“Let Your Glory Be Over All The Earth”
September 27, 2015
Readings: Psalm 57; 1 Samuel 22:1-2 * Download this sermon (PDF)
Dear Congregation of Christ: Before David became king over all Israel, he was a caveman. This was because Saul hunted him because of jealousy and insecurity. David was the one who killed the giant Philistine, and was also anointed by the prophet Samuel as the next king. So David fled from place to place as a fugitive for about four years. And two of these places were caves. One was the cave at Abdullam, a place between the cities of Gath and Bethlehem. The other cave was at Engedi, on the western shores of the Dead Sea. David wrote about his time of distress in the Engedi cave in Psalm 142. He was to remain a fugitive until King Saul died in battle in Gilboa.
At first, David had only 400 men, who were described in our reading in 1 Samuel 22 as outcasts of Israel, “everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul.” Later, his ragtag army increased to 600 men. Even while Saul was determined to kill him, David did not kill Saul when he had opportunities to do so. He did not want to harm Saul out of his respect for God’s anointed king.
It is possible that many of the psalms of lament that David wrote were written when he was in these caves. We know that our text, Psalm 57, was written while he was in the cave at Abdullam or Engedi from the title, “A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.” This psalm has two distinct parts. It starts out in verses 1-5 as a psalm of lament, a plea for God’s mercy. Then in verses 6-11, David’s lament turns into confidence in and praise for God’s steadfast love. These two parts both end in a refrain in verses 5 and 11, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!”
So we meditate on the theme “Let Your Glory Be Over All the Earth” under two headings: (1) “For in You My Soul Takes Refuge”; (2) “For Your Steadfast Love is Great to the Heavens.”
For the rest of the sermon, click here.
