Psalms 118:5 “I called upon the Lord in my distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a large place.”

So there you have it.  Whenever you are in distress just call upon the Lord and He will set you in a large place.  Just between you and me whenever I am in distress, a large place is the last place I want to be.  I usually seek out a nice small space where no one can find me, like under a rock.   The word for large place is rachav which means a large space or large place.

How is it that David found comfort in being in a large place? Commentators and Bible teachers have argued this one for centuries.   Some translations render this as a safe place. I do not see the word safety anywhere in rachav except for the fact it fits the context of this passage and you can, of course, really stretch words in the Hebrew.   Others have pointed out that the word has a Mem מ in front of it and there appears to be no reason for that Mem except to distinguish the word from its triliteral root to show that it is to be used as a metaphor.  Tradition says this metaphor represents freedom. From this Bible commentators conclude that this is a metaphor of God giving David freedom from his enemies who were causing him stress.  Well, that’s cool.

Still others will say that this large place represent s David position as a king.  Before he became a king he was pursued by Saul and there was an occasion his own followers were about to stone him.  Such things can cause great distress and becoming a king relieved him of that stress.  Nice idea but being a king of one of the most powerful nations on earth is not a place to find a stress free environment. I mean ask any king that you happen to meet.  A court fool named Damocles once did that with a king.

The “Sword of Damocles” is a story from ancient Greek legend of a court courtier who raved about the great luxury and perks that the king enjoyed.  The king offered to change places with the courtier for one day.  The courtier eagerly accepted.  The next he approached the throne ready to eat any meal he desired and to watch the most beautiful dancing women in the kingdom.  He anticipated exercising his power to order servants around.  However, as he approached the throne he noticed hanging over the throne was a sword held from the ceiling by a single horse’s hair. This sword was ready to drop at any given moment turning him into a shish kebab. The king explained that Damocles could enjoy all the privileges of being a king but he had to sit on the throne for the entire day.   Damocles spent the entire day in such misery fearing the sword would fall that he could not enjoy one meal, give one order to the servants or even watch the dancing women.  When his day ended he wasted no time jumping off the throne.  The king then explained that as a king, he lived every day with a sword hanging over his head.   Such distress is not worth all the luxuries in the world. No, God advancing David to the status of a king was not delivering him from his stress.

Since no one seems to have a very good explanation on what this large place  was nor on why the word rachav is preceded by a Mem, I believe my humble suggestion would be about as good as any.  For one thing that word rachav is not only preceded by a Mem, there is a Beth ב and Pathah that precedes the Mem.  The Beth could be the preposition in or on and the Pathah would then be a definite article (the).  So it is really rendered as in the large place.  Thus, David is referring to a very definite place.

This leads me to a non grammatical reason for that Mem. Sure Hebrew teachers will point to grammatical reasons for the Mem, however; the only grammatical reason would be for a second preposition which does not really make much sense. Perhaps there is no grammatical reason for this Mem. Perhaps this Mem was put there to draw a picture of what this large place could be that would bring such comfort to David in his time of stress.   The ancient Jewish sages used to teach that the Mem represented the revealed Word of God.  The word rachav does mean a large place.  It could also be read as a place of fullness or completeness. In other words in his time of distress, God took David to a place where he had a complete or full understanding of God’s Word.

I have heard my pastor talk about everyone having a Word from God and how important it is to know and affirm this Word that God has given us.  I agree that we all do have a Word from God, just as David had a Word from God.  When he went into a time of distress God brought that Word to a fullness or completeness in understanding which brought him comfort.

I believe the lesson of Psalms 118:5 is very important to us.  By spending time in the Word of God we received much revelation from God, but it really does not mean too much to us at the time.  Yet when we go through a time of distress that word that has been planted in us suddenly enlarges.  Our understanding of that word becomes full or completed as we discover a personal application of that Word. There are times I will put on a CD of someone just reading the Word of God.  I go about my business, not paying much attention to what I am hearing. Sometimes I will sit in church while the Word of God is being spoken and my mind my wander, but my spirit is picking up on the Word of God.  Then suddenly I find myself in a trying situation and all of a sudden that Word that I had heard or read brings me into a large understanding. I suddenly hear the words in my mind and spirit, “I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” Isaiah 26:3.   Suddenly that Word that I have heard in some sermon, some song, or some CD is enlarged in my understanding and becomes relevant.  Suddenly God takes me to a rachav or the large place or the place of full understanding.

When we go through a time of distress, it is very important that, like David, we call upon the Lord.  When we do we look to the Word that he has given us, that we have read or listened to and we allow that word to enter a large place in our life.  Another way to put it is to allow the Word to become complete and full in our understanding.  When it does, we will, like David, find our greatest comfort in that Word when we need it the most.