When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me. (Psalm 27:10)

A Father Who Will Never Fail

Some passages jump off the page. David’s psalm of faith is one of them. It is almost a startling read when he declares if his father and mother forsake him as if that could happen that draws the attention of the reader to his message. He recognizes there is no fear when the Lord is the light and salvation. No matter what the wicked try to do against him, David will not fear. Everything about the son of Jesse is to seek the Lord and dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. God’s protection overshadows His servants as the Lord places His people high upon a rock. There is reason to sing praises to the Lord for His power, might, and dominion over all those who oppose Him and that seek to harm His people.

God desires men to seek Him and David did everything in his power to seek the face of the Lord. Throughout his life, David trusted in the providential provisions of the heavenly Father to care for him and protect him. His level of trust was so great that he proclaims that even if the worst thing that could happen would come into his life – his parents forsake him – the Lord would take care of him. Human fathers are not perfect. Little is known about Jesse and nothing is known about David’s mother. The depth of faith abiding in David would have come from parents who devoted their lives to training their children in the paths of righteousness. David was a man after God’s own heart not by sheer chance but the diligent work of his father and mother instilled a deep faith in the Lord God of Israel. Without knowing much about his parents it seems clear the parents of David were righteous people.

David honored his parents by his life but the purpose of his life was not to please his parents but to please God. There is no doubt he owed much of his faith to the training of his father and the hymns of his mother. David made his faith his own. He understood that as vital as the faith of his parents, his life would be judged on the merits of his faith. He does not suggest in the psalm his parents had forsaken him. His faith is so established in the Lord that he honors his parents but obedient faith would be found in the Lord alone. Jesse was a good father but he made mistakes. God was a loving father who never made mistakes. David’s trust was in God alone.

Faith is a personal possession. Parents should be honored for their faith and the training they give their children. The scriptures are filled with instructions of fathers not to provoke their children to wrath but to bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Mothers are the law of the Lord bound continually upon the heart. No child should be without these qualities of righteous parents. David knew that if his parents failed him, his heavenly Father would never forsake him. He believed that God would always take care of him regardless of how life changed. Examining the life of David, it is easy to see how deep his trust in the Lord becomes. When challenged by Nathan for the sins committed with Bathsheba, David knew he could trust in God. He learned this defeating the bear and the lion and standing before Goliath. God never failed David and this man of God tried very hard never to fail God. If all the world forsakes you, God will take care of you.