Mercy, Trust, and Praise

INTRO

The psalms depict real stuff from David’s life, not just stories. Psalm 57 is one of four that was set to the tune “Do Not Destroy,” along with chapters 58, 59, and 75 (by Asaph). In Psalm 57, David was fleeing and in despair. Philip Yancy wrote, “David wrote and sang the psalms as therapy for himself. Somehow, telling himself the truth enabled him to rise above his fear and see a transcendent God who remained in control.”¹ In all of this, we will see Jesus as the King of Glory.

The backdrop for this psalm is recorded in 1 Samuel 20—24. We are going to see where David came from and how he ended up in the predicament discussed in these psalms.

• Jonathan showed his loyalty to David. He shot an arrow as a sign David should run from Saul.
• David went to Nob where he ate showbread with the priest Ahimelech and obtained Goliath’s sword.
• In Nob, Doeg the Edomite (Saul’s chief herdsman), saw David’s actions and reported them to Saul. Saul responded in anger by killing Ahimelech, 85 priests, and Nob men, women, children, oxen, donkey, and sheep. Saul was God’s chosen one, but his heart had hardened to a point he did things beyond what he could have imagined. There are choices you and I make daily that could harden our hearts. The King of Glory is always waiting to restore us back. Unfortunately, Saul never came to that point.
• David fled to Gath (Philistine). He went to the King Achish, pretending to be insane in order to remain safe.
• David left and escaped at first to a cave of Adullam with his 400 men.
• During this time, Saul continued to pursue David. Saul was closing in on the other side of the mountain from David. The Philistines attacked, so Saul left.
• David then hid in a second cave in the wilderness of En-gedi.
• Saul again pursued David with 3,000 choice soldiers. Saul actually went into David’s cave unintentionally. David chose to spare Saul’s life and cut off the corner of his robe.

I wanted to review all that because it is important to understand what David was feeling. He was fleeing for his life! This was what was happening in his life. David was chosen to be in the palace, but he was in the wilderness. It is possible God was preparing David. Wiersbe wrote, “Better to be in the will of God in a cave than out of His will in a king’s palace.”²

The structure of Chapter 57 is:

A call for mercy in the midst of calamities (vv. 1–3)

A confession of trust in the midst of trouble (vv. 5–6)

A determination to praise God in the midst of the people (vv. 7–11)

TEACHING

Psalm 57:1: David begged for mercy. I love where it says, “In the shadow of your wings.” It gives the picture of a mother bird whose baby comes up underneath her wings to take refuge and to find safety.

Psalm 57:2–3: David continued to cry out to, “God who performs His purpose in me.” The word performs is translated “will perfect.” The point is that God acts on behalf of His servant. Gamar (which translates to “perform”) means “to end, finish, perfect; to come to an end, fulfill.” This refers to the completing, finishing, and perfecting of God’s work in one’s life. The idea is God begins to work out His purpose in the lives of His servants and continues His work until it is absolutely and completely done.

Psalm 57:4–6: David compared his foes to lions prowling around for prey. In the midst of his distress, David exalted God, shouting his praise to the Lord. David declared his enemies were “preparing a net.” Though his enemies expected David to be easily caught like a bird, through God’s mercy, they fell into their own pit.

Psalm 57:7: When David declared his “heart was steadfast,” he needed to hear that truth out loud. It makes me think of Paul near the end of his life (2 Timothy 4:6–7). David assured God that he had remained faithful to God who had provided for him from the beginning (1 Corinthians 15:58).

I encourage you to be steadfast! A steadfast heart is one fixed on the Lord’s promise and not wavering between doubt and faith. Looking at ourselves and situations, the natural will cause doubt and lead us down a road that leads to unbelief.

Psalm 57:8–11: These verses contain the refrain (a line or phrase that repeats at the end of a verse and reinforces the song’s main point) (vv. 5, 11). “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, let Your glory be above all the earth.” David called upon the Lord to manifest His greatness in such a way that people had to say, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Psalm 58: This psalm is subtitled The Just Judgment of the Wicked (NKJV). David lamented how wicked Saul and his men were.

Psalms 59: This psalm is subtitled The Assured Judgment of the Wicked (NKJV). David moved from lament to singing and praising God.

CLOSING

Speak truth over yourself continually! Feelings and emotions are terrible leaders. Feelings can easily cause doubt, which leads to unbelief. Be led by truth (Job 13:15)!

The Hebrew word for trust is yachal. Nelson writes, “Yachal means to wait, hope, trust, expect, be patient; remain in anticipation. Yachal is often translated to ‘hope.’”³ Also, read Hebrews 13:5–6 and Romans 8:28.

John Piper once said, “Not only is all your affliction momentary, not only is all your affliction light in comparison to eternity and the glory there, but all of it is totally meaningful. Every millisecond of your pain from the fallen nature or fallen man, every millisecond of your misery in the path of obedience is producing a peculiar glory you will get because of that . . . Do not lose heart, but take these truths and, day by day, focus on them. Preach them to yourselves every morning. Get alone with God and preach His word into your mind until your heart sings with confidence that you are known and cared for.”⁴