We may be tempted to conclude that the psalms of David were penned by a man of many years and much experience. While this may be true in some instances, it was not so of those psalms written during the fugitive years. At that point in his life, David was a young man in his twenties, and yet his writings display a remarkably mature and deeply spiritual outlook.
Early concern for the ark
For example, Psalm 132 offers an instructive comment and provides an invaluable insight into the early development of David’s life; there we read: “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood” (vs. 4-6).
First, note the reference to Ephratah. This was his boyhood home, Bethlehem, and it was here that the purpose of God became rooted and grounded in his heart. In Bethlehem, the spirit of God came upon him when Samuel anointed him king. From that time forward, if not before, David felt a compelling desire to search out a resting place for the ark of God (the “fields of the wood” was a reference to Kirjathjearim, meaning “city of woods,” where the ark abode, I Sam.7:2).
Second, consider the words “a place” and “an habitation.” This takes us back to Deuteronomy 12:10,11, where we read: “But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you…” God was to select a particular location where He would place His name, but it would be contingent upon the subjugation of Israel’s enemies.
Maturity from the word of God
At the birth of David, the people of God were still under bondage; Canaanites continued to occupy much of the land and the Philistines stymied the realization of the purpose of God. This was altogether unacceptable to David. When he visited his brethren and heard the defiant words of Goliath ringing across the valley, he was filled with righteous indignation and cried: “What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (I Sam. 17:26).
Thus at a tender age, while the majority of Israel (including the king) trembled in their tents, this young man stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries in his faith in God. How had David acquired such a mature outlook, such a spiritually perceptive mind? The answer is found in his attitude toward God’s word. In Psalm 17 (a psalm identified with David’s circumstances in the wilderness of Maon, see I Sam. 23:19-26) he shows where his strength lay: “Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the path of the destroyer” (v. 4).
David listened to God’s word. He was surrounded by men whose words were full of emptiness; they spoke loudly but said nothing — “They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips” (Psa. 140:3); “They belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?” (59:7).
Saul was a typical example of this. In offering David his daughter in marriage, he pretended to show kindness, but secretly he was plotting David’s death (I Sam. 18:17,25). How true is the proverb; “He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool” (Prov. 10:18).
David’s confidence God’s word would be fulfilled
As David knew full well, God’s word is different “In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me” (Psa. 56:4). Such confidence resulted from David’s faith in God’s word; the Almighty had declared to Saul that the kingdom would be rent from him and given to “a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou” (I Sam. 15:26-29). David had every confidence that this would come to pass.
God’s word had gone forth from His mouth, it would not return unto Him void but would accomplish that which God pleased (Isa. 55:11). All that was necessary on David’s part was his willingness to wait for it.
Not too long before these events, Hannah had also experienced bitterness of soul, she had petitioned the Almighty regarding her barrenness and her patience was rewarded. Is it possible that her song provided that strength so essential to David during this period? “The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed” (I Sam. 2:10).
Our circumstances are no different. We are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, and God, through His son, has made certain promises to us: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” and again “he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Luke 12:31,32; Heb.13:5). Our patience during many trying circumstances will be determined by our faith and confidence in God’s word; whether we receive the word of God as the word of men or “as it is in truth, the word of God” (I Thess. 2:13).
Anxious moments
This, however, does not imply that the fugitive years were not without anxiety. On the contrary, psalms of the period provide every indication that, as the years passed, the pressure upon David increased.
At first, David did not anticipate a protracted exile. This is suggested in the earlier psalms: “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Psa. 59:16 – a reference to his escape from Saul through the window during the night, I Sam.19:11-12). There is an air of confidence in his words suggesting his tribulation would be short lived: “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me” (Psa. 56:11).
But as the years passed, David’s tone changed: “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly…For my life is spent with grief” (Psa. 31:9-10); again he says, “Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I” (Psa. 142:6). Toward the end, he cried out in desperation: “How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” (Psa. 13:1-2).
