Psalm 57 - Corners
There comes a point in time, amid evil and chaos and crisis, when you KNOW that “it will all come out in the wash” as my grandfather used to say. You have “taken refuge in the shadow of your [G-d’s] wings”(v. 1) and you recognize that He “sends from heaven and saves me.” (v. 3)
Our lengthy superscript alludes to this reality with yet another intertextual reference to David and Saul. The reference ties the psalm to the events narrated in I Samuel 24. I encourage you to take the time to read this incredible story: David is hiding in a cave at En-Gedi, an oasis in the Judean desert by the shores of the Salt Sea (many of you have been there with me! It’s a top five spot!); Saul enters the cave to relieve himself and David, who was hiding in that very cave, sneaks up behind Saul in the darkness and cuts off the corner (the hem) of Saul’s garment; he could have killed him, but he didn’t; after Saul leaves there is an incredibly moving dialogue between the two of them as they stand on opposite sides of the valley (when you go there with me, you will see how narrow that canyon is!). The story ends with Saul weeping and both David and Saul realizing that it was only a matter of time before David would usurp Saul as King of Israel.
Underneath this powerful narrative is a key theological truth. In ancient Hebrew thinking, power resided in the corners of the king’s garment (as a New Testament reference, remember the account of the bleeding woman of Luke 8: 43-48; she touched the fringe (hem) of Jesus’ garment to receive healing). When David cut off the corner of Saul’s garment, he was symbolically cutting off the power of evil and chaos from his life as represented by Saul.
Even during his crisis, confronting his pain and suffering, David knew salvation was at hand; and so, David can utter “Great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies” (v. 10) and can proclaim twice “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” (vv. 5 and 11)
Exalt His name today, even amid your chaos and crisis. Salvation looms just around the “corner!” You simply need to reach out and touch it!
Shalom שָׁלוֹם
DWach
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