Hiding in God

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Psalm 57

David experienced betrayal at the hand of the self-serving foreigner; the evil Doeg in Psalm 52. Then, after freeing the people of Ziph from a Philistine invasion in Psalm 54 David is betrayed by his own countrymen; this added insult to injury because the people of Ziph should have protected David. 

In Psalm 56, David finds himself in Gath, the hometown of Goliath the Philistine. David behaves like a madman and is thrust out of the presence of king Achish, afterwards he hides in the cave at Adullam.

This is where Psalm 57 picks up. The inscription in the heading says “when he fled from Saul, in the cave.”  The cave was rather large; and for the beginning of his stay there, he was all alone.

But, this stay at Adullum marks the beginning of David’s ill fortunes being reversed. 1 Samuel 22 tells us while David was at the cave, his brethren, fathers’ household and many people who were upset and discontent with Saul’s terrible testimony and leadership began to gather around David. A total of around 400 men came to his aid, David would become their faithful leader.

Now then, Psalm 57 does not record the arrival of these faithful followers at the cave of Adullam. But, we do have a noticeable change in David’s demeanor.  As he writes this Psalm the overall tone of the poem beams with the light of praise, while the previous Psalms seemed darker fearful, uncertain, and at times desperate.

Why such an abrupt change? — Well, in the previous compositions David is hiding from his enemies but in Psalm 57 David is hiding in God.  David was on the run, hiding from his enemies in Nob, in Gath, and finally in the cave.  The cave in Psalm 57 stands as an object lesson to symbolize David hiding in God.  

Perhaps no greater Christian hymn summarizes the message of Psalm 57 better than this:

O safe to the rock that is higher than I,

My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;

So sinful, so weary, thine, thine would I be;

Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in thee.

Hiding in Thee is the hymn and message of Psalm 57!

1. Under the Shadow of God’s Wings in Verses 1-5
   1. Where is David’s Refuge in Verse 1? — When we consider David’s situation it is natural for us to think he is speaking of the cave as being his refuge.  But, that is not the case.  The cave at Adullam was David’s refuge in the physical sense.  God is David’s refuge in every sense.  As David is hidden physically in the deep shadows of the cave at Adullam, he confesses it is only under the shadow of God’s wings where his true safety is found.
   2. God-Centered Praise — The names, titles and pronouns which refer to God are mentioned at least 29 times in these 11 short verses which make up the 57^th Psalm.
   3. To what does “shadow of your wings” refer in Verse 1? — I believe David has a dual imagery in his mind here:
      1. The Wings of the Cherubim — In the Tabernacle and later the Temple, the Ark of the Covenant had 2 golden Cherubim on its lid.  These celestial creatures had wings which covered their eyes like blinders for a horse and they gazed upon the Mercy Seat of God.
         1. David envisions himself in the Tabernacle in the Sacred Presence of God.
         2. The messaging here is striking, instead of seeing himself in a cold, dark cave all alone he meditates as if he is in the Presence of God Himself.
      2. The Wings of God Himself — Someone may say, “Well, hold on a minute, God doesn’t have ‘wings’ so we shouldn’t be irreverent like that”. Please note the following passages:  
         1. The Prelude to the 10 Commandments in Exodus 19:4 — “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”
         2. In the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:11 — “an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions”
         3. The Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 23:37 — “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing”  
         4. The phrase “shadow of your wings” occurs in Psalms 17:8, 36:7, 61:4, 63:7 and 57:1.   
         5. In Psalm 91:1&4 — “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty…He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”
   4. Why does David cry out to “God Most High” in Verses 2-3? — This name first appears in the story when Abraham met Melchizedek in Genesis 14 — “And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” — Verses 19-20. Here are 2 reasons why David calls upon “God Most High”
      1. David and Abraham were both homeless.  Both men had left everything to follow after God and the calling which God placed on them.
      2. David and Abraham both knew what the phrase “God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand” meant.  God delivered David first, then God delivered David’s great enemy Saul into David’s hand more than once.  See I Samuel 24 and 26.
   5. Surrounded by Lion’s in Verse 4 — David says “My soul is in the midst of lions…” When we hear of someone surrounded by lions in the Bible, it’s hard not to think of Daniel.  But, we could be thinking of David just as well.  While in the cave of Adullam, David is “in the shadow” of God’s wings and as safe as Daniel ever was in the lion’s den.  David is like Daniel who said “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I done any wrong before you, O king” – Daniel 6:22 
   6. Application:  In these desperate and dismal days when David hid in a dark cave, with his many enemies in hot pursuit all the time, on every side, everywhere he went, he envisions himself in the Divine Presence of God Most High, surrounded by the Holy Angels, taking refuge in the shadow of God’s wings.  How about you?    
2. A Climax of Chorus in Verses 6-11 — Did you notice the same themes appear in this section as in the first?  In Verse 1, David appeals to God for mercy.  In Verses 2-3, David gives testimony to God’s steadfastness.  In Verses 4, David describes his enemies.
   1. The Order is Reversed — In Verse 6, David mentions his enemies.  In Verses 7-8, deal with steadfastness, the only difference is it’s David’s steadfastness.  In Verses 9-10, David cries out to God again.  
   2. The Notes Sound More Intense — The second time around each element mentioned in verses 1-5 are intensified in verses 6-11.  The notes are sung in a higher key because David has become gloriously strong and confident on account of his focus on God—David is hiding in God Alone—Not in his problems!
      1. In verse 6, David previously felt in danger, his enemies have dug a pit for him, now it’s actually the enemies themselves who will be entrapped in their own schemes against him!  The enemies fall into the pit they have dug for David!
      2. In verses 7-8, David’s relationship to God is taken to an even higher note than before as he expresses how much God means to him!
      3. In verses 9-10, petitions for mercy are now tuned to notes of praise!
   3. What does David mean when he says “my heart is steadfast” in verse 7?  In verse 3, we have the phrase “…God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!”  But now, he says twice “My Heart is Steadfast” in verse 7.  This doubling of the phrase signifies strong emphasis.  Because God is faithful, David is faithful.  
   4. Application — Can we say this about ourselves?  Do we, like the great Alexander MacLaren preached, have “A Fixed Heart”? “For a fixed heart I must have a fixed determination and not a mere fluctuating and soon broken intention. I must have a steadfast affection, and not merely a fluttering love that, like some butterfly, lights now on this, now on that sweet flower, but which has a flight straight as a carrier pigeon to its cot, which shall bear me direct to God. And I must have a continuous realization of my dependence upon God and of God’s sweet sufficiency going with me all through the dusty day.… Ah, brethren! How unlike the broken, interrupted, divergent lines that we draw? … Is our average Christianity fairly represented by such words as these of my text? Do they not rather make us burn with shame when we think that a man who lived in the twilight of God’s revelation, and was weighed upon by distresses such as wrung this psalm out of him, should have poured out this resolve, which we who live in the sunlight and are flooded with blessings find it hard to echo with sincerity and truth?  Fixed hearts are rare amongst the Christians of this day.”
3. The Glory of God in Conclusion — The high note ending in verse 11 is not surprising at this point.  The whole focal point of human history is that the Lord God and His Son Christ will be known and glorified for who they are and all they have done.  And that nothing can frustrate God’s purposes in Christ.
   1. A Prayer:  What David is praying is not so much that God has or will be exalted, God most certainly has and will be.  David is praying for God to be exalted.  
   2. How So?  David wants God to be exalted in his own personal circumstances, by the way David trusts and praises God in difficulties!