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1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfils His purpose, for me.
3 He sends from heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me –
God sends his love and his faithfulness.
4 I am in the midst of lions;
I lie among ravenous beasts –
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my feet –
I was bowed down in distress.
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They dug a pit in my path –
but they have fallen into it themselves.
7 My heart, is steadfast O God,,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
(NIV)
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Psalm 57: The superscription is a helpful background for the psalm, which was composed after David escaped from Gath (see 1 Sam 22:1: 24). Verses 5 and 11, Is a prayer of deliverance from his enemies, and marks the psalm into two distinct sections: his petition and lament (verses 1-5), and his trust and thanksgiving (verses 6-11).
I wonder, do we respond so quickly when we are saved from traumatic events?
Do we praise God, or do we take God for granted?
If you read Acts 16:19-25 you will see that Paul and Silas when captured and were put in jail, and they sang hymns and psalms and they converted their jailer and his family.
I have learnt that when you think you are in a difficult place, pray and observe around you. You might be there to help someone in a more difficult situation than your own.
One day I was coming home from work, when my car went wrong. The engine was making a funny noise, I held on by praying just let me get home.
I arrived home and because we live next door to a garage and my husband went round and asked garage mechanic to come and listen to the engine. The garage man was amazed, and could not believe it he said, ‘the car should not be running’. There was a part that had worn away and the engine should not be running.
I believe that my problem changed the garageman’s views that day, he saw that God had been at work in our lives.
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