When my soul is bowed down
"They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah" (Psalms 57:6).
There are times when it is unfair. I did nothing wrong with him, but he hates me and harasses me. I don’t know why he hates me. I don’t know why he is harassing me. I wish I could know why, but for no reason he hates me and harasses me. But he doesn’t seem to be satisfied there. He gathers his own people and makes story about me and they slander me and blaspheme me together. And they are making bad rumors about me. They unite together and try to throw me down and even they try to put me in a crisis. I have no place to stand. I cannot take it anymore. My heart is very hard and distressed. I am under false accusation. I am suffering unfairness. What should I do when my soul is suffering unfairness?
In Psalms 57:6, the psalmist David says, "My soul is bowed down". Here, the word “bowed down” refers to a bird or other beast that is lying flat on the ground because of the fear of the hunter’s net (Calvin). This means David bowed down in fear of King Saul who was searching him in order to kill him. Then why did David say “My soul is bowed down”? The reason is because David didn’t do anything wrong but King Saul tried to killed him. Actually, David gave Israel a victory by defeating Goliath in the name of God. But when the women sang “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands”, King Saul kept a jealousy eye on David (1 Sam. 18:7, 9). That was why King Saul tried to kill David even though he didn’t do anything wrong. So when David was in the cave in order to escape from King Saul, he wrote this poem of Psalms 57 and appealed to God for his suffering unfairness. So I want to think about what David did when his soul was bowed down and receive 5 lessons from it.
First, David took refuge in God when his soul was bowed down.
Look at Psalms 57:1 – “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.” When David’s soul bowed down, he longed for God’s grace. He earnestly sought God to give him grace. As he was doing so, David took refuge in God. He took refuge in the shadow of God’s wings until destruction passed by (v. 1). We also should take refuge in God when our souls are bowed down. The reason is because God has been our refuge, a strong tower against the foe (61:3). When a storm of life comes over us, we must quickly take refuge in God until the storm passes by all the way (55:8). We must find refuge in the shadow of God’s wings (36:7). When our souls are bowed down, we must trust in Him all times who is our refuge (62:8). Then the Lord will keep us under the shadow of His wings (17:8) and will protect us and will keep us safe.
Second, David cried out to God who accomplished all things for him when his soul was bowed down.
Look at Psalms 57:2 – “I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.” David cried out to God who accomplished all things for him when he was in the cave, fleeing from King Saul. How could David cry out to God like that? If David had been looking at his situation with his own physical eyes, David would never have professed faith that God is God who accomplishes all things for him. If David had looked only at the situation he was in, in a cave imprisoned, he couldn’t have sought God's will in his misery. But because David looked to God Most High in faith, he was able to seek God’s will and not his own will. And he believed that God would accomplish His good will no matter what. We must have this faith too. I remember Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They prayed and sang hymns of praise to God in the inner prison (Acts 16:24). It is understandable that they prayed to God. But I wonder how they could praise God in such circumstances. I think those who believe that God’s will be done even in whatever circumstance they are in, they can praise God even in prison. It’s because they trust and rely on God that they praise Him in faith. Their praise is not based on the circumstance but based on who God is. We must know that our God is worthy to receive praise from us no matter what circumstances we are in. Therefore, we must praise the Lord's greatness in whatever circumstances we may be in. We must cry out to God Most High with the faith that God will accomplish His will for us, even in the calamities we have encountered.
Third, David believed that God would send forth His lovingkindness and His truth when his soul was bowed down.
Look at Psalms 57:3 – “He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me Selah God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.” David had assurance of salvation. Although he was in the cave and was hiding from King Saul, he believed that God would deliver him from that situation. Not only that, David also believed that God would send His lovingkindness and His truth (v. 3). Here, what does it mean to say that God sends His lovingkindness and His truth? I personally experienced God’s lovingkindness and His truth when my first baby Charis was suffering from a disease. The word of truth that God sent to me was Psalms 63:3 – “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You.” After my wife and I received this truth on Monday morning, we decided to let Charis died quickly [The day before, on Sunday afternoon, when I went to see Charis in the Children Hospital Intensive Care Unit, her doctor asked me whether to let Charis die quickly or slowly because there was nothing the doctor could do. So I answered her ‘slowly’]. So we called the doctor and told her our decision. Then I call some family members and we gathered around Charis and worshiped God. After the nurse turned off all the machines and took out all the hoses, she gave Charis to me. And she died in my arms. After we cremated Charis, we went and spread her ashes on the water. As we were returning to the land, God made me to praise God’s amazing and wonderful saving love. In the end, God sent His lovingkindness and His truth to us so that we were able to praise God in the greatest crisis of our married life. Therefore, I believe that crisis is a good opportunity to experience God’s love and God’s truth.