Such anxiety should not lessen our opinion of David’s faith in God. As far as our own circumstances are concerned, it is not always easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel and David was no exception. While he was confident God would deliver him, his anxious words indicate he desperately sought to know the end of his tribulation.
The beginning of flight
Psalm 59 was written at the very beginning of the fugitive years. From its content, it is apparent the purpose of God, espoused from an early age, never forsook David. The title of the psalm is “a Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.” The events are recorded in I Samuel 19:10-17 where Saul, enraged yet again by another of David’s triumphs over the Philistines, attacked David with a javelin. This resulted in David fleeing to his house (vs. 10-11).
A number of phrases in Psalm 59 help to fill in details of this incident. In verse 2, David describes his pursuers as “workers of iniquity:” this is a reference to Saul and highlights the fact that his anger was more than simply a momentary weakness. David also describes the men as “bloodthirsty” (RV) who “lie in wait for my soul” (v. 3). These men meant business, “they make a noise like a dog” (v. 6). David isn’t describing the modern domestic house pets; he is speaking of the wild dogs which roamed the streets in search of food, relentless in their search for a victim. And they were eager to carry out their orders -”They run and prepare themselves without my fault” (v. 4). In I Samuel 19, we are told that it was night (v. 10); the messengers waited all night, intending to strike in the morning (v. 11) but Michal persuaded David to escape through the window (vs. 11-12). The following day Saul sent his servants twice to take David, only to find that Michal had deceived him. It is Psalm 59:6, however, which informs us that they set a watch the following night and launched a city-wide search: “They return at evening…and go round about the city” (Psa. 59:6).
Awake to visit all the heathen
The most significant detail recorded in this psalm is found in three verses: “Thou therefore, 0 LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors” (v. 5).
“But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision” (v. 8).
“Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth” (v. 13).
In these verses, David expands his enemies to include all nations. Since arriving at the court of the king, David had concentrated his energies on pursuing the Philistines (cf. I Sam.18:13, 27, 30 RV marg; 19:8) and although he now flees from the face of Saul, David never loses sight of the overall picture and shows concern for the purpose of God which he had espoused at Bethlehem. David’s personal deliverance was secondary to the vindication of the name of Yahweh.
Verse 13 links both the past and the future. Similar words were spoken to Pharaoh by Moses at the Exodus: “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth” (Exo. 9:16). Joshua repeated this: “That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever” (Josh. 4:24); and David spoke these words when he faced Goliath: “This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (I Sam. 17:46).
All these events are shadows of what is yet to come. The Almighty will rise up against His enemies and in the words of the prophet Ezekiel: “So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel” (Ezekiel 39:7).
“From whence come wars and fighting’s among you?”
A very important lesson emerges from this incident of which we do well to take heed. The ecclesia of God was under siege from the Philistines, yet instead of harnessing the energies of David and combining their strengths to fight a common enemy, Saul became obsessed with fighting his brother. As a result, the land was spiritually barren: “My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Psa. 63:1 – written during the fugitive years). David was counted as an enemy by the people he was helping to liberate; how typical of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet the same can be said of ourselves.
Today the enemy is very real indeed — “the sin that doth so easily beset us.” Yet instead of lifting up the hands that hang down or strengthening the feeble knees, we fight amongst ourselves. True, there are times when we must contend for the faith against those who would introduce new doctrines or lower standards; but in the majority of cases, we become embroiled in the most trivial encounters. Saul opposed David because he was jealous, not because David had done anything wrong. David himself declares: “The mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold” (Psa. 59:3-4), and we are no different. For this reason James writes: “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” (James 4:5).
Like David, all of us face a crisis at one point in our life, we encounter tribulation in a variety of ways; it could be family difficulties, employment problems, personal health or ecclesial conflict. Whatever the problem, the important factor is how we respond. Saul responded by opposing God’s word; Jonathan responded by accepting it. David responded by making God’s word his strength and source of comfort. He never lost sight of his sense of direction because God was his close companion: “Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defense. The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies” (Psa. 59:9-10).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One