Reading: Psalm 57 verses 1-11
Ill:
• England’s most famous outlaw, has to be the legendary hero of the 12th-century;
• The courteous, swashbuckling outlaw Robin Hood.
• Who, in modern versions of the legend,
• Is famous for his robbing the rich to feed the poor & fighting against injustice & tyranny.
• He operates with his "seven score"
• (140 strong) group of fellow outlawed yeomen;
• Named the Merry Men for their famed jollity
• Who were based in hideouts in Sherwood Forest and Barnsdale Forest.
• The chief nemesis of the Merry Men is the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham;
• Who is overtaxing the people into poverty,
• And in some tales the villain is Prince John,
• Based on John of England.
In this our last study on King David:
• He like Robin Hood is forced to live as an outlaw (this would last for at least 10 years);
• He is not hiding in Sherwood Forest but in caves (Adullum or En-gedi Judean desert)
• He was not fleeing from prince John of England, but King Saul of Israel;
• A man consumed by jealousy and he is also mentally unstable.
While David was on the run as an outlaw with a price on his head:
• He wrote a couple of Psalms that detail his feelings;
• Psalm 54 and Psalm 142.
• Notice it has a title:
• We can learn three things from the title.
(1). It went to a well known tune.
To the tune of "Do Not Destroy."
• I believe this information is more than just what tune you can sing the song to;
• It is a phrase that is found in other Old Testament scriptures:
• For example in Isaiah chapter 65 verse 8;
• The Lord quotes a song sung by workers in the vineyards:
'As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, "Don't destroy it, there is yet some good in it," so will I do on behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all.'
• Perhaps in Psalm 57, David felt like discarded cluster of grapes;
• After all to King Saul his life has no value.
• Yet, David knows that there is still ‘good in it yet’;
• In other words he reminds his readers (and God) that his life is well worth preserving.
(2). It contains a secret.
• It is called a ‘Miktam’.
• This word's possible meaning of 'hidden' or 'covered',
• It really is apt for David, who at the time was hiding in the cave of Adullam.
• David is literally saying; “When I was secretly hiding, I discovered a secret”.
Quote:
“The difference between private enterprise and government?
The formulas for making Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken are still secrets.
Information on how to make a hydrogen bomb can be found in any library”
• David discovered a secret, a ‘Miktam’; only this secret is for sharing!
• And in this Psalm he shares with us that discovery.
(3). It was in a time of conflict.
“When he had to fled from Saul into the cave.”
• It is one of the few psalms that gives us a clear picture;
• Of where David was physically when this Psalm was being written (hiding in a cave)
Ill:
• A telemarketer called a home one day,
• And a small voice whispered, “Hello?”
• “Hello! What’s your name?”
• Still whispering, the voice said, “Jimmy.”
• “How old are you, Jimmy?”
• “I’m four.”
• “Good, Is your mother home?”
• “Yes, but she’s busy.”
• “Okay, is your father home?”
• “He’s busy too.”
• “I see, who else is there?”
• “The police.”
• “The police? May I speak with one of them?”
• “They’re busy.”
• “Any other grown-ups there?”
• “The firemen.”
• “May I speak with a fireman, please?”
• “They’re all busy.”
• “Jimmy, all those people in your house, and I can’t talk with any of them?
• What are they doing?”
• Again Jimmy whispered;
• “Looking for me!”
• Well in Psalm 57:
• David is in hiding & King Saul is out looking for him.
Note:
• Physically David may be hiding in a Cave;
• Spiritually he was hiding in God!
• I want to highlight just four verses from Psalm 57 to illustrate that truth.
• That physically David may be hiding in a Cave; but spiritually he was hiding in God!
(1). The shadow of God's wings (vs1): confidence
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
Twice in verse 1 David asks God for mercy:
• Mercy is a word we rarely use
• Ill: Mr F. “Do me a favour and I will do one for you etc”
ill:
• Napoleon was moved by a mother's plea for a pardon for her son.
• However, the emperor said it was the second offence; and justice demanded death.
• "I do not ask for justice," implored the mother, "I plead for mercy."
• "But," said the emperor, "he does not deserve mercy."
• "Sire," cried the mother,
• "It would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for."
• The compassion and clarity of the mother's logic prompted Napoleon to respond,
• "Well, then, I will have mercy."
• David knew; That God is rich in mercy, he delights to show mercy;
• And it is on this understanding of God’s character David makes his appeal to God.
