All Things Unto Me

MARCH 12, 2024

 “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things unto me.” (Psalm 57:2)

What an amazing confession and confidence and comfort the psalmist here expresses! This is one of David’s golden psalms. This we learn from the title, “Michtam of David.” The title line also notifies us of the dire circumstances under which it was pinned. He was hiding out in a cave, perhaps Adullam, at a time when he was being hunted like a partridge by King Saul and his men. The inspired lyrics that came from the lips of Israel’s “sweet singer” in times of great trial are indeed golden. We find them most encouraging and comforting especially when we are experiencing some deep waters of our own.

As the psalm is titled Michtam, which means a golden ornament, its scope is a cry for preservation: Altaschith signifies destroy not. It is possible that this refers to the charge that David gave to his servants not to destroy Saul. But, from the tenor of the psalm, it seems more likely that he means his own destruction at the hands of Saul. “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:…yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” (Verse 1) God provided the cave as a place of safety, and David took advantage of it, nevertheless, God Himself was his true shelter. Let us always remember while we are wisely taking full advantage of all temporal means which Divine Providence supplies, that “God (Himself) is our refuge and strength, and a very present help in trouble.” David had taken refuge in a cave, which was itself the providence of God, but the shelter which he seeks is God Himself, the cleft of the Rock; the refuge of His wings!

David understood something that we, too, must realize, that his great Refuge and ours is the God of all providence. Notice his confidence: “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things unto me.” By “all things” does he mean to include even the situation itself, and all the evil treachery that brought it about? David clearly believed the wonderful truth of which we have been assured by the Apostle Paul, that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) God can give this assurance only because He controls all things, and has determined to see to it that all things shall work together for good to them that are His own.

It was a great comfort to David, in his many times of crisis, to remind himself that the Most High God was his Savior and Protector. How encouraging to recall that his God was performing, or literally, perfecting all things unto him – all things, large and small. Yes, He certainly sustains His vast creation, keeping every moving part in sync, lest massive destruction should otherwise occur. But the same Supreme Being who prevents such a catastrophe also controls and orders the actions of bugs and insects. The late R.C. Sproul once said, “In God’s universe there is not one maverick molecule.” Was David’s life spared by God commanding spiders to spin their web across the mouth of the cave where he was? The Aramaic translation curiously paraphrases the clause thus: “Who ordered the spiders that wrought the web on my account at the mouth of the cave.” It is a historical fact that God has used that very means to spare His own. He could have struck the pursuers all blind if He so pleased, or He could accomplish the same ends by commanding little things.

The Most High God is One of inviolate faithfulness. “Unto Him that performeth all things unto me.” “Unto Him that perfecteth all things unto me.” Concerning our redemption, He has perfected it. “It is finished.” Concerning the matter of our obtaining redemption, He faithfully performeth all things in us and for us, just as He did for David. (Psa. 18:16-19) Concerning the matter of perseverance, He will perform that too. “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6)

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