Fourth, David sang praise to God with his steadfast heart when his soul was bowed down.
Look at Psalms 57:7 – “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!” Not only David believed that God would accomplish His will for him in the midst of disasters, he also believed that God would send forth His lovingkindness and His truth to him (vv. 1-3). David, who had been enjoying God's grace in the midst of disasters, became convinced in his heart that his heart was steadfast (v. 7). Not only he had the assurance of salvation, but he also believed that God would accomplish all things for him and that he would experience God's lovingkindness and His truth in the midst of disasters. In this conviction, David determined to praise God (v. 7). As a result, David’s soul which was bowed down awakened and thus he awoke the dawn (v. 8). Our souls must be awakened and we must awake the dawn too. Our souls should no longer bow down, but we must praise God's greatness with conviction in our hearts.
In the last fifth, David prayed for God to be exalted above the heavens and for His glory to be above all the earth when his soul was bowed down.
Look at Psalms 57:5 and 11: “Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. … Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.” It is interesting that David, who was hiding in the cave against King Saul, exalted God above the heavens and asked God's glory to rise above all the earth. In particular, it challenged me that David gave thanks to God among the peoples, sang praises to Him among the nations (v. 9) and exalted Him above the heavens and asked God’s glory to rise above all the earth (vv. 5, 11) in the midst of running away from King Saul and of going through the disasters. When I think about how David could have done that, I think it was possible because he had experienced God's lovingkindness and truth (v. 3). Look at verse 10: “For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds.” David was able to confess this because he had experienced God’s lovingkindness and His truth when he cried out for God’s grace and God’s will to be done in the midst of disasters that he was going through and when his soul was bowed down. As a result, he was able to ask God, " Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth” (v. 11).
I have an unforgettable memory in my heart regarding my third uncle. I recall the moment when I was praising God “O, Lord my God! When I in Awesome Wonder” during his view service. In particular, I cannot forget the experience of the indwelling Holy Spirit worked in my heart to praise “Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art!” I also remember the time when my third uncle was alive, we went down to Tijuana, Mexico and he praised chorus of “O, Lord my God! When I in Awesome” in Spanish in front of the disabled people. And I remember he praised the same hymn during the New Year whole family worship even though he was suffering from cancer. How could a cancer patient suffering from illness praise God's greatness? How could we sing God’s greatness at our beloved family member’s funeral service? I got challenge by David who had been hiding in the cave from King Saul, but was able pray for God’s exaltation and His glory to be manifested above all the earth. It was because he didn’t focus on the catastrophic situation, but looked up to the God of salvation, God who sent His lovingkindness and His truth to David. I also realized that the scope of my prayers was so limited, focusing on my situation and ministry. Now I would like to pray that the whole world will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). I pray that God will enlarge the scope of my prayer so that the world will be filled with the greatness of the Lord and His glory.
It is a world with full of unfairness. Even in the church, people are being treated unfairly. I don’t know why people's tongue is like a sharp sword (Ps. 57:4). I don’t know why people are slandering each other. The people are trying to dig a pit in front of a person so that s/he may fall into it (v. 6). So there are members who are greatly hurt in the church. And there is no one to talk to about what they are going through in the church. So there are members who eventually leave the church. Not only this. There are many members in the church suffering from disasters. They don’t know what they supposed to do. We must look to God only and cry out to Him. We must take refuge in Him. God will accomplish His will for us. God will also send His lovingkindness and His truth to us when are in deep disasters. Therefore, our hearts will praise God with a determined and convinced manner: "Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth" (v. 5).