Refuge in the Shadow of Thy Wings

Minister:
Date: AM
Text: Psalm 57:1
Psalters: 301, 99, 343, 154
  1. The calamities.
    1. “Calamities” are chasms (fig. of destruction), engulfing ruin, destruction, calamity, which occasion fear and anguish.
    2. David speaks of “these” calamities. The psalm’s superscription speaks of the time when David is in a cave (I Sam. 24:3).
    3. We too know calamities: the present crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, etc.
    4. Shall we despair with grief and anxiousness under the load of calamities?
  2. My refuge is under the shadow of God’s wings.
    1. The figure is that of little chicks who, in the face of danger, run for protection under their mother’s wings.
      1. With our God-given faith we see Jehovah as our God.
      2. Under the wings of God’s blessed relationship with us, we find a safe retreat.
    2. These calamities shall “be overpast,” i.e., pass by or bring, carry, do away, take, take away
      1. What at the moment seemed so dark for David ended and went away. David’s night had an end in time.
      2. So our present calamities will pass over.
  3. The lessons.
    1. To help us understand we must see David as a type of King Jesus who suffered both at God’s hand and at man’s hand.
      1. Jesus’s atoning sufferings were unspeakable, the dark cloud of divine wrath on sin, which burst over Him on the cross.
      2. In His resurrection the cloud of His calamities was dispelled forever.
    2. This virus and all such are the footsteps of our returning Lord, and we can look up in hope for our redemption draws nigh.
    3. Also we must think of the calamities which befall us in this life, not as punishments for sin, but as the means God uses to burn away the dross of our unbelief and to increase our faith (Heb. 12:5,6 from Prov. 3:11,12).