A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
A Shiggaion is a
song. This song, and Habakkuk 3:1, are the two that bear the description. Most
scholarly sources teach that a Shiggaion
was set to wild, irregular, and triumphant music.
“Shiggaion is interpreted variously to mean ‘mournful erratic, a song
of trouble.’ Shiggaion is interpreted to mean ‘wanderings: according to
variable tunes.’ For the Church triumphant there will be times when music is
exciting, enthusiastic and triumphant because of the work of the Lord on behalf
of His people. The Church has had plenty of plaintive and mournful dirgy songs
in her history. But victory is God’s ultimate for the Church.”[1] Whatever
battle we are facing, whatever trouble is hunting us down, the Lord is our
refuge. David left his prose and poetry for us—his songs to instruct us in our
trials so that we learn to trust in our God and take refuge in Him.
“O Lord my God, in You I have taken
refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and rescue me, Or he will
tear my soul like a lion, Dragging me away, while there is no one to
rescue me. O Lord my God, if I have done this, If there
is injustice in my hands, If I have done evil to my friend, Or
have plundered my enemy for no reason, Let the enemy pursue my
soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life to the ground And lay my
glory in the dust. Selah” {vv.1-5 NASB}.
David calls out to
God in mourning and a plaintive song. Mourning for the trouble that he is
facing, and plaintive as he establishes his case before the court of heaven. First,
he entreats God to search his heart for any sin that resides that allowed this
trouble to come to him; so that he can confess and be forgiven. David has
sought refuge in God because of God’s promise to protect him. God promises the
righteous that those who run to Him as a refuge will be saved.
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress
and my savior, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and
the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” {Psalm 18:2 NASB}.
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe” {Prov. 18:10}.
The Hebrew word for Lord
here in verse six is Jehovah.
David calls on Jehovah, the Eternal, Ever-Loving One. “Rabbinical writings
have distinguished Jehovah by various names and euphemistic expressions as ‘The
Name,’ ‘The Great and Terrible Name,’ ‘The Peculiar Name,’ ‘The Separate Name,’
‘The Unutterable Name,’ ‘The Ineffable Name,’ ‘The Incommunicate Name,’ ‘The
Holy Name,’ ‘The Distinguished Name.’ It was also known as the ‘Name of Four
Letters’ because from the Hebrew it spelled YHVH, in English…Such is Jewish
reverence for this august name that even today they refrain as much from
writing it, or pronouncing it.”[1]
The name Jehovah appears in the Old Testament
seven-thousand times, and in the Psalms alone, seven-hundred times. The Name
must not be underestimated, it is so great. The Name of Jehovah causes the
heavens and earth to shake. He is the Ever existing One, and His character is unchangeable.
David was not calling on just any god; he was calling on the God of the righteous. Jehovah is the covenant God and made a
covenant with Israel, and David runs to the God of the covenant to rescue him.
God has promised the righteous that He will judge the unrighteous, and David calls
out to God standing on this promise.
“My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, And a God who shows indignation every day. If one does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and taken aim. He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself; He makes His arrows fiery shafts. Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice, And he conceives harm and gives birth to lies. He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made. His harm will return on his own head, And his violence will descend on the top of his own head. I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High” {vv. 10-17}.
David has prayed, poured out his heart to God, stood
faithful to God’s covenant, and pled his case before heaven. Now he makes a
declaration of faith; My shield is with
God who saves…God is a righteous judge…he pleads his innocence before God
and believes what God will do to the unrighteous if they do not repent of their
evil ways. Their sin will come back onto their own head.
David then sets the pattern for us; he has prayed in faith
and trusts Jehovah, the Ever-Existing God. He then begins to thank God for
performing His Word. David’s pattern—his habit—was to offer thanksgiving to
God, knowing that what God promised to perform, would be accomplished. The word
praise here in verse seventeen is the word zamar in Strong’s, and it carries the idea of giving praise; to
sing praises forth while touching or playing an instrument. Thanksgiving is the
way in which we should approach God. Enter
His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him,
bless His name Psalm 100
instructs.
David had spent a long time in the pasture guarding sheep,
and he learned how to be in the presence of God, worshiping and praying. This
served David well throughout his life, as he drew near to God in every
circumstance he faced; even in the face of his sin, David repented and
worshiped God. It all comes back to thankfulness;
God wants to cultivate
in us a heart of thanksgiving so that we remember what He has done for us,
and so we can trust in Him no matter what trials we face. He is Jehovah the Eternal, Ever-Loving One, and He bids us come and cry
out to Him, have faith in Him, and praise His Name forever—that He be magnified
in the earth.
