Today’s Lectio Divina: Excerpts from Psalm 57. (MsgB)
A David Psalm, When He Hid in a Cave from Saul
Be good to me, God—and now! I’ve run to you for dear life.
I’m hiding out under your wings until the hurricane blows over.
I’m ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe,
Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune: “Wake up, soul!
Wake up, harp! wake up, lute! Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”
I’ve always loved the old movie musicals.
Singin’ in the Rain, for example. In this 1952 classic, song and dance kings Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor join with newcomer Debbie Reynolds to bring us some of the most memorable happy moments the silver screen has to offer. And the most fun about musicals like Singin’ in the Rain’ is how the actors can be walking through a regular scene, talking about this or that, and suddenly the whole world opens up, an orchestra appears off to the side, and what was once a boring dialogue suddenly breaks forth into a glorious song and dance.
So it seems with King David here in Psalm 57.
The introduction to this Psalm tells us that David has once again found himself between a rock and a hard place. Seems to be a pretty familiar spot for the up-n-coming king. In this scene, David finds himself hunkered down in a cave, hiding from his arch-enemy, King Saul.
Saul, as you might remember, is a bit of a schizo. There are days the King loves to have David around the palace, playing his harp and singing his God-songs. Then on other days less sunny, Saul perceives David as his worst enemy. This is one of those days.
So in order to keep his head on straight, (literally!) King David is holed up in a dark, dingy hideaway cave, waiting for the heat to pass.
Now, if it were me, I’d be singing a few songs of lament or maybe not singing at all! But here’s King David, much like Gene Kelly or Donald O’Connor. The skies are dark. The clouds look stormy. There’s a driving rain out there. But what the hey!
Time for a pick-me-upper! Time to take out the umbrella and turn your frowns upside down. Time to sing your way out of your problems. Time to dance your way right back onto the pathway to God.
How joyous is this?
As I see it, maybe I need a bit of those old movie scenes working in my life today. Maybe this dark, grey day is not as bad as I perceive it to be? Maybe, just maybe, I need to stop whining, stop complaining, and begin to sing and dance my way right back into the God-truth that says despite how bad life might seem, there still is a Savior who is not overwhelmed by my problems!
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get up, get out of your bed
Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy.
My prayer: Father, thank You for this biblical reminder that despite my problems, I can still choose to see the silver lining in every storm cloud of life. Thank You for King David’s real-life example here that reminds me that I still have a Rescuing-King who is worthy of my praise, even when I find myself holed up in some isolated cave, running from my enemies. For Your name’s sake. Amen.
My questions to ponder: So have my lute and harp dozed off lately? My soul gone silent? My sun blotted out by dark clouds? How might I position myself in life more like King David here in Psalm 57, ready to sing and dance his way through his problems right back into the power and presence of God?
So what is God speaking to you today as you ponder the Psalms?
Over a 50-week period, you and I will take a deeper look at The Psalms: God’s Songbook of Prayers. In order to keep all the blog sessions organized, we suggest you bookmark our Contemplating the Psalms home page for ease of use. Keep in mind that one of the best ways to explore the on-going applications of this blog series is to walk alongside a biblically-based, Christ-centered spiritual director who is familiar with how to make material like this part of your overall spiritual formation in God. Many of our directors in our Sustainable Faith-Heartland network are available to companion you in your journey with Jesus. Click here for more info.
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