David may have been a fugitive hiding in a cave:
• But he was also a believer in the living God;
• And his faith would give him confidence to handle the situation in God.
• Notice how prominent God is in this Psalm;
• In eleven verses, God is referred to twenty one times by name or pronoun.
• And there are other words and phrases like ‘refuge’ and ‘shadow of your wings’;
• That are also used to refer to him as well.
• David was confident in his God;
• Because he knew his God! e.g. “The Lord is my shepherd”
David shows his confidence in God by means of a lovely phrase (verse 1):
• ‘Shadow of your wings’: is a great image;
• That has one or two possible meanings to that expression:
(a). God’s presence.
• In the Old Testament the most frequent use of the word ‘wings’;
• Refers to the wings of the golden cherubim that were upon the lid of the ark of the covenant.
• The ark of the covenant was symbolic of God’s presence.
• David might be saying that he is as secure in his cave,
• As if he were himself within the most holy place (tabernacle or the temple).
• The place God dwells with men; the point being - God is with him!
Ill:
• The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves.
• On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday,
• After learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test.
• He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone.
• Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe.
• But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away.
• When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce.
• After what seemed like an eternity,
• Dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest.
• Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path.
• Then, to his utter astonishment,
• He beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow & arrow.
• It was his father. He had been there all night long.
(b). God’s care.
• Another interpretation of that phrase, maybe the Psalmist is saying;
• As a mother bird takes care of her young; God takes care, protects me.
Ill:
• A construction crew was building a new road through a rural area,
• Knocking down trees as it progressed.
• A superintendent noticed that one tree had a nest of birds who couldn’t yet fly;
• And he marked the tree so that it would not be cut down.
• Several weeks later the superintendent came back to the tree.
• He got into a bucket truck and was lifted up so that he could peer into the nest.
• The fledglings were gone. They had obviously learned to fly.
• The superintendent ordered the tree cut down.
• As the tree crashed to the ground, the nest fell clear and;
• Some of the material that the birds had gathered to make the nest was scattered about.
• Part of it was a scrap torn from a Sunday school pamphlet.
• On the scrap of paper were these words: “He careth for you”.
The first three verses of our psalm give reasons for David’s, and our, confidence.
• It is rooted in the character of his God.
• Verse 3: “God’s love and his faithfulness”.
• David’s faith was never blind;
• He knew his God and he knew what his God was like!
Ill:
• Each Christian has an even greater appreciation of;
• Both the love and faithfulness of God!
• A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on
• “The Love of God.”
• As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows,
• The congregation gathered.
• In the darkness of the altar,
• The monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix.
• First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands,
• Then the marks of the spear wound.
• In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel.
• There was nothing else to say.
• David’s, and our, confidence is rooted in the character of God.
• Verse 3: “God’s love and his faithfulness”.
(2). Lions and ravenous beasts (verse 4): trouble
“I am in the midst of lions;
I lie among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.”
Ill:
• The photographer for a national magazine was assigned to get photos of a great forest fire.
• Smoke at the scene hampered him and he asked his home office to hire a plane.
• Arrangements were made and he was told to go at once to a nearby airport,
• Where the plane would be waiting.
• When he arrived at the airport, a plane was warming up near the runway.
• He jumped in with his equipment and yelled, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
• The pilot swung the plane into the wind and they soon were in the air.
• “Fly over the north side of the fire,” yelled the photographer,
• “And make three or four low level passes.”
• “Why?” asked the pilot.
• “Because I’m going to take pictures,” cried the photographer.
• “I’m a photographer and photographers take pictures!”
• After a short moment of silence, a rather nervous pilot said,
• “You mean you’re not my instructor?”
David was also in big trouble:
• When David speaks of teeth and tongues, and of spears and arrows and swords:
• Obviously one set of nouns is real and the other is metaphorical.
• Although it is not really obvious which is which.
• Which is real and which is metaphorical.
e.g.:
• Are his enemies' mouths, accusing and betraying him, like hostile weapons?
• Or are their weapons like the mouths of wild beasts, eager to eat him up?
• I suppose either way;
• The point is that David is in a fearful situation and experiencing trouble!
He uses very descriptive poetic language to informs us that:
• He faced constant hostility, his enemies were always attacking him.
• “I am in the midst of lions” – always on guard with in other words there is no place to rest!
• The expression “Spears, arrows and swords”;
• Speaks of their cruelty and their venom – they are out to get him and hurt him!
Question:
• How could David keep focused on God;
• Rather than on the life-threatening danger of his situation.
Answer: verse 2.
