I have only one rock, only one unchangeable, sure, safe place, and that is my God. I see the wonderful works of my God everywhere I look. And I see His loving hand of mercy and care over my path when I look back and in faith as I look ahead. I know that there is nothing I will encounter that God has not intended for my good.
I have seen the complaints and the requests for vindication and retribution from David and the Psalmist in these first 57 chapters. But what I also see, soaring above the cries for help and frustrations, is our God. And daily I hardly have to scratch the surface to see a link between the Psalm and Jesus. Today I see Jesus being hounded just like David. As King of all the universe, Jesus and His Father in Heaven with the Spirit had all the power and authority to do things any way or anywhere They wished to have done things; They could have changed things so the enemies never surrounded or threatened David or Jesus. God is unlimited in His power and love, as we clearly see exclaimed in this Psalm. So I know God has a good reason for doing what He does the way He does in my life. From my limited perspective I don’t like or understand the plans of God. But I do see Him; I see my God high and lifted up. Come with me and gaze upon our Lord through the lens of Psalm 57. If you don’t know the history behind this Psalm, much of what I will say will be lost on you. Please first go read 1 Samuel 22-24 to get the context.
I cry out to God Most High,(Elohim-Elyon) to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
MAIN POINT: God is above everything.
That is to say, God is higher than it, God is in control of it, God can see it, God orchestrates it, God demonstrates His wonderful character through it.
There is a dire situation underlying this Psalm. It is really back against the wall time. But God is greater. Through the deepest of near misses and the most difficult situations, Saul is humbled beyond all imagination. He is the unjust aggressor, meters from a great victory over David and his men, and he has to be vulnerable. He has to squat down, and he can’t move until he is done in this humbling, vulnerable, private situation far from his royal throne. The unjust, evil aggression against David seems on a knife edge, and while he must lay his robe aside to take care of business, God turns the tables and the heart of His servant, David. David’s men want Him to use this situation to their advantage. Anyone could see God has delivered this into David’s hand. All David has to do is take it (1 Samuel 22-24). But David sees God above this situation and refrains from taking matters into his own hands. Why? Because he trusts God more than himself. Why does David trust God?
How is it possible when you are hunted by your enemy and you are forced into a place of no escape that you can see God above all things? Read the Psalm again and remember all these images are projected into the darkness of a cave. No light, no sound, nothing but an evil King chasing you meters away, stinking the place up. In that situation, David sees God. And he sees past the ceiling of the dark cave into the heavens, into the clouds.
He tells us here what he sees:
God has mercy on me. v.1
God protects me. v.1
God listens to me. v.2
God has purposes for me. v.2
God sends help for me. v.3
God is just and gives just judgements for me. v.3
God sends me His unfailing love and faithfulness. v.3
God is worthy of highest praise even in the midst of fiercest adversity. v.4-5
God’s glory is inescapable. v.5
God ordains the outcomes of life, not our enemies. v.6
Interlude/Pause/Meditate/Selah
Take time to think and reflect on who David has revealed God to be.
So what is the response to such meditation and revelation about God?
Confidence in God. v.7
Praise for God. v.7
Singing for God. vv.7-8
Thanksgiving for God. v.9
Witness for God. v.9
Repeat the declarations about God. v.10
Determination to join God is spreading his glory over all the earth. v.11
Conclusion:
God is above your darkest and most difficult situation. God is merciful, protecting, listening, purposeful, helping, just, loving, faithful, praiseworthy, inescapable in His glory, and ordaining even the hardest of situations.
I want to add some further concluding thoughts. I think David shows me that God is above my heart, above my wisdom, above my fears. I confess my heart, my fears and my flawed wisdom hound me deeper into the cave in any situation. More than friends who lovingly but wrongly interpret the situation, more than the king squatting so near by, more than all that life can throw at me, it is my own heart, my own conclusions and my own fears that press me to the wall in the dark. But God is able even in that to show me His high, exalted glory once again. I praise you God for the peace this gives me. I will trust you.
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| Handwritten Psalm 57 |
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