THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS

The background to this psalm is found in 1 Samuel chapters 22 and 24.

The cry of the psalmist is the same as in the previous psalm - ‘Be merciful unto me’, v. 1 - but the reason is not the same. There it was a cry born of the oppression of the enemy; here it is born of the vision of God and of trust in Him. By name and title God is referred to twenty times in these eleven verses. In Psalm 55 verse 6 the desire was expressed for the insufficient wings of a dove for flight. Here the song is of the sufficient wings of God for refuge until calamity is past. Calamities send the psalmist to God. He is a fugitive seeking shelter, and he knows that there is no refuge so strong as the sheltering wings of God. There he will hide until the storm has spent itself. Faith does not free us from trial, but it does enable us to triumph over it.

The psalmist speaks of two environments. In verse 1, his refuge is in God, under the shadow of His wings. The figure is used several times in the psalms - 17. 8; 36. 7; 61. 4; 63. 7; 91. 4. It was also used by Boaz of Ruth, 2. 12. It is a beautiful metaphor relating to the care of the mother bird for her young. When danger threatens, they run to her for safety. Moses used the figure, Deut. 32. 11, and the Lord Jesus did so, Matt. 23. 37. God’s care is like an eagle’s wing for strength, and like a hen’s for gentleness. The shadow of God’s wings is the shelter of His sweet and gentle love, and the shade of His wings is the refreshing comfort derived from this protection.

His other environment is found in verse 4. He is among the ‘lions’, his ferocious enemies. His position was, in itself, one of dire peril, and yet faith made him feel secure, so that he could lie down. He felt secure under God’s protection. The wicked become the victims of their own evil designs, v. 6, as Haman did, Esther 7. 10.

Behind all there is a divine hand which makes the wrath of men to praise Him. But the psalmist’s heart is now fixed, v. 7, firmly resolved and proof against all fear. He is steadfastly resolved, grounded and settled, and ‘not moved away’, Col. 1. 23. How then has he managed to win through? He has learned fixity of purpose under the shadow of God’s wings.