Psalm 57
I will thank you, Lord, in front of all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. – Psalm 57:9 NLT
This Psalm tells us exactly where David was when he wrote it: In a cave in the middle of the wilderness hiding from King Saul, who is out to kill him. David is living the life of a fugitive, running and hiding from Saul and his force of 3,000 armed assassins whose soul reason for being is to bring back the head of David. Yet here is David hiding in a remote cave writing a song about the faithfulness of God! And that's really what makes this Psalm so significant. David didn't write it AFTER he got rescued from God and was sitting in the luxury of his palace in Jerusalem. He wrote it in the midst of the trials of his life, long before God had delivered him from the attacks of Saul.
What jumps out at me in this Psalm is David's faith in God's faithfulness. Throughout the Psalm he speaks in future terms. He says, "I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples" (Psalm 57:9 NIV). What he seems to be saying is that his confidence in God's faithfulness is so great that he knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the day is coming when he will be able to praise God surrounded by people in the city of Jerusalem. David's current circumstances were less than ideal, but his future was bright – because he trusted in God. "He will send help from heaven to save me" (Psalm 57:3 NLT). "My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness" (Psalm 57:3 NLT). David had so much faith in God's faithfulness, that he was able to say, from the hidden recesses of his cave, "My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises!" (Psalm 57:7 NLT). "For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds" (Psalm 57:10 NLT).
David was confident even in the midst of conflict. He trusted God completely. He knew that God's love and faithfulness were immeasurable and unstoppable. Present circumstances were no match against future deliverance at the hand of God. So David was able to sing the praises of God even in the darkest moments of his life. "Wake up, my soul! Wake up, O harp and lyre! I will waken the dawn with my song" (Psalm 57:8 NLT). He would start each day with songs of praise, based solely on his faith in God's faithfulness and his firm belief in God's future deliverance.
Father, I want to have the kind of faith David had. I want to sing in the middle of the trials of life, rather than stand around waiting to see something happen first. I want to have so much confidence in Your love and faithfulness that I sing Your praises before I have even seen You do anything worthy of praise. Your character speaks for itself. You don't have to prove Yourself to me. Your faithfulness has stood the test of time and Your love for me has never failed. Your promises for me are sure. You are faithful, so my faith should be firm – no matter what happens around me or to me. Amen