Be Thou Exalted!

Psalm 57:1, 5,and 11.

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.

Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth.

Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let Thy glory be above all the earth.

I love this picture. The mother swan bends her neck to keep a close eye on her chicks, while opening her wings of shelter for them. So many songs come to mind, but I’m going to use a different one today than the songs this picture brings to mind.

Twice in this psalm, David repeats words of exaltation to God. He was living under the danger of death at the hands of King Saul. He hid in caves, asking the protection of God’s wings to cover and shelter him. King Saul was searching desperately for him, consumed with fear and jealousy that the people would choose David instead of himself. David was aware, every moment of every day, that his life hung in the balance.

So he turned to God. He sang, “Be Thou exalted!” instead of “Lord, please exalt ME over Saul!” David understood that his life was in God’s hands, and that Saul could be defeated and his own life preserved only if God so ordained.

We are living in troubled times. When I see the inexorable movement toward a one-world government, losing our hard-won and beloved Constitutional freedoms, I wonder how much longer God is going to allow it to go on before He intervenes. And then I remember David’s words, and this song: words by Fanny J. Crosby; music by Alfred Smith.