March 20

The Shadow of Your Wings
Psalm 63

David evidently wrote this Psalm while he was hiding in the desert, probably from Saul.  It is a common fact that our faith is deepened most when our troubles are deepest.  David looks at the desert around him and finds the word picture he needs.  He seeks the Lord with all his being;  his soul thirsts for God, his body longs for him.
To what does David turn?  To the memory of better days.  His mind turns back to a "mountain top" experience where he saw God in the sanctuary.  God allows us such experiences for just such a purpose, that we might remember the days when his glory was revealed to us, and so be strengthened when going through desert days.  Indeed, David shows us here that the knowledge of God far exceeds all physical things.  This is the power of worship remembered, and for that alone the Psalm is exceedingly comforting.
The nights are long and clear in the desert.  Was David looking up at the clear stars of heaven, so hidden in our modern world, as he remembered God in the watches of the night?  Have you ever lain awake at night, asking God for his favor, asking for his protection?  So often when we do we complain to God, but David remembers and clings to God.
Then, in the midst of the cold desert night and the evil all around him, David produces a masterful phrase.  "Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings."  In other Psalms he has taken refuge in the shadow of those wings, but this night he sings.  David rises above his troubles, remembers the Lord he saw in the sanctuary, and like Paul and Silas in jail, begins to sing.  Out of the terror of the night comes the joy of the Lord.
This is triumph indeed.  How puny is our faith!  When the slightest trouble comes we complain to God.  If our troubles should happen to be related to our witness to him, we double our complaint (as if he hadn't warned us!)  But David shows us the true path.  He has been persecuted,  but it is of no consequence.  God will deal soon enough with those evil men, of that David is sure.  What is important?  That God be praised.    That David clings to him.  That we rejoice in him.
Rejoice in the Lord always, said Paul.  Sing - in the shadow of his wings, for he cares for you.