Dr Paul Allen

So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people” (1 Sam. 5:7-12). Although the Philistines of Ashdod remain mired in their pagan devotion to Dagon, they gradually see at least part of the truth. They come to understand that “ ‘[Yahweh’s] hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.’ ”They are quite correct that God is causing their afflictions. But the solution, as they see it, is not to abandon worship of Dagon and turn to God. Rather, they want to get rid of the ark so that they can settle back into their “blessed” life under Dagon. “They were constrained to acknowledge [God’s] power and dominion, and confess themselves within His jurisdiction, and yet they would not renounce Dagon and submit to [God],” Matthew Henry writes. Of course, the ark is a Philistine national trophy, and the residents of Ashdod are not free to disp...

hymns & psalms (Photo credit: khrawlings ) David was in Gath and had feigned himself mad. His faith was not strong enough to keep him from an unworthy disguise, but still faith was there, and this psalm states that, vv. 3, 4, 11. The background to the psalm is found in 2 Samuel 21:18ff, the same as for Psalm 34. It is a strange combination—feigning madness in terror, and compiling psalms in heroic trust. The existence of fear with trust is acknowledged by the psalmist, v. 3. There are two main sections to the psalm, each ending with the same refrain, vv. 4, 10, 11. In both he passes from fear to confidence and that because of trust in God . He prays for mercy, v. 1, and that because of his enemies who surround him like voracious animals, vv. 1, 2. His fear is a reality, yet it is a blessed fear that drives us to trust, v. 3. Trust may vanquish fear, or may like Peter, as he was drowning, have strength only to cry, ‘ Lord save me, I perish’. Faith does not make us cease t...