? Will our loyalty to truth stand the test? Will our patience in adversity be sustained? Or will we yield to anger or ambition, resort to deceit and fraud, or otherwise betray our trust?

The secret of this story is now revealed for us. David was a courageous hero, though only because the spirit of the Lord was with him. Beyond this, David in the Word is a symbol. David represents a quality of life that can be with us from the Lord. It can be with us not because of innate bravery, uncommon fortitude, or extra-ordinary self-discipline but because the Lord has made it available. The Lord has provided what we need to kill giants in our life, to endure persecution, to escape the bonds of hell. This quality can be anyone’s.

David represents the internal truth of the Word. This is a special gift that is given from the Lord as a result of His second coming and the opening of the spiritual sense of the Word. It is given in the degree that we desire to learn to serve the neighbor with genuine charity.

All kings mentioned in the Word represent the truth that rules our life. Saul, the first king of Israel, represents the external or literal truth of the Word. If obeyed, it has a certain power to protect our spiritual life. It is a basis for an external order but no defense against the spirit of evil. The history of Israel shows that Saul had success against the enemies surrounding the land but was unable to conquer the Philistines in his midst. Saul had to be succeeded by another king who could deal with this more powerful enemy. This was David.

So, the simple surface sense of the Word must be succeeded by an understanding of deeper truths. The rule of these deeper truths is represented by David’s kingship.

The difference between what is represented by Saul and what is represented by David is illustrated in the descriptions given in Scripture. Of Saul it is said he was “a choice and handsome” person. “From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people” (I Sam. 9: 2). Physical appearance was important in Saul’s selection. Contrast that emphasis with what is said in relation to David’s selection: When the oldest of Jesse’s sons was presented, the priest thought to anoint him. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature…for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (I Sam. 16: 7). Inward, heartfelt truths are here contrasted with apparent truths from the letter of the Word. Genuine principles of religious life are to be found at the heart, not at the surface of the Word. These are the principles that strengthen us against our inner afflictions.

Notice that the Philistine king in addition to Saul and David also represents a form of truth. This is somewhat akin to what is represented by David, being of a deeper doctrinal nature than what is represented by Saul. Yet there is a crucial difference. The Philistines represented truth separate from life. Of those called Philistines it is said that they “applied themselves little to life, but much to doctrine” (AC 3412). They knew truth but failed to apply it to themselves. The Philistines represented a religious principle separated from spiritual good (AE 817: 7), and also an intellectual conceit (F 19).

The contrast between David and this king is also brought out in the Scriptural account. When David was discovered in Gath, he appeared to be a madman, scratching at the gate and drooling. To the man who trusts his own wisdom, true wisdom from the Lord is dismissed as insanity, the raving of a madman. The gates of Gath were shut up against the entrance of the Lord. David could only scratch at the doors, not penetrate them and enter the city. The spittle that fell to his beard could not be mixed with clay to anoint the eyes of the blind that they might see truly how to serve the neighbor. The power of genuine charity cannot be recognized or appreciated by those who are simply in intellectual truths. Such charity is beyond their comprehension and so is safe from harm, but David could find no place among these.

The question is, can David find place with us? Will we receive genuine spiritual truths from the Word? Will we recognize them as the Lord’s with us? This will happen only if we follow the precepts of another part of this Psalm. After praising the Lord for His deliverance, an exhortation is made: “Come you children, ” we read, “listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Ps. 34: 11-14).

Here is the key to obtaining spiritual trust. As ever, it comes back to the shunning of the evils of life. “Depart from evil, ” we are told. “Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile” This is how we can seek and find peace.

True peace is not simply the cessation of combat or a tranquil state of the mind at rest. It is not a vacuum or hiatus of all activity, rather it is a positive and powerful state of being which remains strong and undisturbed even in the midst of combat and turmoil. The Writings teach that “peace is bliss of heart and soul arising from the Lord’s conjunction with heaven and with the church, and this from the conjunction of good and truth with those who are therein” (AE 365: 18).

Peace is a state which results from the marriage of good and truth in our life. When the truth from the Word implanted in the understanding is joined with the good of love from the Lord in us, we have an inner strength. Perhaps this is mirrored in the confidence of a man who knows and loves his profession. Day by day, he faces challenges and problems in his work. These are not discouraging to him or a cause of despair. He attacks them confidently and professionally. He has the knowledge to deal with them and the desire to do so. It is his job. He finds satisfaction and enjoyment in it. So it can be with the man of the church. His confidence comes from a knowledge of the teachings of revelation joined with the love of charity. He has these from the Lord and they are a strength in his daily life. When afflictions come, he meets them one by one, confident that, with the Lord’s power, they can be endured, overcome, and put away. This does not mean that his life is without disturbance, anxiety or temptation, even as the professional’s life is not without its problems and setbacks. It means that he has an inner strength to work from in every situation of life, be it good or bad.

“Peace, ” we are told, “stands for all things that belong to heaven and the church, from which is the happiness of eternal life; and as only those who are in good have that peace, it is said, `depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it'” (AE 365: 19).

When David challenged Goliath, he stood before the giant with only a shepherd’s staff, a sling and five smooth stones. Goliath was disdainful of the youth. “Am I a dog, ” he said, “that you come to me with sticks?” (I Sam. 17: 43). David answered him without fear: “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts…” (Ibid. 45).

There are people we know and admire that seem to have their lives well integrated. They have it “all together, ” we say, meaning they have brought together elements of knowledge, skill, motivation, and energy in their lives that allow them to be effective in what they do.

The account of David in the Word, is a picture of the man of the church whose life is integrated and strong; a man who has confidence in what he is doing because He has joined with the Lord and the Lord is with him.

The Writings reveal that David, as an anointed king of Israel, inmostly represents the Lord Himself. Indeed, he is said to represent the Lord “who was to come on earth” (DP 245). The account of David’s life, then, pictures the life of the Lord as He brought about a conjunction of Divine Good with Divine truth in His Human, thus fulfilling the prophecy that He would be the Mighty God and Prince of Peace. Because the Lord has done this, taking to Himself all power in heaven and on earth, He can be the source of our power and center of our peace.

It is with this confidence that we approach Him in His Word. We can know that as the Lord sustained David in his time of trial, giving him a sense of peace and strength, so, too, the Lord will sustain us in our time of trial, lending us strength and guiding our feet into the way of peace.

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry…. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Ps. 34: 15-19). Amen.

Lessons: I Sam. 21: 10-22: 5; Ps. 34; HH 286, 289