Singing Your Way Out

My friend, David Jackson, wrote the following and I want to share it with you. He is one of the Godliest, most humble men I know.

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“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.” Psalm 57.7

[King] David begins this Psalm by crying out for God’s mercy and seeking refuge under the shadow of His wings “until these calamities have passed by” (v 1). Even a brief reading of the Psalms reveals how often David was discouraged by the calamities incurred from those who opposed him. His chief discouragement wasn’t so much the political opposition of those nations seeking to overthrow Israel as it was the friends, family and fellow countrymen that misunderstood and betrayed him. This noticeably frequent calamity is expressed in Psalm 55.12-14: “For it is not an enemy who taunts me – then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me – then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.” Beyond the betrayal of close friends, David experienced the much deeper pain of family betrayal when his son Absalom attempted to overthrow his own father with a political coup (2 Samuel 15-18). The overwhelming grief of this situation was multiplied beyond measure when Absalom met with the promised Scriptural demise of those who so dishonor their parents (Proverbs 30.17). David’s grief was captured in a tearful lament: “O my son Absalom – my son, my son Absalom – if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18.33).

David was deeply acquainted with heart-rending discouragement. But he had a secret for repairing a ravaged heart: singing! In his deepest despair, while experiencing his most piercing pain, David’s heart was steadfastly committed to praising God through song. In the same way Paul and Silas, with scourged backs and chained limbs, took refuge under the shadow of Jesus’ wing and sang their way out of a Roman prison cell, so David would heave his broken heart into the heavens on the wings of musical notes and passionate lyrics to be gently caught and cradled by the One Whose love and encouragement he desired most. “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73.25-26). In those moments when David felt most forsaken, he found that God was his refuge and strength, a very personal, very present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46.1). The catastrophic calamities that often characterized his life served to focus him on the one true thing a man after God’s own heart really craves: communion with God. “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27.4-5).

David’s secret is ours to share. Keep your hymn book handy. Beginning with your daily morning devotional, which is non-negotiable, “come before His presence with singing” (Psalm 100.2) and continually enter His gates with songs of thanksgiving and praise all day long, especially when the calamities are most crushing and your heart is most discouraged. Do your homework ahead of time and find those Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual songs that are a worthy offering of truth and beauty and that best capture your heart’s desires and prayers. Have them close at hand, ready to pull out at a moment’s notice and, as best you can under the circumstances, resort to a quiet place where you can sing and make melody in your heart to the One who will never leave nor forsake you – the One who loves you more than friends, family or compatriots – the One whose encouragement will sustain you when all others forsake you. Let David’s steadfast heart resolution be yours: “I will sing and give praise.” There in that holy place, your heart can find healing and the hope to carry on.

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Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for the people You put in our path to encourage us and point us toward You. Thank You for every song You have inspired in mankind to lift our hearts in praise to You. Thank You that we only have to make a joyful noise to come into Your presence. We have so much to praise and thank You for! Bless my friend, David, and his wife. and their children. and all their generations till You call us home. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen