David was a man of incredible depth. He was also a man who walked alone. He faced adverse circumstances, experienced the rejection of trusted friends, endured long years of awaiting his destined calling and tasted the bitterness of carnality. Yet in the midst of his darkest hours, some of his greatest songs of triumph and praise were born. David was a man who had learned to listen to God’s song and he overcame the circumstances oppressing him by the use of praise.

According to Psalm 42 [see verses 6-8], it was in the night that David heard God’s song. Night signifies a difficult hour of adversity, but it also signifies a time for deliverance. At a time when David felt overwhelmed, he chose to listen to the songs of the Lord instead of the songs of discouragement and doubt. God’s song here was also mixed with David’s prayer. When his heart thirsted for God’s presence, this song came. (The Hebrew word for ‘song’ in this psalm is shir, the word most commonly used for the song of the Lord in the Old Testament.)

David often experienced trouble and distress as is evident from the numerous psalms which he composed at such times. Another example is found in Psalm 32 [see verses 6-7 in particular]. In an hour when the floods of life seemed about to close in on him, David knew to hide in the secret place of the Most High, where he found a refuge of protection. In that covering presence he would hear the Lord’s song of deliverance, surrounding him on every side, building a faith-filled rampart of hope and safety. There, in that secret place, God uses His song to remind us that He will fight for us as we humbly hide ourselves in His presence.

Nothing can replace the safety found in the secret place of the Most High. No human relationship will ever truly calm the battle-weary heart like the relationship with the Lord and His ministry of song. There, we are protected from words of strife and division. There, the plots of wickedness fail and the pride of man is diverted away. Yet as Christians wander further and further away from His presence, trusting in quick answers founded upon a man’s wisdom, God’s song of deliverance becomes but a faint whisper, fading into the distance. In fact, few have ever heard that song. Don’t you think it’s time to take our refuge in Him and listen to Him as He sings the songs of deliverance to a needy people?

I believe we can truly echo the cry of the Judaean captives and say, ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?’. The Scriptures are clear. He has given us some wonderful guidelines. Now it is up to us to follow them.

Taken from The Song of the Lord by Tamara Winslow (Kingsway Publications 1996)
Used by permission