Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. Psalm 57:1
There are three phases in this passage that are worthy of note:
1. Be merciful to me
2. My soul trusts in You
3. Until these calamities have passed by.
These represent the faith of a person who has come to God in truth.
The cry for God to be merciful shows a person who knows that God is a merciful God, and knows that God will be merciful to all who call upon Him. This is the story of the blind man who heard that Jesus was passing by, and cried out saying, Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me, and Jesus healed him of his blindness. Over and over in the scriptures, people who cried to God for help always received help from Him. In fact, He is known to the psalmist as the merciful God. The same is true for everyone who will, this day, cry out to God in their distress. He will hear and answer them. But there is no way of knowing until one has called on Him for mercy.
The second thing is the fact of trusting in God. The psalmist knew that God, being a merciful God, can be trusted in every situation of life. Putting one's trust in God is a practical thing, and there must be a basis upon which we can put our trust in God; it is in relation to something that He said in His word. The moment we introduce trusting in God, we are synonymously introducing the concept of His word, because God cannot be trusted apart from His word.
Lastly, until these calamities have passed. A combination of knowing that God is merciful, and knowing that Has can be trusted, results in knowing that the present distress will pass. Trust in a merciful God guarantees that, soon, the calamity will cease. David experienced this truth first hand in his flight from king Saul. When the distress is on, it usually appears as though it will last forever, but the psalmist understood that the darkest night gives birth to dawn.
Are you troubled, as it is common with all men? Remember however that this too shall pass, as long as your trust is in God who is merciful.
Toni
