In his first letter to Timothy, Paul thanks the person he acknowledges as his Lord for the fact that his sins have not separated him from the promise of eternal life. 

Jesus had already placed himself as a saviour of sinners as recorded in the gospels. Following his calling of Levi the tax collector and the subsequent outcry from the Pharisees, he explains to them, “ I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32). Tax collectors were seen as traitors, some of the greatest sinners in Judean society, as they collaborated with the ruling Roman authorities. But Christ called Levi – or Matthew – and he followed. How, one might ask, could you base your movement on an odd collection of fishermen and, of all things, a tax collector.

David began preparing for his kingly rule with a very similar collection of individuals: ‘When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.’ (1 Samuel  22:1-2).

Still on the run, constantly looking over his shoulder, David found refuge in a rocky stronghold (vv.4-5): the cave at Adullam, a place he refers to as a ‘refuge’ in Psalms 57 and 142, both composed in the cave. He did not seek out the great and the good to join him; people ‘gathered around him’. He did not turn the debtors away, or the discontented – he became their captain. As Levi with Jesus, they had joined themselves to the anointed king, waiting for his kingdom. The king accepted them, regardless of their background. 

This is the narrative that Paul finds consolation in. He had fought the anointed king whom he had not originally recognised, and pursued his followers to death and imprisonment.  When his blindness was removed on the road to Damascus, he was granted the grace to join a band of persecuted and often reviled followers. David rescued the debtors from probable slavery because an unpaid debt would have resulted in being sold as a slave. In his gospel, John records Jesus’ words that bind sin to the concept of slavery: “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin…So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34,36). And pre-figuring Christ’s redemptive work, David was setting prisoners free.

We can join with David throughout  Psalm 57, as he tracks through his anguish at the desperate situation he finds himself in, to conclude with songs of rejoicing, so loud they would ‘awaken the dawn’ (v 8).  

[1]  Psalm 57: 11

Local congregation:
GCI Market Harborough
9 The Point
Rockingham Road
Market Harborough 
LE16 7QU

Meeting time:
Sunday 4.00 pm

Local congregational contact:
Sinead Henderson 
Email: sinead.henderson@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church