ChosenRebel's Blog

57 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
      For my soul takes refuge in You;
      And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
      Until destruction passes by.
² I will cry to God Most High,
      To God who accomplishes all things for me.
³ He will send from heaven and save me;
      He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah.
      God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.
⁴ My soul is among lions;
      I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
      Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows
      And their tongue a sharp sword.

⁵ Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
      Let Your glory be above all the earth.

⁶ They have prepared a net for my steps;
      My soul is bowed down;
      They dug a pit before me;
      They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah.
⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
       I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
⁸ Awake, my glory!
       Awake, harp and lyre!
       I will awaken the dawn.
⁹ I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
       I will sing praises to You among the nations.
¹⁰ For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens
       And Your truth to the clouds.

¹¹ Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
       Let Your glory be above all the earth.

David is running for his life as the madman, Saul, the paranoid and power hungry king of Israel, pursues him in order to kill him. The prophet Samuel has prophesied that God has torn the kingdom away from him and is giving it to another (1 Samuel 15). Now the whole kingdom knows that the “another” is a young shepherd and musician, indeed, the youngest son of Jesse, by the name of David. From the time of his victory in battle over Goliath, David has been a marked man (1 Samuel 18). For the next 12-15 years, David is a fugitive, living in the wilderness with caves for his refuge and the company of about 400 debtors, discontented and distressed people (1 Samuel 22:2). He’s not sure he can trust any of them. And there, in a cave, he composes this psalm, this lament that ends in a thanksgiving to God. 

Say that again. “. . . lament that ends in thanksgiving . . .”

Can mourning and suffering,
and fear and anxiety,
and confusion and danger,—can all of these end in thanksgiving?

Yes, faith and hope in the goodness of our God and a God who is really there and who hears our cries is more than capable of sustaining His people in the darkness our most ruthless pains and sorrows.