Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
Actions of God:
He performs all things for me (v. 2), He sends from heaven and saves me. He sends forth His mercy and truth (v. 3).
Commands to me:
Trust in God and make Him my refuge (v. 1), cry unto God when I need help (v. 2), fix my heart on God and praise Him (v. 7-9).
Characteristics of God:
merciful, truthful, God on high, exalted
This psalm was written by David when he was fleeing Saul. David was in the midst of danger and yet he knew God would be his refuge.
Luke 22:37 has an awesome phrase that relates to this idea: "for the things concerning me have an end". Yes, this phrase is taken out of context, but to me it has a lot of merit to anyone who is going through some kind of trial. The thing that concerns you has an end. We may not always have the end of the battle in sight, but no battle will last forever. I love that.
God's nature is that of a mother hen, who by instinct will shelter her young. In verse 3 we can see that David knows this. He knows that his help is coming from heaven, not anyone on earth or any earthly thing.
In verse 5 we see that God's glory is our number one priority. We should be more concerned with that than any of our own interests. One thing I have struggled with over the last couple of years is showing God's glory in the mundane. It's a tough battle for me but I am slowly learning this. I can pray while I'm washing dishes. I can dance around the kitchen with my kids singing praise songs while lunch is cooking. I can hold in my anger towards my children when they do something that is messy, but completely an accident. I can pay attention to a stranger who needs some attention. I can make sure my house is presentable and pleasing to my husband. The list goes on and on of ways I am finding to do this. I still mess up frequently but the great thing about making mistakes is learning from them!
Verse 7 - We need to fix our hearts on God. Attend to the Lord with no distractions. How difficult that is at times! I have figured out a routine that seems to work where I am practically guaranteed a quiet time with God with no distractions, even with two small children at home. They wake up at the same time usually (or within 15 minutes of each other, at least). After eating breakfast I let them each choose one TV show that I've taped. This gives me almost one hour of time to read my Bible, blog if I get the chance, read some supplemental books if I get the chance, but the important thing is I read my Bible first to make sure that gets done and I'm not rushed. If I'm not sure this will be able to take place during the day I make sure to wake up very early (to me) to make sure my devotions are done before they're even awake. This is something I have to absolutely plan every day or else it will be 10pm and I'll be wondering where the day went. I encourage you, even if you work, or have small children, or some other situation going on... find a way to get in your time with God with no distractions. I have found it is so worth it. It's not easy every day but I sure do need it.
Verse 8 - Don't have dull, sloppy devotions. Don't do it as something that is checked off your list. I hope my last paragraph doesn't seem like I'm encouraging that. If you don't have time to do a devotional that is quiet and uninterrupted it's probably not worth doing. Just reading words but not walking away with anything is pretty useless. You could have read any fiction novel and walked away with the same thing. Leave your devotions feeling on fire and feeling a new purpose! Learn something new! This scripture is so exciting and has something new for us every time we read it. I am still finding that out.
Thoughts or comments on this scripture or anything I said? Feedback is appreciated!
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