Psalm 57: Like Christ – Like Christian!

                             1. In Calamities!                                       Psalm 57:1-3

Text:  “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”

Psalm 57:1.

Good morning, Christian faced with calamities!  At the time of reading this expositional teaching, you may well be faced with grave and sore afflictions, a time of deep dreading; a time of icy fear and gloomy discouragement.  However, look up, beloved friend in Christ, the Lord God is still sat upon His throne and He is in full control of all that concerns you.

 Hear what the Almighty Jehovah Lord God has to say to your born again heart, soul, and mind:  “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.  Behold (look, and fully understand), all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.  Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.  For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” (Isaiah 41:10-13)

Dictionary Definition: Calamity (noun) a great misfortune; a disaster, especially a sudden one; affliction...disastrous; tragic; dreadful...  (The Chambers Dictionary, page 227)

In times of grave and fearful calamities, you and I as Bible-believing, Spiritually regenerate Christians, must seek to exercise the faith that the Lord God has seen fit to grant us as His free gift of Sovereign grace.  This is what the Psalmist, David, is teaching us in Psalm 57 – in times of fearful calamities, cry out to the Living Lord God for His ever-given help!

Verse 1.  “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me.  It is in cases such as this, while studying God’s inspired Word, that I seek to apply what has been called ‘the law of the double mention’ i.e. if God the Spirit, the inspiration of all written Bible Scripture, sees fit to mention something twice in close proximty, then we hearers must seek to pay the passage double attention.  The Psalmist repeats his cry for God’s mercy in order to reveal unto you and I the vital importance of instant prayer in times of danger and affliction.  ‘Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me!’

Verse 1.  “Be merciful unto me, O God.  This excellent Psalm was composed by David when there was enough to discompose the best man in the world.”  (John Flavel, 1627-1691)

Verse 1.  “For my soul trusteth in Thee.  Words ending in ‘eth’ in our King James Version Bible, denotes the word as a continuous verb.  The Psalmist is declaring the fact that his soul is not only trusting in the Lord God because of his present calamity, he is declaring his continuous trust in the Living Lord God; he not only trusts in God, but continually trusts Him.

“He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good; and whoso trusteth (trusts, and continually trusts!) in the Lord, happy is he.”  (Proverbs 16:20)

Verse 1. “In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge.  Not in the cave alone would he hide, but in the cleft of the Rock of Ages.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 256)

“He/she that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in Him will I trust.  Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.  He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth (Christ Jesus?) shall be thy shield and buckler.”  (Psalm 91:1-4)

When you and I as Bible-believing Christians - in this 21^st Century of blatant apostasy and gross disobedience to God – are faced with vile and powerful oppositions, slandering, ridicule, and sorrows – we must immediately flee to the Rock of our refuge – Jesus, the risen Lord.  He will never leave us, nor forsake us.  Nothing can change His love for us.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”  (Psalm 46:1-2)

Verse 2.  “I will cry.  Taken out of context, this phrase of God’s Word reads to me as a promise to those who would live godly, in Christ Jesus.  We are promised times of suffering and persecution, it comes with the territory for any saved soul who would dare to actually serve the risen Lord.  We will cry, but we shall always have a Divinely compassionate, and loving; and comforting Father; a blessed and loving Saviour; and a Supernatural Comforter indeed to bind up our sorrows and heal our every Spiritual wound.  Praise His Name!

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”  (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

Verse 2.  “I will cry unto God.  He is quite safe but yet he prays, for faith is never dumb.  We pray because we believe.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 256)

How often would you and I, as genuine Christians, cry out unto the Lord, in the words of another Psalm, “Oh that I had wings like a dove!  For then would I fly away, and be at rest.” (Psalm 55:6) Our troubles, heartaches, afflictions all seem just too much for us to bear, and we would fly away from them, had we the wings to do so.  Sound like something you might have experienced, or are presently going through?  Had we the wings, we would often seek to fly away from the wrath of the world, the flesh, and that old dog, the Devil.

Verse 3. “And save me from the wrath of him that would swallow me up. O dog of Hell, I am not only delivered from thy bite but even from thy bark.  Our foes shall not have the power to sneer at us, their cruel jests and taunting gibes shall be ended by the message from Heaven, which shall forever save us.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 256)

Hallelujah!  He is risen!  Up from the grave our Saviour, King Jesus Christ arose!  We have the Victory in Him, beloved and besieged Christian!  Glory to the Lamb that was slain, but Who now lives forever!  Hallelujah!  Shout the Victory aloud – our God reigns Supreme!

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:9-11)

Thought:  God’s Promise to you and I:  Verse 3. “God shall send forth His mercy and His truth. He asked for mercy, and truth came with it.  Thus, evermore doth God give us more than we ask or think.  His attributes, like angels on the wing, are ever ready to come to the rescue of His chosen.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 257) Hallelujah!