"Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. I had said in my alarm, "I am cut off from your sight." But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help."
One of the beautiful things about the Psalms is that we are seldom told exactly what situation David or the others Psalmists are writing from. We often do not know who the enemy was or what the "besieged city" was. This allows us to apply the Psalms in a most wide way, not just in terms of physical enemies, but spiritual and mental and emotional enemies, as well. Therefore a "besieged city" can be any situation in my life where I am held captive by the enemy of sin.
Here are several reasons I love these verses:
- The place of personal captivity, where sin has us in volitional or mental or emotional chains, tends to be the LAST place where we expect to experience God's steadfast love. Steadfast love is hesed...covenant love...unfailing love...God's kind of love. We often expect judgment from God when we find ourself trapped in sin. "Why did I get myself into this place AGAIN?" "What kind of fool am I?" "I should be stronger in faith than to allow Satan to tempt me into this pig pin once again!" But over and over and over again God comes and breaks chains in His steadfast, unfailing love. This does NOT mean, of course, that He APPROVES of our sin or thinks lightly of our sin. NO, not at all. His steadfast love can be FIERCE in its freeing operation! Steadfast love is not necessarily synonymous with soft and warm and gentle. Love is jealous and zealous when it is protecting or rescuing or reclaiming its own.
- Note that David blesses the Lord for His steadfast love WHEN he is in a besieged city. That is, NOT after David has freed himself. God is the rescuer. His love is always acting first. Grace moves to give the OPPOSITE of what is deserved. It does not wait until there is something that is deserving. It does not say, "Get yourself out and then MAYBE I'll give you my favor again." God knows there is no freedom that begins with us. No...in covenant love, the love that "carries on to completion the work it began until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6) God comes to us IN OUR BESIEGED CITY and wondrously shows His power on our behalf.
- Note also: the Lord shows His steadfast love to "me" i.e. "us." It is PERSONAL. God is not into demonstrating his freeing power for the demonstration of His glory ALONE (He DOES do that!). He does it also so that His wondrous love and power RESCUE HIS BELOVED - us! His love and His wondrous working are personal. He is the Father coming once again to the besieged child to free her. There is personal warmth in God's rescuing. There is customized wondrous working in His rescues of us. He rescues us omnisciently knowing what we need in the way of character development and rescues us in a way that does that character work.
- How often are you in a difficult place and feel like, and even think, "I am cut off from your [God's] sight"? v.22. I often find out just how WEAK my faith is when I can't see or feel God's presence or the signs that He is at work. How quickly I cry out "Lord, where are you?" WHERE is He?! He is where He ALWAYS is - where His besieged child is. He is where steadfast love always is: near the needy beloved one. Can I actually be cut off from the sight of the OMNISCIENT One? He sees all things at once at all times. No depth of prison or captivity or addiction or failure can cut us off from the sight of the One who sees through all things. If God can't see, then He can't act for us WHEN and AS we need Him to. But HE DOES see! And not only does He see, He sees all things as they actually are: my true needs, the true strength and strategies of my enemy, what I need to be freed, all factors that are involved, who is culpable in every way: OUR GOD of steadfast love sees all and His beloved ones CANNOT be cut off from His sight. Do you find yourself in a personal prison? God sees you, His beloved in Christ.
- How often when you are in a personal prison does it seem like your prayers are leaving your mouth and falling on the floor? God hasn't heard! God is unaware of my true situation. God DOESN'T CARE! Ah...but HE DOES! God hears the humble cry of His beloved beaten down one, His captives due to foolishness. When we have had enough and CRY to our Father, HE hears, and no amount of enemy interference or noise or failure to pray the perfect prayer or lack of pure motives can hinder His ears from hearing clearly our cry. He hears and He will answer. However, sometimes He says, "Keep on asking, Keep on seeking, Keep on knocking" Matthew 7:7.
- What CRY does He hear? "My pleas for mercy" and when I "cried to you for help" v.22. If you are in a personal prison and think there are no divine ears perked for your cry, think again. There is a Lord of steadfast love in heaven who is a Father of MERCY. He loves to not give us what we deserve because His Son took that wrath. And He loves to answer the cry for help because it delivers us and it glorifies Him (Psalm 50:15). So CRY!
Brethren, you are not hopelessly and forever stuck in your besieged city. Rise above the thoughts that you are cut off from God. Press on to the mercy seat in heaven with your cries for help. Let David's experience be to you a source of hope for what yours can be. The Lord of steadfast love will act wondrously on your behalf.
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