Psalm 57: ¹ Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by. ² I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. ³ He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample on me. God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness. 

What strikes me most about this passage is the preface that my bible version gives as a setting for this psalm. It says, “Of David… when he fled from Saul in the cave”. In other words David is believed to have written these words when he was in a cave hiding from King Saul who wanted to kill him. In 1 Samuel chapter 24 we’re told Saul when into the cave where David and his men were hiding. While Saul was relieving himself in the cave, David had a chance to kill the king but did not. Why not kill when David had the chance? This psalm tells us why.

“I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”

The Lord had directed the prophet Samuel to anoint David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, to one day be king. Though a number of years had past at the time of this psalm David held on to the promise spoken over him as a boy – and trusted God to remove Saul rather than taking matters into his own hands. God would fulfill David’s purpose for him.

This sort of faith, spoken in the midst of genuine life-threatening danger, inspires me this morning. Lord, give me faith in the midst of the struggle. Amen.