Psalm 57 A Psalm of David
when he fled from Saul in the cave at Ein Gedi on the west coast of the Dead Sea. Read 1 Samuel 24. Commentary by
Dennis Edwards. Part 1
57 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts
in You: yea, in the shadow of Your wings will I make my refuge, until these
calamities be over past.
God’s word
continually reminds us that He is our refuge and our strength, a very present
help in time of trouble, Psalm 46:1.
“For the
Lord is a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a
refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,” Isaiah 25:4.
Psalm 91, the psalm of protection, goes over the promises of God for those
that love Him. We shall abide under His shadow. He will be for us a refuge and
a fortress. He will deliver us from the snare and from the pestilence. He will
cover us with His feathers, and under His wings will we trust. There shall no
evil befall us, neither shall any plague come nigh our dwelling, Psalm
91:1-4,10.
Whatever
calamities are passing over our lives, we can trust in the Lord.
In the last
days, God’s word warns us, that “men’s hearts will be failing them for fear and
for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of
the heaven shall be shaken…And when these things begin to come to pass, then
look up, and lift up your heads, (which means do not be discouraged, look to
Jesus); for your redemption draws nigh,” Luke 21:26&28.
We saw with
David, when his wives and children were kidnapped and those of his soldiers,
that “David encouraged himself in the Lord,” I Samuel 30:6b. Whatever problem
we may be going through as a result of the societal situation or a personal
situation, the solution to calm our heart and mind is to spend time with God.
Encourage yourself in the Lord. That’s the solution. “You will keep him in
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because He trusts in You,” Isaiah
26:3.
Psalm
57:2-3a I will cry unto God most
high; unto God that performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and
save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah.
God is
sovereign over all the earth. We know that whatever God allows to happen in our
lives, even if the Devil sends it, God can transform and use for our benefit
Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now have I kept Your
word.
Psalm
119:71 It is good for me that I
have been afflicted; that I might learn Your statutes.
When Job
went through his period of testing, he responded to his wife, and corrected
her, saying; “What, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not
receive evil?” Job 2:10b.
Job is not
saying that God sends evil, but since God is Sovereign above all, whatever
happens to us must be within His will. God can work together for good whatever
happens to us in life. He can use it to form our character, to deepen our
character, to give us more compassion for others. There are innumerable ways
God can use what seems evil for His good.
In Genesis,
we read Joseph comforting his brethren who had sold him into slavery. “And
Joseph said unto them, Fear not: ….You thought evil against me; but God meant
it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive,” Genesis
50:20.
Psalm 57:3b God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
In the proverbs
we read, “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged; and by the fear of the Lord
men depart from evil,” Proverbs 16:6.
What, when,
where, or who is the ultimate manifestation of God’s mercy and truth? None
other than Jesus Christ. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace (mercy) and
truth came by Jesus Christ,” John 1:17. It is through Jesus’ perfect
sacrifice for sin that our iniquities have been purged for we come unto God by
Him.
Isaiah
53:5,6b,8b,9b,10ab,11b,12b “But He
was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And the Lord has laid upon Him the
iniquity of us all. For the transgression of My people was He stricken. Because
He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise Him; He (the Lord) has put Him to grief: when You shall make
His soul an offering for sin. By His knowledge shall My righteous servant
justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. And He bear the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Psalm 57:4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on
fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue
a sharp sword.
It is the
Devil who goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter
5:8. King Saul, oppressed by an evil spirit, sought to kill David to ensure
that his sons would inherit the throne after him. When we are under fierce
persecution our enemies behave themselves like wild animals in their fury to
destroy us.
They start
with words against us, gossip, then slander, and lies. Through words they want
to destroy us and our good work for the Lord and others. James tells us that the
tongue is a fire of iniquity, descending not from above, but is earthy,
sensual, devilish, James 3:15. The tongue can be used for good or for
evil. It can lift up, or bring down. “Death and life are in the power of the
tongue,” Proverbs 18:21.
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