Psalm 57:1 — Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

The fugitive David knew something. He might have been in a cave, fleeing from Saul, but He knew God would somehow make it right.
There’s a couple of scriptures that place David in a cave, on the run from Saul. We don’t know if this psalm is talking about when David was holed up in the cave of Adullam, or the cave of Engedi, or some completely different cave. There was quite a time when he was on the run, from place to place. It would have been natural for him to despair, and take on Saul face to face. It would have been natural for him to take matters into his own hands and seize one of the opportunities that would have allowed him to kill a sleeping Saul. But he didn’t.

David had the most perfect relationship with God. He loved Him, and trusted Him, and knew that His promises were entirely, unquestionably true.

Does all this mean that David was always happy? Was life one long happy story? Of course not. This very psalm is just one example of the many times that he freely expressed the trials he was going through, and the way he was feeling. He’s dealing with calamities. But his confidence is wonderful. “I will take my refuge, until these calamities be overpast“! David had absolute trust that God would take care of him, that He had everything in hand.

Faith isn’t what it used to be. Am I wrong do you think? Well I think I can make my case. Go back and reread the Old Testament. People believed God. It didn’t matter if they were good or bad. Whichever they were, they believed that if God said something He meant it. How many people, today, can really say that?

I wrote yesterday about “trust and obey” as the key to glorifying God. Saul failed the test. He could not wait a few days for Samuel (1 Kings 13) nor would he obey God perfectly (1 Kings 15). David waited with no knowing when God would deliver on His promises. He obeyed without question. He is a gold standard against which we can measure our faith. 

So how about it. Whatever God promises, and whatever He asks, will you really trust?