All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin. – Psalm 56:5

Today's Scripture Reading (June 4, 2025): Psalm 56

As someone who seems to write and talk a lot, I am also not immune to having my words used against me. Some seem to take a perverse pleasure in twisting what it is I am attempting to say. (One reader has even called me a perverse, or more accurately, a per-verse pastor, because of the way I write this blog. Actually, I agree with my critic, and always try to interpret each verse with the view to the whole, not only the complete biblical book, but of the Bible as a whole. I believe everything is interconnected, and any single verse or passage needs to be interpreted as part of the whole. However, writing this blog is simply easier if we can view a verse or two at a time.)

David seems to feel the same way. His enemies are quite willing to twist his words and come to a conclusion that isn't warranted. David probably feels especially persecuted because it is not just his enemies, in the case of this Psalm, the Philistines, who are willing to twist his words, but his friends as well. It is almost hard to imagine the place in which David finds himself. The Philistines have heard the claim that "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands" (1 Samuel 18:7), a claim that at the time the phrase arose was undoubtedly an exaggeration, but twisted any evidence to make David a severe threat to the Philistines. But Saul had also heard the claim and was using whatever force he could against David because he considered him a threat to Israel. At this moment, a hope for David's ultimate demise might have been one thing that Saul and his enemies had in common.

So, everyone twisted whatever was said to throw blame on David. The future King had every right to be frustrated by what was happening and how his words were being twisted on every side. Everyone schemed for David's ruin. David had nowhere to run where he could be safe in this significant time of his life.

Except to run to God. And while everyone else was twisting his words, David knew that God's proclamations would reveal the truth. And that thought kept David going in the right direction. In this moment, people may turn against him, but he knew that God had called him and that, ultimately, every word was secure in the hands of God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 22