Safe space

Real danger
In this psalm we find David expressing his fear, hurt and anger. Pursued by his own son David is speaking very literally about his fear of violence and his need for protection.

Most of us live relatively safe lives, for which we should be grateful, but it does make psalms like this one difficult to connect with.

Pointing to God
However, David’s words ultimately point us to God and in David’s crisis we learn about the loving care of God. Even amid threat David describes a sense of peace and protection, a safe space in the eye of the storm.

He is shielded (v 3), and receives glory, an assurance of God’s love for him. David finds rest and strength, acutely aware that every day is a gift as God sustains his life (v 5).

Take comfort
But David doesn’t just get comfy in his safe space and decide to wait out the crisis. He believes in God his deliverer (v 7). He still cries out to God to make things right.

Whether you are in a time of peace or opposition, take comfort from God’s sustaining presence.

Today look for an opportunity to act for deliverance in this world. You could give to an anti-poverty charity, pray for Christians being persecuted for their faith or offer friendship to an unpopular colleague at work.

In eight short verses we see the psalmist move from feeling very low, overwhelmed by growing opposition and threat, to a place of quiet confidence in God and being able to look beyond his troubles to pray blessing on others. The backdrop to this is David’s disappointment and pain as he fled for his life from his own son, Absalom (2 Samuel 15:1 – 19:43). It is this which makes the journey of his feelings described here all the more remarkable.

To make matters worse, his troubles, while deeply personal, were also being acted out very publicly on a national stage. A rising tide of disloyalty from across Israel; David, as the anointed of the Lord, having to run for his life from Jerusalem; and the ever-growing impression that God had withdrawn from him (2 Samuel 15:26) – these factors were all publicly humiliating in the extreme.

Things were really bad, and one of the hardest things to do is to affirm the truth that God is really for us when we are in the midst of circumstances that scream the opposite – but it is exactly at times like these that we need to summon up what we know about God’s grace and love for us, and remind ourselves of what he is truly like. Notice, though, that David also called out to the Lord (v 4), expressing his feelings, so this wasn’t about being unreal.

Stuck in a seemingly hopeless situation, David none the less exercised the choice to believe that God had heard him and would respond. He chose to see his circumstances through the lens of what God is really like. The use of ‘I’ in verses 5 and 6 is emphatic,¹ expressing intentional, purposeful choices. He consequently, against all odds, was able to sleep peacefully and wake in the knowledge that God would sustain him.

¹ Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72, TOTC; IVP,1973