This Psalm is a Miktam – another one of those musical phrases we don’t really know the meaning of. It could mean “engraving” in that it was written down or carved somewhere. It could mean “golden, ” meaning valuable or popular. Most likely it is some kind of notation for the musician or the singer. Like many of the first set of psalms, it is a psalm of David.
It opens with a request for deliverance, using a soft imperative tense that means a begging or beseeching. There is no specific dilemma cited like there is in many other psalms, but there are certainly many possibilities throughout David’s life – or it could be a general prayer.
He sees God as a hiding place, as a protective source of refuge from the danger around him, but then builds on that. He speaks to his own soul, calling himself to acknowledge God as Lord, and to acknowledge himself as sinful, either meaning he has no goodness without God, or that whatever good he may have is insufficient when coming before the Lord.
He then looks outward at those around him, aligning himself with those who align with God, but looking at those who do not, not with scorn but pity, because he knows their end will be tragic.
He goes on, back to God, who is his chosen portion and cup, not only sustenance but also the prime choice and something to rejoice over. The next verse basks in the goodness of what God gives him, despite the difficulty around him. The territory, the inheritance God has promised him is pleasant and beautiful.
God gives him counsel and instruction, God is always set before him, always at hand. This is what makes him glad, rejoice and dwell securely, even in the midst of persecution and danger.
Then David gets a glimpse of God’s ultimate promise of salvation even in death – this verse is cited in the New Testament as a picture, as a calling forward of the resurrection of Christ. And David closes the prayer with another glimpse, of the eternal joys awaiting us in the presence of God. No wonder there is no fear! No wonder God is his refuge in which his flesh dwells secure.
In Acts, we have the story of Pentecost and Peter’s impromptu sermon after the coming of the Holy Spirit. He speaks to his Jewish audience about David, who died, pointing forward, in this Psalm, to his descendent Jesus Christ who fulfilled all the promises that David gave glimpses of.
We, who have this fullness come to us that David only foresaw, can pray this prayer along with him when we feel oppressed and in need of refuge. May it bring us out of our inward, downward facing orientation and point us to the God who loves us.
– Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, June 6, 2021