My soul is among lions

Psalm 57 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.

Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.

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.
² I will cry to God Most High,
To God who accomplishes all things for me.
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.

⁴ My soul is among lions;
I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,
Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows
And their tongue a sharp sword.
⁵ Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
⁶ 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.

⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
⁸ Awake, my glory!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
⁹ I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.
¹⁰ For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your truth to the clouds.
¹¹ Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

The psalmist says:  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.  I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.  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 wrote this concerning physical enemies, but we also can take refuge in God from spiritual enemies. We can take refuge in Him when we are faced with any kind of trial or difficulty. He is our refuge from sickness or pandemic. He indeed accomplishes all things for us. Romans 8:31 says:  If God is for us, who can be against us?  God’s love is that:  God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) His truth is that:  I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

The psalmist says:  My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows
And their tongue a sharp sword.  Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth. 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.   In Daniel 6:19-20 it says: The king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.” Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.   Just as God shut the mouth of the lions for Daniel, He can also deliver us even from the most desperate circumstances. In Genesis 50:20 when Joseph responded to his brothers for selling him into slavery he said:  You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.  Romans 8:28-29 says:  We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.   God will cause everything in our lives, the good things and the bad things, to work together for our good. He will take the plans that are raised against us and turn them into our greatest victory. When Jesus was on the cross, the devil thought he had won. He thought he defeated Jesus, but what looked like his greatest victory was turned into his eternal defeat. What looked like Jesus defeat was turned into our victory.

The psalmist says:  My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!  Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.  For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds.  Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.  Habakkuk 2:14 says:   The earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.  Like the psalmist we should recognize God’s goodness. We should give thanks and sing praises. His glory fills the whole earth, so surely His praise should fill our mouths.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!  Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.  For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds.  Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.  Amen.