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A FIXED HEART (I)
THURSDAY, APRIL 22
Psalm 57:1-11

1 Samuel 23

 

“My heart is fixed, O God,

my heart is fixed…”

 

A FIXED HEART (I)
 
The title of Psalm 57 tells us that it was penned by David “when he fled from Saul in the cave.” This was a sorely trying period of David’s life. In fact, so many and so frequent were his flights that it is difficult to tell which cave, in particular, is referred to in the title! Once David knew of Saul’s determination to kill him, he went first to the priest at Nob (1 Sam 21:1), and thence briefly to Gath (1 Sam 21:10); after that to the cave Adullam (1 Sam 22:1), and on to Keilah (1 Sam 23:5); from there he was forced again to flee, to the wilderness of Ziph (1 Sam 23:14), where he was betrayed by the Ziphites, and driven first to the wilderness of Maon (1 Sam 23:25), and then to Engedi (1 Sam 23:29). And that was not the end of his wanderings!
 
On what could David rely in circumstances such as these? He had few resources, as a fugitive. He had no real place of refuge: no fortress or castle in which to hide; no foreign power with whom he could seek asylum (though he tried; cf. 1 Sam 21:10-15). He had hardly any friends at hand: apart from his own family, those who did gather themselves to him were those “in debt,” and “discontented,” and themselves “in distress” (1 Sam 22:1-2). His was pre-eminently a life of instability and uncertainty ‒ yet David was able to say, even while his body was tossed from place to place, that his heart was “fixed.” His soul had found a sanctuary in the Lord his God.
 
Do you feel overwhelmed by the waves and billows of life’s changing circumstances? Naturally, we look for stability; we seek firm ground to anchor our souls; but so often our hearts are fixed on the wrong things! We fasten our hopes on our own abilities, on our own plans, on our own foresight. We steady our nerves with the assurance of friends, with the promises of strangers, with arrangements and connections we have made. These are a feeble security! When your soul is “among lions,” when you lie “among them that are set on fire… whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword” (v 4) ‒ dear reader, is your heart truly fixed on God?
 
THOUGHT: A heart not fixed on God, will find no rest anywhere else.

PRAYER: “Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge.” (Ps 57:1)

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