Psalms

-To the Chief Musician. Set to "Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David when he fled from Saul into the cave.

 ¹ Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
         For my soul trusts in You;
         And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
         Until these calamities have passed by.
David had come very close to being captured by Saul.  In 1 Samuel 22 and 23 Saul was in hot pursuit and David repeatedly, narrowly escapes.  As Saul closed in on David in the wilderness of Ziph, Saul was called away to fight the Philistines.  The place where David and his followers were trapped was very near to becoming their grave.  Once Saul left, they named the place the Rock of Escape.  David escaped from that place and ended up hiding in a cave.  When David was in this cave he had just been delivered from sure death by the hand of the Lord.  Can one be hidden in a cave and say that their soul trusts in God? 

When we are in the middle of the calamites of life there is only one place to take refuge.  When we are threatened and defeated or death seems inevitable, we see clearly that there is only one place to find that refuge and mercy.  Our soul does rightly to thirst for God in that circumstance because deliverance comes from no other. 

That place where David stood when he was delivered was named the Rock of Escape.  This place served as a marker, an altar of remembrance to the Lord.  Do you have those altars in your life?  Do you have a Rock of Escape? 

In Psalm 56 David wanted to have the wings of the dove to fly away to escape.  Now he seeks shelter in the shadow of the wings.  Does this exhibit a change of attitude?  Hiding in the shadow of the wings is a picture of a mother hen protecting her chicks.  However, it could be a reference of hiding in the shadow of the wings of the Cherubim in the Holy place, in the presence of God.

         
 ² I will cry out to God Most High,
         To God who performs all things for me.
 ³ He shall send from heaven and save me;
         He reproaches the one who would swallow me up.  Selah  
         God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
God performs all things for me.  Note this doesn't say God makes all things easy or God makes all my troubles go away.  God allows tests and trials to build our faith.  He nudges us out of our comfort zone and provides the things we need to grow.  He puts us in peril and delivers us to show Himself loving and merciful.  But sometimes He takes the life of a saint, a child or a loved one.  Why does God do this?

While David sought salvation from the events of his life and from the enemies that threatened him, we see our salvation in Jesus Christ.  He is our Rock of Escape.  Because we are in Christ, the things of the world have no power over us.  The evil that threatened David had not yet been defeated.  But today, in Christ, by the work He did, sin is forgiven, evil is overcome.  Satan is defeated.

God sent Jesus down from heaven to perform this thing for me.  In Christ we find the One who has reproach for the evil that would swallow us up.  God sent forth His mercy and His truth in Jesus Christ. 

         
 ⁴ My soul is among lions;
         I lie among the sons of men
         Who are set on fire,
         Whose teeth are spears and arrows,
         And their tongue a sharp sword.
 ⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
         Let Your glory be above all the earth.
David creates a picture of the threats he feels on his life.  His enemy prowls after him like a lion with sharp teeth.  He feels threatened by the lies they tell about him.  He feels the heat as if by fire, like the flames burning him.  In spite of this threat, David calls for God to be exalted.  This was a higher thing than David's worries. 

Instead of focusing on the things that threaten him, suddenly David worships God.  He calls for Him to be exalted.  Is this a right response or desperation?  How does this work in our own lives?

         
 ⁶ They have prepared a net for my steps;
         My soul is bowed down;
         They have dug a pit before me;
         Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen.  Selah  
On the heels of worship and pausing from the focus on problems, suddenly we see the very real threat of a trap laid for David.  The net was cast, the pit was dug.  David bowed his soul down to God.  If there was to be deliverance, it had to come from God.  David saw the men fall into their own trap. 

What if these enemies didn't fall into their trap, do we have a complaint?

Does it mean God has left us, forsaken us?

This next section of verse 7-11 is David breaking out in praise and worship.  David borrows this passage for Psalm 108. 
 ⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
         I will sing and give praise.
 ⁸ Awake, my glory!
         Awake, lute and harp!
         I will awaken the dawn.

 ⁹ I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
         I will sing to You among the nations.
 ¹⁰ For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,
         And Your truth unto the clouds.
         
 ¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
         Let Your glory be above all the earth.

David felt his heart was firmly in the Lord.  David awakes his own glory.... This is his reputation, his dignity or the inner man.  It's time to wake up and see and praise the Almighty, Everlasting God.  Praise Him among the people.  Sing about Him to all the nations.  His mercy is beyond anything we imagine..... David sized it up to reach to the heavens.  His truth reached to the clouds.  It was higher than David could imagine; far above his reach.  This 'truth' was God's ability to deal with any circumstance; His reputation to deal in a certain way among His people.  David had a high view of God.  He saw His glory above all the earth.

David was singing of God and his faith in Him while hiding in a cave.  Is this trusting?