Thoughts from the Cave

 

“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, till the storms of destruction pass by.”

—Psalm 57:1 ESV

When we read Psalm 57, we can hear the desperation in King David’s voice. He cries out to God from his hiding place in a cave.

Once again, the murderous King Saul had threatened David’s life. David has fled to the interior of a cave for protection. As we read Scripture, it seems that David did a lot of hiding from danger. He hid constantly from King Saul, who jealously and constantly hunted David down during the seven years after Samuel anointed David to become the next king of Israel. Later in David’s life, his own son, Absalom, hunted David down because Absalom had designs on the throne.

These caves in Canaan, that David knew so well, became his “go-to” spots whenever he felt unsafe and afraid. Yet, we also see, again and again in the Psalms, that David refers to God as his refuge. In Psalm 57, David describes those chasing him as lions, ravenous beasts with teeth like spears and arrows.

David often uses the image of the wings of God covering him like a mother bird does her babies and like the mighty eagle shelters her newborns. In Psalm 91:4, we read:

He [God] will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

In Psalm 57, David reveals that he knew specific hindrances to his feet that might trip him, namely a net and a pit. In this particular moment in our lives, we can relate to that image, too. Because we must shelter in place and maintain social distancing, right now our feet can’t go where we might wish they could take us. David was stuck in a cave, just like we are now stuck in our homes.

In spite of the circumstances, David has confidence in God. And, David illustrates his confidence when he commits himself with the words “I will” four times. He promises that he will:

1. Sing and make music (v. 7)
2. Awaken the dawn. (v. 8)
3. Praise the Lord among the nations. (v. 9)
4. Sing among the peoples. (v.9)

We can act on these same promises. What if we reflected on hymns that we know, and either sing or listen to those that offer us hope and faith during this time? Even though we may not need to arise in the morning as early as we would have if we were going to our places of employment, in the early morning, we can still make it a priority to meet God in His written Word and in prayer.

We may struggle with praising the Lord among the nations. Nevertheless, thousands of people around the world are suffering from COVID-19 and many thousand more must risk their own health by caring for those who are sick. Pray for leaders around the world and scientists working to stop this plague.

Certainly, we can determine that, once we congregate again in our churches, we will sing and praise the God in whom we took refuge. And, maybe we need to correct our previous lax attendance.

Finally, in the two refrains of Psalm 57, found in verses 5 and 11, we read these words:

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

We know that God sovereignly rules over this wide world and is not surprised by anything about this human suffering in countless countries of the world. Therefore, let us pray that in all places, all over the earth, God’s glory will shine forth and that He will be exalted. His purposes in this COVID-19 pandemic surely are wider than we can imagine.

Though, for now, we use our homes as caves of safety, we can be confident today and always in our God. For He remains our eternal and sure refuge!