THE CRY OF THE NEW ORDER

In it, David, the man after the heart of God, is being pursued by Saul. From the heights of the first anointing in Bethlehem and victory over Goliath he is thrust into a fugitive existence in the wilderness. And so, this psalm represents the heart-cry of the man (or woman) of the Spirit being faced off by the old order.

Now Saul was not the world. Rather, he was the old order of the house of God. He represents for us the institutionalising of the move of God the presidency of human strength and religion over the church.

Psalm 17, as a psalm of David, reflects the essence of the new order a heart-cry for God alone. And this is only ever perfected in trial. In fact, all prayer is merely the cry of a heart under trial. Where would have David been without the pursuits and threats of Saul? Without these betrayals and injustices he would not have become the man he was destined to be. Nor, would his psalms have ever been written.

This is the ejaculation of the desperate heart "hearlistengive ear". No smoothly crafted words or eloquence here for David. He fears for his life, and is smarting under the injustices and false accusations of Saul. Perplexed and finding refuge in the wilderness he is crying out to God for vindication. The word here for "cry" is very powerful in the Hebrew. It refers to a "ringing cry". It is the cry of desperation a cry that pierces heaven with its intensity and urgency.

Without this "cry" prayer is impotent, a mere religious performance. This is why David was taken into his many and varied trials to make him into a heart-man a man with a "cry" for God.

Davids words are with heart they are not deceitful. His prayer is not a carefully crafted religious performance, but the spontaneous cry of a heart poised toward God. The cry of one who is in pain, and whose only vindication can be found in God (see v 2). The Lord, in the face of injustice, is his only defence and help (see v 6-9).

David understood that no matter how perplexing or unjust his circumstances they were sent from God. That they were the proving of his heart. He knew no matter what, "it is God who works in us, both to will and do of his own good pleasure" (Phil 2:13).

The testings of Davids heart where his preparation for the throne. Without them he would not be ready to carry the weight of glory that was destined to be his. The proving and searchings of the heart that characterised Davids life were determined by his destiny, not by his depravity. He was a marked man, and could not escape his peculiar journey and leadings if he was to fully pursue the Lord. The seemingly circuitous route to the throne, the wanderings of the wilderness, and the testings of the heart were but the preparations of God because of the high calling (see Phil 3:14).

It was said of Jesus that, "the prince of this world could find nothing in him" (Jn 14:30). And so, the heart of the kingdom man or woman will be tested, searched, and proven. Anything in them that answers to the "prince of this world", to the spirit of this age, will be exposed and eradicated.

David, as the representative kingdom man, had freed his heart of anything that would lead him into the ways of men. This is the fear of every man or woman of the Spirit that they will revert to the flesh, to human effort or power, including intrigue and violence, to do the work of God. The Scripture calls it "dead works" and is to be repented of (Heb 6:1).

At the risk of sounding Messianic, those who pursue the new order of the Spirit will experience betrayal. Paul in his list of apostolic sufferings included the "danger of false brothers" (2 Cor 11:26). In his closing remarks to Timothy he referred to Demas having forsaken him for love of this world, that Alexander had strongly opposed his message, and that all had forsaken him at his first defence (2 Tim 4:9-17).

While deeply painful this is all part of the realignment of relationships that those who pursue the kingdom will experience. Those who are not of the same spirit, who are not imbued with the true kingdom heart at best withdraw, or at worst oppose those who press in.

Even so, Paul could boldly declare that, "the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength". There is "a friend that sticks closer than a brother". The vacuum created by the withdrawal of human friendship and comfort is filled by the Lord himself. The Father of compassion, the God of all comfort draws near in the moment of crisis and betrayal. He gathers us up in his everlasting arms and provides comfort eternal. What better solace than that of the Lord! (see 2 Cor 1:3-11).

Likewise, David even in his fugitive existence is kept as the apple of the Lords eye. Even as he is pursued and surrounded he is hidden under the shadow of his wings (see v 8).

This is again preparation for the throne. The throne of God is the throne of his presence (see Psa 80:1). And so, if we share in his sufferings we will certainly share in his glory (see Rom 8:17). We ascend to the throne of his glory and reign as king-priests of the new kingdom order (see 1 Pet 2:5; Rev 5:10). Through the heart of the Levite we rule on earth. Like David, we take dominion in worship, intercession, and prayer.

Saul and all those who oppose Davids new order are men of this world, pursuing the rewards of this life. They have their reward already in the fading garlands of this worlds honours. But those who have pressed into the new order are not only delivered from the worldlings having passed through death, they awake to the Lord himself as their "exceeding great reward" (Gen 15:1). They are satisfied, not with the rewards of this life, but with seeing him, "face to face".

Have you been falsely accused by those you trusted, betrayed by people and circumstances? Are you, like David, hiding in the wilderness, a fugitive from Saul? Do you feel that your destiny has been cut off? And yet, you still hunger for God?