“I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfils {his purpose} for me”.
• Notice how he refers to God:
• Not as ‘God’ or ‘my God’ but as "the God Most High?"
• David is making an important point here;
• He wants to impress upon us just how much authority God had over his life.
• When things are going well it is easy to say God is blessing me, and leading me;
• And at work in my life.
• But it is just as true for the believer, even when things are not going well;
• To remember that God is still in control of our future!
Quote: Corrie Ten Boom:
• On December 28, 1944, after ten months of incarceration in concentration camps,
• Corrie Ten Boom was free.
• She had lost her father and beloved sister to the horrors of Nazi death camps.
• Gaunt, filthy, and weak,
• Corrie made her way to the railway station;
• And boarded a train for a three-day journey home to Holland.
• She later found out that an order had been given at the end of that very week;
• To kill all women her age and older.
• An error in prison paperwork was the catalyst God used to release her.
• An incredible story and an incredible woman (read any of her books).
In one of her books she writes:
“Often I have heard people say, ‘How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!’
Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp.
I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart.
I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. ‘No, Corrie,’ said Betsie, ‘He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.” ”
Corrie concludes, “There is an ocean of God’s love available—there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love—whatever the circumstances.”
• Like Corrie, David was about to discover that God was with him;
• Even….in the cave!
• Humanly speaking David was in what appeared to be the direst of positions,
• And the dreariest of places,
• Yet, David was not taken up with self-pity;
• Concerning the bad deal he had been dealt.
• Instead he kept on trusting God; and as a result of his trust in God;
• He is able to overcome his circumstances and not be crushed by them!
Again remember David’s secret:
• David’s, and our, confidence is rooted in the character of God.
• Verse 3: “God’s love and his faithfulness”.
Ill:
David had experienced God’s protection on many occasions:
• As a shepherd boy he had fought with wild animals lions, bears etc.
• As a soldier he had defeated the mighty Goliath.
• As an outlaw he would again trust God for his protection;
• Even if he was being pursued by an army of 3,000 fighting men!
• David was confident of God's protection because of who God is.
• The God Most High is a God who is loving and faithful to keep His promises.
• He promised David through Samuel the prophet that one day he would be king.
• David knew God was faithful, he always keeps his word!
David's first response to danger:
• Was not to focus on the threat of a pursuing enemy.
• He did not despair, or become angry, or question God's goodness.
• David's first response was to recognize God's greatness;
• Because David knew that the God he worshipped was the God Most High,
• A God who had ultimate authority over David's life,
• And a God who is faithful in keeping his promises to those who obey Him.
Quote Annie Johnson Flint:
“God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through.
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.
But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labour,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love”
(3). A net and a pit (verse 6): retribution.
“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.
Selah”
ill:
When he was physics professor at Adelaide University in Australia,
• Each year Sir Kerr Grant would teach his students by way of an illustration.
• On command he would let go of a rope;
• And a heavy ball that was suspended from the lecture-theatre roof;
• Would fall some 30 feet and be caught in a sand bucket.
• Each year the bucket was lined up meticulously to catch the ball;
• And each year students secretly moved the bucket to one side,
• So that the ball crashed thunderously to the floor.
• Tiring of this rather stale joke, the professor traced a chalk line around the bucket.
• The students moved the bucket as usual,
• They too traced a chalk mark around the new position,
• Then slightly rubbed it out and replaced the bucket in its original spot.
• “Aha!” the professor explained, seeing the faint outline of the erased chalk mark.
• He then moved the bucket over it and released the ball—which thundered to the floor as usual.
• I guess the poor old professor was just not meant to win;
• No matter how he tried he was always outnumbered & out witted by his classes!
Note:
• David was outnumbered by Saul and his men:
• But he would not be outwitted!
• Notice the double emphasises in verse 6;
• Of who crafty and determined Saul and his men were in trying to capture him.
A Net and a pit:
• His enemies had prepared a net to capture him;
• Quote: Spurgeon:
“As for each sort of fish, or bird, or beast, a fitting net is needed, so do the ungodly suit their net to their victims circumstance and character with a careful craftiness of malice”.
• Hs enemies were determined to trap him;
• As well as a net they had also dug a pit.
• Where as nets were used to trap birds;
• Pits were dug along paths in order to trap large animals.
• David was threatened on every side and had no rest.
• He was “bowed down,” which meant that he was drooping and dragging.
• He didn’t know how much longer he could take it.
