Psalm, Chapter 57
Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.
For the choir director; set to [a]Al-tashheth. A [b]Mikhtam of David, [c]when he fled from Saul in the cave.
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.
- The title of this message is Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors
o It brings to the front line our need to pray for rescue (we need to be rescured)
o It also brings to mind “from persecutors” all Christians have persecutors (those who are trying to cause us trouble to damage our Christian testimony)
- For the choir director
o This means it was meant to be a song and the worship leaders were to encourage God’s people to sing this song for a specific reason
- Set to Al-tashheth (Al-tashheth means “destroy not” or “do not destroy”
- A Mikhtam (Mikhtam means “golden thing that covers or hides” or “precious tablet inscription” the idea is so precious of words it warrants being engraved. A psalm precious as stamped gold)
- When he fled from Saul in the cave
o David means “beloved” but also “weak” or “flowing”
o Saul means “to ask” or “ask for”
- Consider this
o We have prayer for rescue from persecutors
o Then we have Al-tashheth (do not destroy), then David (beloved), then Saul (asked for or to ask)
o Everything points towards the beloved of God who are weak asking God to help!
- What is the thing you are afraid of today that makes you want to run and hide in a cave?
o It’s time to ask God to rescue you because you are His beloved!
- Now David shows us how to do it
o Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me
o The first thing David asked is for God to be gracious to him
o grace is absolutely the thing we need (it is unearned, undeserved favor)
o he repeats the phrase twice be gracious to me; be gracious to me; apparently David wants to make sure God heard this request so he repeated it
§ so too sometimes we need to repeat our request to God multiple times
§ that does not mean he did not hear you the first time
§ it means sometimes you have to say it multiple times to get to the place of faith where you will believe that he heard you and that he will answer
- for my soul takes refuge in you
o your soul is the part of you that lasts forever
o David says his soul is taking refuge in God
o a refuge is a safe harbor or a safe place
§ it is a place that you can run to in your protected from all harm
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