How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life. (Psalm 36:7-9)
One way to grow in trusting the Lord is to spend much time meditating on His lovingkindness. Lovingkindness is an Old Testament term similar to the idea of grace in the New Testament. It combines the idea of His mercy in not punishing us as we deserve with the His goodness in giving to us “exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all we could ask or think.” It shows the zealous, active love of God for His people. No wonder David said: How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God.
When David looks at why people put their complete trust in the Lord, he notices that it is because they know something about His lovingkindness. The more they understand it and live in it, the more they find comfort under His wings of protection. “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by” (Psalm 57:1). Even when we fail (which is often), we can find mercy and protection under His wings. How precious is His lovingkindness to His children!
This idea was also expressed from the heart of God when Jesus cried out opposite Jerusalem: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34). David constantly reflected on this and it encouraged his heart even when he had every human reason to fear: “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me” (Psalm 17:8-9). What joy this brings to those who flee to the Lord’s lovingkindness. “Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice” (Psalm 63:7). O Lord, how precious is your lovingkindness!
Not only does meditating on God’s lovingkindness cause us to rest under His wings, it also becomes the place where we experience complete satisfaction. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house. “Man is so needy, and God has so much to give. The needs of man could hardly be overstated. The resources of God could only be understated. Words like emptiness and deficiency describe humanity. Words like fullness and abundance describe our God” (Bob Hoekstra). His lovingkindness causes us to rest in Him. His lovingkindness completely satisfies our every need. When we see how abundantly He satisfies, we can rest under His wings. O Lord, how precious is your lovingkindness!
David also understood the real source of pleasure in life: “You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life.” We are able to put our trust in the Lord in every situation because we have learned that real pleasure comes from Him. In Psalm 16, David says:
“I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Our trust grows when we remember that “He is at my right hand.” I do not need to fret or worry even in the darkest situation. In Psalm 139:10, David rejoices because, even in the depths of the sea, “even there Your hand shall lead me; Your right hand shall hold me.” When Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice,” he does not stop there but reminds us in the next verse, “The Lord is at hand.” The source of our pleasure and our confidence in difficulties is that He is always with us in them, no matter how difficult or dark they may be. Oh, how precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
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