Psalm 57:1

Psalm 57:1

Do not destroy

I have borrowed the title of this Psalm from David himself. So, what was the background? Do you remember from Psalm 56, that David was a fugitive, with his friends? He had been on the run from jealous King Saul for a long time and had even taken his chances by crossing over into Philistine territory. Now he was holed up in a dark and dank cave near the Canaanite town of Adullum where he hid for 3-6 months. (See I Samuel 21.) It seemed that everyone was his enemy and that everyone wanted him dead. However, that is not quite true for we read in 1 Samuel 22:1-2 that his brothers and his father’s household went to him there. “All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him and he became their commander. About 400 men were with him.” Maybe it was this company that helped to give David strength, for the words he now writes are positive and full of faith. Obviously, David has had time to stop and ponder the mercy and deliverance of the Lord, he trusts that the God of love and faithfulness will save him. This Psalm, written in exceptional circumstances, bears out the power of praise and how trust in God, not just positive thinking, will bring us through the darkest of life’s experiences. Hallelujah!

 

v1        “Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in You I take refuge.” Thus begins our Psalm. David cries out to a God who he can trust and who dominates his thinking. Everything that he does and that he is, is under the command and control of God, therefore this dire situation, this dark and forbidding cave, this fugitive existence must be known to God. “Have mercy, look upon my plight, see what is happening to me. You are God, be merciful and deliver me from this awful place.” Such a cry is understandable in the circumstances and might come from our own lips if we shared a similar fate. But David has moved on, the heart cries of the preceding songs have changed and now he is able to plead from a position of renewed strength. “In You I take refuge.” Not in a cave. Not in a Canaanite village. Not in the company of 400 discontents but in YOU, my God. I love the next statement where the Lord is depicted as a giant mother bird with outstretched wings guarding her chicks until the disaster has passed. The same God who covered His people with a cloud in their wilderness journey is now watching over His servant David and it is here that he can take refuge.

The Lord your God watches over you too. He knows when you go out, when you come in, when you lie down and when you arise. He knows where you go and who you are with. He watches over us all, 24/7. 

 

My way was filled with danger
And I felt so alone
The enemy had singled me
Out to do wrong
And when he drew near
My heart filled with fear
Then I heard someone dear
Calling me to His side

 

And I ran under His wings
There He covered me, and now I can see
The enemy still looks for me
But what he can't see
Is that I'm under my Lord's wings
Under His wings

 

The thunder rolled
Dark clouds hung low
I was out in a storm
I was shivering in the coldest night
No safe retreat from harm
And there blew strong winds
Would this be my end?
And then I heard my Friend
Calling me to His side

 

And I ran under His wings
There He covered me
And now I can see
The storm still rages
Oh, but in the Rock of Ages
We're resting warmly here
Under our Lord's wings

 

Under His wings, Under His wings
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings My soul shall abide
Safely abide forever!

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