“Talk about a close call!”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, May 19, 2025
Psalm 57 (Forward, p. 21) CEV p. 588
King Saul was hunting high and low for David to kill him and was basically leaving no stone unturned in his pursuit. He even restored to the desert areas surrounding the Dead Sea, the Desert of En-gedi, where there were hiding places galore. (For instance, the Dead Sea scrolls were found in caves in this very same area.)
Along the side of the road, there were some sheep pens, one of the built around the entrance to a cave. Thinking nothing of it, Saul decided to go inside that cave to relieve himself, never thinking that David and his men might be hiding at the back of the cave. (He was only inches away—perhaps a few feet—from discovering him, it was that close, that perilous! It was a very close call.
No wonder David feels threatened: “I live among lions, who gobble down people! They have spears and arrows instead of teeth, and they have sharp swords instead of tongues” (verse 4). No wonder he cries out to the Lord for help: “God Most High, have pity on me! Have mercy. I run to you for safety. In the shadow of your wings, I seek protection till danger dies down” (verse 1).
David had relied on the Lord’s help all through his life—just think of his time as a shepherd when a lion or bear attacked the sheep, or when he faced off against Goliath—so he knew that the Lord could be trusted to come through for him. He had that kind of confidence in God. May we, you and I, have that same confidence and be ever ready to go to Him in prayer for the help that we need. Amen.
Forward notes: “Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp; I myself will waken the dawn” (verse 8).
“Shortly after graduating from college, I had a life-changing weekend. I spent a weekend making a Cursillo, which is a short retreat-like course in
Christian living. One of the vivid memories I have from that weekend is how we were awakened.
“So that we would not be easily distracted, we had given up our phones and watches for the weekend, so the staff served as our ‘alarm clocks.’ But they didn’t wake us up by knocking on our doors. Instead, the staff walked up and down the hallway, singing songs of praise and ringing bells. It was jarring on the first day, but by day three, I looked forward to the unbridled joy and silliness. What a gift it was to start each morning by opening my eyes to the sound of songs of praise.”
Moving Forward: “Have you ever thought about changing your alarm clock or ringtone to a song of praise?”