Scripture
16But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble. 17You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely. Psalm 59:16-17
Observation
Now, at first glance these scriptures would seem like a tiptoe through the tulips type of a moment. This is why context is so essential when reading the Bible. The prescript for this song says, “When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.” 1 Samuel 19 reveals in more detail the context of this song, “11Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” 12So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.” David wasn’t even sure he was going to see the morning, but he sang out in faith “in the morning I will sing of your love.” David was on now on the run for his life, his own home no longer a safe place and yet he sings, “For you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” This was just the beginning of a life on the run for David, but he sang to the God “on whom I can rely” even though He was in this position because God had called him to it. Instead of waiting until everything had been resolved, David resolved to sing.
Application
I know so many Jesus followers right now who are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life. Deaths of a loved one, sudden loss of a job, beleaguered by sickness, worn out by arguments in the house, impossible financial demands and more have so many feeling like they too are on the run. The last thing we want to do is the first thing we need to do and that’s to sing songs of deliverance. This would seem a foolish thing to do in times of trouble to anyone outside of a faith relationship with Jesus. Yet, with Jesus, we understand the best thing we can do when we can’t see a way out is to look up! Worship isn’t playing a violin while The Titanic is sinking. Worship is finding an unsinkable lifeboat, an unmovable anchor in the storm, and unshakable fortress when my emotions have me trembling. There will be times when we don’t even have the voice to sing and we need God to sing over us. In Psalm 32:7 a struggling David prays these words to God: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” I remember that so well in the hospital with Covid. I didn’t have the breath to even sing, but turned on the worship and let the Lord sing over me. The doctor had told me I would probably, but God had told me to pray for a five day miracle. Five days later I walked out with no oxygen singing,
You give life, You are love, You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken
And great are You, Lord
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only.
Prayer
Lord, I want to thank You for the breath in my lungs. I don’t want to just praise You when I feel like it. No I worship You because Your Words are more real than what I feel. I don’t want to just praise You when everything is solved. I resolve to sing songs of deliverance in the unresolved places in my life. I pray that You would sing songs of deliverance over the man who are struggling to have hope for their future right now! Let them sense Your nearness and Your strength.