• He had great faith but he was only human (hunger, tiredness, difficulties take their toll)
The last part of verse 6 reveals an insight God gave to David.
• Those who were chasing him;
• Would in turn fall into the traps they had set for David.
Ill:
• That is what happened, when Saul needs to relieve (e.g. video said sleep) himself;
• He climbs up into a cave.
• Unaware that David was in that cave;
• He could have if he wanted to take his life, instead he cuts off a piece of his cloak.
Quote: Fredrich Nietzsche:
“Revenge is the greatest instinct in the human race”.
The reason David is not full of thoughts of revenge is because he was full of God!
• Verse 7 he twice mentions ‘His heart’
• “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast”;
• Verse 9, 10 and 11 the object of his heart is not an earthly king (Saul);
• But rather a heavenly king (God)
• David was confident that ‘in time’;
• God would turn his situation around and take care of Saul his persecutor.
• Remember that at this point in the story;
• David’s enemies have not yet fallen into their own trap.
• Far from it;
• Humanly speaking all the advantage is at present with Saul and his men.
• But David is able to look up! He can see the bigger picture,
• He is confident in both of the plan of God and of the progress of evil.
(4). Harp and lyre (verse 8): praise
“Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn”.
Ill:
In the first half of the 17th century,
• Germany was in the midst of wars and famine and pestilence.
• In the city of Eilenburg lived a pastor by the name of Martin Rinkart.
• During one especially oppressive period,
• Rinkart conducted up to 50 funerals a day as a plague swept through the town;
• And as the Thirty Years’ War wreaked its own terror on the people.
• Among those whom Rinkart buried were members of his own family.
• Yet during those years of darkness and despair,
• When death and destruction greeted each new day,
• Pastor Rinkart wrote 66 sacred songs and hymns.
• Among them was the song “Now Thank We All Our God.”
As sorrow crouched all around him, Rinkart wrote:
“Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voice,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who, from our mothers’ arms,
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.”
Rinkart demonstrated a valuable lesson for us all:
• Thankfulness does not have to wait for prosperity and peace.
• It’s always a good time to praise God for the “wondrous things” He has done.
Notice:
• In verse 6 David is downcast (meaning: “bowed down,”)
• Here in verse 7 he is steadfast, which means to “stand erect.”
• Instead of being bowed down, David is now standing tall.
• He repeats it twice for emphasis: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast…”
• David’s circumstances have not changed;
• But his perspective has! He is now viewing them from God’s viewpoint.
Ill:
• Native American.
• “Waterhole dry, grass gone, sheep all dead”
• Bank vault was lots of gold nuggets he had panned.
• “Waterhole full, grass green, plenty of sheep”
Note:
• Not only were the wings and the lions and the pit metaphorical (figurative);
• So too was the harp and the lyre.
• We know from the story in 1 Samuel;
• That David had to leave home in such a hurry;
• That he had no time even to pick up his sword,
• So he is almost certain not to have brought his harp with him.
• So the harp he speaks of is not literal but symbolic;
• Which gives the verse an interesting slant.
Remember that David has spent a chilly and uncomfortable night in unpromising surroundings,
• Yet look at what he says;
• He does not say that the sunrise awakens him, but rather he awakens it!
• Don’t miss that, because it is usually the dawn that awakens people;
• But such was his desire to praise his God, the Psalmist says “I awaken the dawn!”
Question: Why was David so keen?
Answer: David knew his God:
• The God Most High (verse 2), ill: In control.
• The God of heaven (verse 3), ill: White House.
• The God of all the earth (verse 5). ill: Tribal Gods who were limited.
David knowledge of God was reflected in his view of life:
• He is not preoccupied with the cave or his enemies:
• He is preoccupied with his God,
• And he wants others to come to that knowledge as well.
• Verse 9-10:
“I will praise YOU, O 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.
Note: One verse in this Psalm is repeated;
• That means it is given double emphasis.
• It is verse 5 & 11:
“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.”
• David is not asking for personal vindication;
• After all he was an innocent man!
• His desire is ‘the glory of God!’
• David wants God to be glorified in his life through these present difficulties.
Ill:
• J. S. Bach headed all his compositions: “J. J.” “Jesus Juva”
• Which means “Jesus help me.”
• He ended them “S. D. G.” “Soli Dei gratia”
• Which means “To God alone the praise.”
• David’s desire is exactly the same;
• David wants God to be glorified through the difficulties in his life.
Quote:
• My favourite written prayers is simple and brief:
• “Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.”
• David would say a hearty Amen! To that;
• “Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else”.
