Meditation on the Text of the Week

Opening the Eyes of Elisha's Servant

Do not hide Thy face from me,
Do not turn Thy servant away in anger;
Thou hast been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up
Psalm 27: 9,10

Two contradictory attitudes often mark God's people during times of apostasy. Firstly, being attuned to the commands and standards of the Lord, they are acutely aware of unbelief and its consequences. They are acutely sensitive to both the depth and the breadth of the apostasy. They know the power of the forces against us. They are acutely appraised of the consequences to come. They know that God will not be mocked.

Now one would expect that such people would be dispirited, alienated, bitter, and broken. But strangely the opposite is the case. At the same time, these same people of God, are usually found to be full of hope, gladness, optimism and boldness. Their demeanour of joy amidst tears is the very opposite of a defeated people who have no hope.

Maybe they are mad.

No. They are the most sane people on the planet. In our text, David is facing calamity as the forces of unbelief rise up against him, threatening to overwhelm and engulf. Yet there is a calmness and resolution which is astonishing. Is it due to some stoic indifference? Has he steeled himself not to be unfeeling and uncaring? Has he, himself, turned away from the Lord and calmly sought to enter the void of utter meaningless? Far from it.

David's faith is the faith of every Believer. It is a faith born of God. It is a fundamental belief that God will never, ever abandon His true children. David prays that in this great calamity God will not abandon him. Then comes the confession of true faith, more certain than life itself: indeed all mankind might forsake him; even father and mother—but, he says, “the Lord will take me up.”

He goes on: “teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a level path, because of my foes.” Despite all the wickedness, dangers, and declension on every hand, he knows that the Lord will lead him through the minefield.

David's confidence in his Lord was unshakable. Therefore, he both lamented the strength of Unbelief, and yet remained calmly confident in its ultimate defeat.

We, David's descendants—we, who are privileged to live under the New Covenant, have reason and ground for a greater hope than David. For we see clearly what David saw only in types and shadows. We see Jesus, David's greater son, come forth to weld a blood bond between God and all His people that no power in heaven and earth can break. We see Him crowned with glory and honour. We see Him at the right hand of God, so that the defeat and vanquishing of all His enemies is certain, irrevocable and impeccable.

It is true that these great works by the Son of God—His coming to our fallen race, assuming our human nature, making atonement for all our sin, propitiating the wrath of God against us, rising again to begin the restoration of the entire creation, ascending to be invested with all authority in heaven and on earth—all these things now make apostasy in our day all the more terrible and culpable.

But they also make the victory of the sons of God likewise more certain, irrevocable and impeccable. Now we know for sure, more surely than life itself, that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that the effects and consequences of the triumph of the Son of God will be felt in every corner and upon every facet of the world. It is "locked and loaded" as we say.

Therefore, in the midst of declension and adversity, we find ourselves filled with joy and irrepressible hope. This is ever a telltale mark of God's people.