Psalm 57: 1- 11
Steadfast
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. 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. 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. 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 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.
Are you having a hard time? What do you do when life continues to hit you hard every day? What happens to you when it seems like everything around you is causing you problems?
All those around you tell you to take some time off but when you look at your schedule it would be worse for you to take time off then stay steadfast.
Being a Christian, it is hard to face trials and tribulations with a genuine smile on your face and peace in your heart. But, it is possible! Hard, but possible. You can remain steadfast in your faith so that the process you are going through will not blind the promise God has given you.
So, here are a few ways to remain strong in your faith while going through tough times.
You know how you sometimes you want to scream and shout at God? Ask Him why all of this is happening to you? Stomp away from Him crying and saying all this isn't fair? C’mon now, admit it... No shame in saying that you do. I have done this. We all have. I am here to tell you that it's okay to feel that way. It's even better that you express yourself and tell God what is on your mind. It is okay to cry, be frustrated, angry, and sad about what you are going through. God Is a God that cares. He wants you to voice your frustrations, pain, worries, all on Him as taught in the book of 1st Peter 5:7, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
But, the hard part is... Once you have released your feelings, leave them with Him. That is what 1st Peter 5:7 is all about! Casting is something you do when you want to throw something out, especially in a certain direction, and leave it there. Once it has been cast, it is gone forever.
Also all our Holy God wants from you is to talk to you, just like you talk to your friends. Hard to believe? I know, it sounds strange because here is God who made the whole universe and beyond, and we can come to Him any time and He will take the time to fellowship with us.
That's what so amazing about Him! We can come to Him as we are. Better yet, He will meet us where we are. Although God is a pursuer, we must make sure we are open and willing to go to Him as we are instructed in the Gospel of John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
When problems come our way we want to get away from everything. We can avoid even the reading of God’s Holy Word. We need to remember not to flee from reading God’s message but to run to Him. Without the reinforcement of the Word, we can fall into dark areas of life where we do not have to go. Although things could be falling apart all around us, we have the Word to stand on. Hosea 4:6 says "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" because they "rejected knowledge". They may not have rejected the Word blatantly, but they forgot the Word and did not use what was in front of them to use! This knowledge was placed in your hands for you to live as God intends for you to live: Free. So, please use it.
Worship is a place where you can put all of your focus on God and let all the pain, worry, and hardships go. Do you know that your worship stops spiritual attacks right in its tracks? When you worship, you are not alone. All of Heaven is with you, rejoicing! When you worship, you release your faith into the atmosphere and it makes things move into their rightful place. Worship is totally essential; it is your power to move and shout until the walls of oppression come down.
I can say with experience that we are our worst enemy. Just because you are going through some things does not mean you are given the right to condemn yourself. Self-condemnation is the act of self-blaming and blaming yourself is not a way to make your situation any better, it will only make us feel worse. God knows our hearts better than we do,
Our Holy and Great God Is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David when he fled from Saul into the cave.
This is one of many Psalms dedicated to the Choirmaster or Chief Musician. It may simply indicate Psalms put at his disposal. It is set to the tune ‘Do not destroy’ and is one of the ‘Psalms of David’.
Michtam is a plea for protection Its provenance is said to be ‘when he fled from Saul in the cave’, which probably refers to his time in the wilderness of Engedi, near the Dead Sea.
It begins in the same way as Psalm 56 and in the same way speaks of those who would ‘swallow him up’ (verse 3). It continues the theme of God’s protection from his enemies, and from those who speak against him (verse 4), forecasting the downfall of his enemies (verse 6).
The Psalm can be divided into three parts:
. A call for God’s favor and protection in the face of his enemies (57.1-3).
. A description of his enemies and their fate (57.4-6).
. An expression of praise and thanksgiving for God’s intervention on his behalf (57.7-11).
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 requests God’s favor to be shown towards him because he has taken refuge under the shadow of His wings until all danger is past, and because he looks to Him to save him from the reproaches of his enemy.
