Psalm 57 has a striking interplay of images on earth compared with images in heaven. 

On earth, the poet’s enemies have attacked with vengeance. He says,
    I am in the midst of lions;
        I dwell among ravenous beasts–
    men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
        whose tongues are sharp swords (v. 4). 

And again,
    They spread a net for my feet–    
      They dug a pit in my path (v. 6). 

But the poet’s vision is not earthbound and enemy-centered. He twice says,
    Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
        let your glory be over all the earth (vv. 5, 11). 

The poet lifts his eyes above the trouble and chaos of life, above the crouching lions and pit-digging enemies, to see the God who rules above the heavens, who displays his glory over all the earth. 

Let’s pray. 

    Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
      I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
      until the disaster has passed (v. 1).

How often we feel the day of disaster. A day when we succumb to temptation.  A day when we face criticism and rejection from family and friends and coworkers. A day when the enemies described in Ephesians attack us. As Paul says: “Our warfare is not against flesh and blood  . . but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We want to live a Christ-like life, but it’s more difficult than we imagined. We feel anger and despair we can’t shake off. We face broken relationships we can’t repair. Inner impulses and outer temptations trap us every time. O God, shelter us under your wings. Shelter us against the evil inside us and outside. Shelter us, against the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

I cry out to God Most High,
    to God, who vindicates me.
He sends from heaven and saves me,
    rebuking those who hotly pursue me–
    God sends forth his love and his faithfulness (vv. 2-3).  

Rebuke our enemies, O God. Rebuke the lust and lethargy that creep up on us. Rebuke the arrogance that consumes us as we criticize the media and the politics and the management where we live and work. Rebuke the naysayers who discourage and the prosperity gospellers who entice. Rebuke the spirit of the age–the gospel of consumerism and self-management and individualism. Lord, dwell in us, form our spirits into your image, draw us out of consumerism into stewardship, out of self-management into dependence on you, out individualism and isolation into community. 

     Our heart is steadfast, O God,
        Our heart is steadfast;
        We will sing and make music.
    Awake, my soul!
        Awake, harp and lyre!
        I will awaken the dawn (vv. 7-8).

O God, with the poet we turn our gaze to the warmth of your smile. We rest in the shadow of your wings. We leave our complaints and requests for you to dispose of. We arouse our inner self that has lived in fear and depression. We worship with songs and hymns. We wait for your new day to dawn upon us.

   Send forth your love and faithfulness (v. 3). 
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
        let your glory be over all the earth (v. 11). 

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

In the current batch of psalms, the Big Issue topics are
the poet’s desperate situation,
 his dangerous enemies, and 
his incessant pleas for help. 

In Psalm 56, the tone changes. Though enemies still threaten and life’s situations are still desperate, the poet presents
a more-settled faith,
a more-solid relationship with God,
a more-peaceful approach to his many troubles. 

Let’s look at three expressions of faith in Psalm 56. 

First, the poet says,
  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
      In God, whose word I praise–
  In God I trust and I am not afraid.
      What can mere mortals do to me? (vv. 3-4). 

The poet feared enemies who pursued and warriors who attacked. But instead of being paralyzed with fear, he actively counteracts it by putting his trust in God. If God protects him, mere mortal enemies have no power against him. 

Psalm 56 presents a second statement of faith, as the poet says,.
    Record my misery,
      put my tears in your bottle,
      are they not in your book?
    Then my enemies will turn back
      when I call for help.
    This I know that God is for me (vv. 8, 9b).

Do you see God as one who stores your tears in his bottle? As one who records your sorrows in his book? These are strangely comforting thoughts leading to the poet’s greatest affirmation of faith: “This I know that God is for me.” Throughout the psalms, the poet has struggled with the problem of faith, namely, “Is God for us, is he against us, or is he just a disinterested observer?” Here the poet presses past his fear and doubts into God’s presence, gaining strength and confidence that God is his friend and his helper. 

The poet makes a third statement of faith at the end of Psalm 56:
  You have delivered me from death
    and my feet from stumbling
  that I may walk before God
    in the light of life (v. 13).

God delivered the poet from stumbling in the darkness of fear and anxiety. He now walks  with God in the light of life. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, with the poet, we make our statement of faith:
    When we are afraid,
        we will put our trust in you.
    What can mere mortals do to us?  

Sometimes, O Lord, our world frightens us. Wars and epidemics threaten. Civilized discourse vanishes. Our very lives are passing away. But we trust you. Watch over us, protect us from evil and disease, look out for our well-being. To you the author of goodness, we surrender our fear. We receive your peace and your protection. 

Our father, you see and treasure our tears. You store them in your bottle. You record them in your book. We invite you to transform the deep sadness of our lives into memories of your goodness, the narrative of our pain into the story of your healing. 

We join the poet in his great statement of faith, “We know you are for us.” We are often alone, often hated, often in danger. We thank you for being on our side. Thank you for being our strong friend, our strong God, our strong defender. Teach us to walk with you in the light of life.  

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.