David was anointed to be king over Israel in 1 Samuel16. Saul in an effort to retain his kingship sought to kill David who escaped to the cave of Adullam in 1 Samuel 22:1; then in chapter 24:1-3 he is staying in a cave in the wilderness of En-Gedi. One of these caves may have been the setting of David’s plea to God in Psalm 142 acknowledging that God was his “refuge…and portion in the land of the living” (also see Psalm 144:10). We have a New Testament counterpart to this having been made to be kings unto God, Revelation 1:6 & 5:10 (which verses also add priests). In spite of this holy anointing and calling we still must battle “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness…” Ephesians 6:12. Still like David in Psalm 32:7 we can say to our Lord “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” Even the enemy knows the victory is ours (see 1 Samuel 23:17) yet he does not give up fighting against us, but God has provided the armor whereby we win, see Ephesians 6:10-18.
The King In The Cave
By Rose Hill
David cried to the Lord in great distress,
For there was no place to hide or rest.
No one in his favor to act,
No earthly help in fact.
There seemed to be no light in sight,
Everything wrong and nothing right.
But wait! This should never be for one,
Who should be on the throne.
One who by his God is known,
Running in fear for his life,
Crying for deliverance from all this strife.
In a dark and lonely cave,
Calling for the Lord to save.
Then the Lord to his rescue came,
And he was able to praise God’s name.
For now God made him into a king,
Of God’s deliverance he could sing.
So it is with you and me,
In a cave of fear we should never be,
For He made us kings now you see.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.