He twice calls on God to show him favor in the midst of his calamities, confident that at some stage they will pass, as they must do in the face of God’s promises to him. He reminds Him that at His word he has taken refuge in him, and that he will continue to take refuge under the shadow of His wings. God has called him, and he looks to Him to protect him. The picture is of nestlings sheltering under the wings of the mother bird, secure from all that is happening around including storms and tempests, not emerging until all is safe.
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.
David declares that his cry is to God Most High (Elohim Elyon), the God Who Is above all things, and Whom he knows will perform all things that are necessary for him. He is confident that God will send from heaven and deliver him from the reproaches of ‘him who would swallow him up’. This last can only be Saul, who began so well, but failed in the end through disobedience. As we know David was innocent of the charges of being a traitor that were laid against him. So, David’s confidence lies in the fact of the God Who will send forth His covenant love and truth. He will be faithful to His promises given in the covenant, revealing His love towards those who walk in it, and establishing them in truth. Or ‘truth’ may be a description of God’s own faithfulness. He is true to those who look to Him.
David now goes on to describe the kind of people whom he is up against, and their desire to trap him, but is confident that, although he feels beset by them, they will fall into their own pit. Meanwhile he exalts the great God Who will cause this to happen.
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.
He describes his enemies as being ‘like lions’, on the prowl for their prey (He was very familiar with the ravaging of lions (1 Samuel 17.34).
‘those who are set on fire’ signifies those who are inflamed against him, having been stirred on by Saul. But even with these situations lying against him David lies down without fear among them, unafraid of their teeth or their fiery flames.
His life in the wilderness of Engedi was one of almost unceasing pursuit, as men sought to hunt him down and to envelop him in their flames. But along with his men he lay at rest amid his searching foes, because he knew that God was with him. His enemies might bare their teeth like lions on the prowl, or seek to strike him down with their tongues, but they did not disturb his peace one bit.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
He makes clear that his courage does not just arise from within himself, but that it is because his trust is in God. Thus, he calls on the God to exalt Himself above the heavens as He steps in on his behalf. And he prays that in the same way His glory might be above all the earth. His main desire in what he does is for the glory of God. He knows that God’s purposes trump all earthly situations. And therefore he can lie at peace among his enemies.
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
David is not deceived. he knows that he must be wary. He knows that his enemies have spread a net in order to entrap him and have dug a pit for him to fall into. They are using all their wiles as hunters. And it has bowed him down. He finds being constantly on the run and having to watch all the time for what his enemies plot against him is very wearing. But he is not afraid and is assured in his heart that in the end they will fall into their own pit. For God is on his side.
Even amid his trials David was able to sing and compose Psalms, for his delight was in his God, and he now calls on himself to wake early to do so. He wants all peoples and nations to be aware of God’s goodness and of His covenant love and faithfulness. He wants God’s glory to be above all the earth (verse 5).
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.
David assures God that his heart is fixed on one thing, the praise and glory of Him, The Lord Most High. And to that end he will sing, yes, he will sing praises.
8 Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn.
David calls on his own spirit (his glory) to wake up. He calls on his psaltery (a stringed instrument) and harp to awake. He assures God that he himself will awake right early for praising God. He wants the day to begin with praise, before the time arrives for once more evading the enemy.
Please notice again David’s words, ‘I myself will awake right early’ or ‘will awake the dawn’. He does not want to wait for the dawn to wake him but wants himself to awake 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.
David purpose is in order to give thanks to his Sovereign Lord among the peoples, and to sing His praise among the nations. He wants to bring to men’s attention God’s covenant love which is so great that it is great to the heavens. It stretches to heaven above. and His trustworthiness and faithfulness which reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
He finishes the Psalm with a repeat of his prayer that God might be exalted, from verse 5. He calls on God to exalt Himself above the heavens, and let His glory be above all the earth. In other words that God might reveal Himself as above and over all of God’s creation.
