Look Up
“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.” - Psalm 57: 11
If I didn’t know better, I would say those words were penned here in Door County, while viewing one of our magnificent sunsets. Every time I look over our harbor or drive through a tree lined road, it takes my breath away. I can imagine a poet writing a line like the one above when viewing such beauty... but, although I can imagine it, I know better. I know the setting for the words David penned. The heading of this Psalm reads: “To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.”
Do you remember some of the details of David’s life? David was a sensitive shepherd boy and a musician who was frequently called upon to play his harp for the troubled King Saul. David was the youngest in his family. While David was living at home, a prophet anointed David to be King in Saul’s place. Although this was done in secret, David gained fame through the slaying of the giant, Goliath. Saul soon realized that David was favored to take his place. King Saul used all the resources at his disposal to hunt David down and kill him. When this Psalm was written, David, with a small army of men, was hiding out in a cave... away from all that he held dear. What is even more poignant, is that David loved and respected the man that was intent on killing him. It was within this setting that David penned these words of absolute joy and belief in God’s greatness.
How we respond to injustice, personal defeats and illness will depend on how we conducted our lives during good times. David did not have an epiphany in that cave. His young life had been grounded in a daily relationship with God. All his hopes and dreams had been given to God. When life sought to destroy him, he found a place of absolute security in God’s presence.
As the summer draws to a close, as we look toward the days to come, some with anticipation, others with dread, let us make a point to ‘look up’, to experience all the beauty God has created, to restore our souls… so that God’s reality, God’s grace, God’s love may permeate our being. Then, when life is unfair, when life hands us grief, we may respond with faith, hope and joy, just as David did in a cave, so long ago. May we be restored in body, mind and spirit as we look up to see the beauty that surrounds us.
Rev. Dawn Volpe, Ephraim Moravian Church
If I didn’t know better, I would say those words were penned here in Door County, while viewing one of our magnificent sunsets. Every time I look over our harbor or drive through a tree lined road, it takes my breath away. I can imagine a poet writing a line like the one above when viewing such beauty... but, although I can imagine it, I know better. I know the setting for the words David penned. The heading of this Psalm reads: “To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.”
Do you remember some of the details of David’s life? David was a sensitive shepherd boy and a musician who was frequently called upon to play his harp for the troubled King Saul. David was the youngest in his family. While David was living at home, a prophet anointed David to be King in Saul’s place. Although this was done in secret, David gained fame through the slaying of the giant, Goliath. Saul soon realized that David was favored to take his place. King Saul used all the resources at his disposal to hunt David down and kill him. When this Psalm was written, David, with a small army of men, was hiding out in a cave... away from all that he held dear. What is even more poignant, is that David loved and respected the man that was intent on killing him. It was within this setting that David penned these words of absolute joy and belief in God’s greatness.
How we respond to injustice, personal defeats and illness will depend on how we conducted our lives during good times. David did not have an epiphany in that cave. His young life had been grounded in a daily relationship with God. All his hopes and dreams had been given to God. When life sought to destroy him, he found a place of absolute security in God’s presence.
As the summer draws to a close, as we look toward the days to come, some with anticipation, others with dread, let us make a point to ‘look up’, to experience all the beauty God has created, to restore our souls… so that God’s reality, God’s grace, God’s love may permeate our being. Then, when life is unfair, when life hands us grief, we may respond with faith, hope and joy, just as David did in a cave, so long ago. May we be restored in body, mind and spirit as we look up to see the beauty that surrounds us.
Rev. Dawn Volpe, Ephraim Moravian Church
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