A response to Lockdown - Psalm 57
A third Lockdown, a virus that won’t go away, the church facing major trial and our personal lives a constant struggle. In these circumstances, we often quote James 1:2-4 which says:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
We know as Christians that God has a plan and we know that in that plan will be many trials. We also know that these trials work for good and therefore in the end bring joy. Yet many of us in frustration ask ‘how can we have joy?’ ‘How on earth can anything good come out of a third Lockdown?’ ‘How can we turn all this sadness and frustration into something that brings good?’ To find answers we need to turn to Psalm 57 and learn how King David coped in hardship.
During the reign of King Saul (King over all of Israel in 1st Samuel), Saul disobeyed God, because of this, God removed his favour from Saul and placed it on David. Soon after, David killed a giant warrior called Goliath. Many saw David as a hero even a mighty warrior, but Saul became jealous of all the attention David was getting. So, Saul spent the rest of his life seeking a way to kill David, David had to literally run for his life. One day, David, on the run from Saul, hid in a cave hoping Saul would not find him. While hiding in this cave, David wrote Psalm 57.
Verse 1 - 3
“Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me, God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.”
David had fled from many potential life-threatening instances and his need was so urgent that he repeats his request – “have mercy on me, have mercy on me”. He had no options left, all he had was the ability to trust God. So, David turns his attention to God, seeking God as his refuge, his place of safety. He was like a small newly hatched bird being protected by the wings of his parents. David cries out to God – keep me safe, be my refuge, keep me alive! David knows as he cries out to God, that God can be trusted to protect him from his enemies. God can be trusted to remain faithful and protect David with love.
Verse 4
“I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.”
As if to convince God of his severe trial, David describes that beasts are eager to devour him. They use words to cut right through him. We get the real sense that David is absolutely terrified of what lies ahead. He is literally sitting in a corner of a cave, crying out to God for mercy, knowing that his enemies are close behind ready to destroy him.
Verse 5 - 6
“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.’
As David considers those who wish to kill him, he tells his very soul that even in this God is to be glorified. Even though his enemies sought him, even though he was in tears in a cave, even though David had run out of Hope, he was still able to say – God you get the Glory in this.
Verse 7 - 11
“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”
What amazing words David uses to finish this Psalm. He begins by crying out for Mercy and he ends with a new song in his heart. He is praising God, he is singing to God and he is recounting all of God’s mercies. Did you notice that at the beginning of the Psalm David says – have mercy on me, have mercy on me. Now at the end of the Psalm David is able to say My heart is steadfast, my heart is steadfast. God has taken David and reversed his emotions and his thoughts. As David considers who God is and what he can do, his tears have turned into praise.
As we consider this Psalm, it is important to think how we can apply it to our lives, more specifically how we can apply it to a national lockdown and all that this week has brought. Let me quickly show you 4 lessons we can learn:
1. When we cry out to God, he hears us!
While reading the first few verses of Psalm 57, I was struck by the image of David on his knees crying out to God, here is a man, utterly distraught, in tears, crying out to God. Are we not ourselves devastated, frustrated, anxious and crying? 1 John 5:14 says “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” We have a living and active God, when we cry out he will hear us. What a comfort it is to know that God wants to hear from us, he wants us to cry out to him because it is in him we are granted Peace, a Peace that would surpass anything that can be obtained on this earth. What we learn from Psalm 57 is that God hears us! He hears the silent prayer, he hears the prayer of pain, he hears the prayer of repentance and he hears us in the pit of despair when we cry out to him.
2. When we trust God, he helps us!
When David prayed to God, he asked God for Mercy. He knew that only God could save, he knew that there was nothing he could do to save himself and only God could help him. Do we not ourselves feel powerless? Don’t we just want to fix everything and get back to ‘normal’? In Proverbs 3:5 it says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” You see we are not meant to trust in our own abilities or think we are the ones that need to do the saving! The Lord is the one to be trusted, he is the one that will show us his path and his plan. He is the one that can help and can save! Psalm 28:7 says, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped.” God is our source of strength, if you are in despair, if all around you seems like it will devour you, trust God, he can and he will help!
3. When we leave it in God’s hands, he puts a new song in our hearts!
I love that by the end of Psalm 57, David can turn his tears into singing praises to God. What’s amazing about this is that he is still in the cave, he is still being hunted, yet he knows that God is on his side and now suddenly he can sing! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We need to remember why we give thanks, these verses in Thessalonians tell us that this is the will of Jesus that we rejoice, we pray and that we give thanks! God deserves the Glory; our song is one of Praise for such an awesome God! We rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances.
4. We all need rescued!
David needed rescued from his enemies in Psalm 57 and the reality is that we all need rescued. God created us all in love and in Peace, but when Adam and Eve sinned they set in motion the disease of sin that touches us all. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” You see all of us have sin in our lives and that falls short of God’s perfect standards. Romans 6:23 tells us “For the wages of sin is death.” Because of our sin, we deserve punishment. God is a just God and he will not let sin go unpunished, so in our sinful state, we deserve the punishment of eternal death.
Yet the second half of Romans 6:23 says that there is a free gift from God, that gift is eternal life, eternity with God! John 3:16 tells us how that free gift came about. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God loved us so much that he sent his son to take the punishment, a punishment of death, for all our sin, so that we could be rescued into the loving arms of God. In John 14:6 it says “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” You see we all face death, we all need rescued and the only way to be rescued is to come to Jesus, to have faith and trust in him, to repent from all the sin in our lives and to devote our lives to Jesus. Only then can we enjoy the rescued reward of eternal life with God.
Know the peace, comfort and saving grace of Jesus today!
Pastor Ross Ferguson