Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me (63:7-8).
The fifth vital experience of those who believe in the living God is the experience of trust. It is the starting point and the zenith of the other experiences, only to start them again. Apart from it, we cannot meditate, be satisfied, praise, or glorify God. Trust in the Lord is essential to our walk with God. He calls us to do tasks that cannot be done apart from faith. Belief in our sovereign God enables us to act bravely, going into truly scary places to seek the lost. It helps us to encourage those failing in health as they walk with the Lord into the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). It reenergizes us in the mundane and even utterly boring tasks in which it may be our lot to glorify the Lord. It helps us sense the strength of Christ as we stoop to serve the lowly and neglected. It clarifies our vision when we realize that we will have to go through difficult and thankless events, that if everyone is honest, all will confess they dislike experiencing, in order to build up the body of Christ. When we know the glory of the living God, the spiritual response is to rest in his love and concern for us, in all the above mentioned.
David certainly knew that God was his help. This caused him to do something. He sang! Those who know that God is their helper may have such sweet joy and confidence that we sing even in desert places while pursued by our enemies.
The psalmist David provides a beautiful picture, one probably learned from his great grandparents. Boaz said to Ruth, “May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge (Ruth 2:12 CSB). And as is written in another place, The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1 CSB). David had found a beautiful place of safety in the desert. He rested, more, he relaxed under the shadow of God’s wings. He was like a little chick that the mother hen protects with her wings. Let his enemies come! They will never be able to pass the wings of omnipotence that protect him!
Next, David changed the imagery slightly. He declared his intense, personal trust in the Lord. His soul was clinging to God, as a little child might cling to the legs of her mother or to the neck of his father when in a frightening situation. Here is a blessed picture. The living God, ruler of the universe, allows us to cling to him! Here is amazing love! A sinner clings to the Holy One! Ah yes, we may draw near to God. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8a NASB).
Not only is the preceding true, but David said we can be more confident. It is also true that God’s right hand, the hand of power, upholds his dearly loved people. What security this provides! The Almighty Lord wills to carry his people in his strong right hand. We can rest in this place of safety; a fortress of sovereign strength protects us. This reminds me of a chorus that I learned as a young child. “Safe am I; safe am I, in the hollow of his hand.”
Believer, the Spirit of God reassures us by these word-pictures that God wants us to be confident in him, to move forward in his strength. When I take walks with my little granddaughter, I often sing to her, “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow… Strength for today is mine always, and all that I need for tomorrow! My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow.” And as I follow, I learn as his disciple that he upholds me in his right hand. Trust is a vital experience.
Grace and peace, David
