Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.
I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me.
He will send from heaven, and save me, he rebukes the one who is pursuing me. God will send out his loving kindness and his truth.
My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be above all the earth!
They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into the middle of it themselves.
My heart is steadfast, God. My heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.
Wake up, my glory! Wake up, lute and harp! I will wake up the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your great loving kindness reaches to the heavens, and your truth to the skies.
Be exalted, God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 1. Be merciful unto me, O God! The repetition…
1. Be merciful unto me, O God! The repetition of the prayer proves that the grief, the anxiety, and the apprehension, with which David was filled at this time, must have been of no common description. It is noticeable, that his plea for mercy is, his having hoped in God. His soul trusted in him; and this is a form of expression the force of which is not to be overlooked: for it implies that the trust which he exercised proceeded from his very innermost affections, — that it was of no volatile character, but deeply and strongly rooted. He declares the same truth in figurative terms, when he adds his persuasion that God would cover him with the shadow of his wings. The Hebrew word חסה, chasah, which I have translated to hope, signifies occasionally to lodge, or obtain shelter, and in this sense it may be understood with great propriety in the passage before us, where allusion is made to the shadow of wings. David had committed himself, in short, entirely to the guardianship of God; and now experienced that blessed consciousness of dwelling in a place of safety, which he expresses in the beginning of the ninetieth psalm. The divine protection is compared to the shadow of wings, because God, as I have elsewhere observed, the more familiarly to invite us to himself, is represented as stretching out his wings like the hen, or other birds, for the shelter of their young. The greater our ingratitude and perversity, in being so slow to comply with such an endearing and gentle invitation! He does not merely say, in general, that he would hope in God, and rest under the shadow of his wings, but, particularly, that he would do so at the time when wickedness should pass over him, like a storm or whirlwind. The Hebrew word הוה, hovah, which I have rendered wickedness, some translate power. Be that as it may, it is evident he declares that God would prove his refuge, and the wings of God his shelter, under every tempest of affliction which blew over him. There are seasons when we are privileged to enjoy the calm sunshine of prosperity; but there is not a day of our lives in which we may not suddenly be overtaken by storms of affliction, and it is necessary we should be persuaded that God will cover us with his wings. To hope he adds prayer. Those, indeed, who have placed their trust in God, will always direct their prayers to him; and David gives here a practical proof of his hope, by showing that he applied to God in his emergencies. In addressing God, he applies to him an honorable title, commending him as the God who performed whatsoever he had promised, or (as we may understand the expression) who carries forward to perfection the work which he has begun. The Hebrew word גמר, gomer, here employed, would seem to be used in the same sense as in Psalm 138:8, the scope of both passages being the same. It materially confirms and sustains our hope to reflect that God will never forsake the workmanship of his own hands, — that he will perfect the salvation of his people, and continue his divine guidance until he have brought them to the termination of their course. Some read, to God, who rewards me; but this fails to bring out the force of the expression. It would be more to the purpose, in my judgment, to read, God, who fails me; in which case the sentence would, of course, require to be understood adversatively: That though God failed him, and stretched not out his hand for his deliverance, he would still persist in crying to him. The other meaning, which some have suggested, I will cry to God, who performs, or exerts to the utmost, his severity against me, is evidently forced, and the context would lead us to understand the word as referring to the goodness of God, the constancy of which in perfecting his work when once begun, should ever be present to our remembrance,
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 This was either the beginning of a certain song,…
This was either the beginning of a certain song, or the words which David uttered when he stayed his affection.
Or, dwell most safely.
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He compareth the afflictions which God layeth upon his children, to a storm that cometh and goeth.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–11 Psa 57:1 « To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam…
Psa 57:1 « To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. » Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until [these] calamities be overpast.
Al-taschith] i.e. Destroy not; μη διαφθειρης (Sept.). David being in imminent danger of destruction in the cave, might send up this short request as it were in a fright, before he uttered this ensuing prayer. Al-taschith in such an exigent might well be an effectual prayer; as was the woman of Canaan’s Lord, help me, and the sick man’s Abba, Father; or these might now be his words (to Abishai, or some other of his servants, whose fingers even itched to be doing with Saul), as afterwards they were upon a like occasion, 1Sa 26:9. Destroy not Saul. See thou do it not.
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Michtam of David] See Psa 16:1, title.
When he fled from Saul in the cave] 1Sa 24:1, or, into the cave for shelter; and where, when he might have cut Saul’s throat, he cut his coat only, and was inwardly checked for it; nevertheless the Spirit came upon him, which was no small comfort, as Aben Ezra here observeth, and he said,
Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful] q.d. Now or never help at a dead lift. Bis, pro more rogantium, ad corroborandum, saith Kimchi. Other Jewish doctors give this reason of the repetition of his petition: "Be merciful," &c., lest either I fall into Saul’s hands, or Saul into mine; lest desire for revenge prick me on to kill him. Or, have mercy on me, that I sin not; or if I do sin, that I may repent (Midr. Tillin.)
For my soul trusteth in thee] An excellent argument, so it comes from the soul, so it be heart-sprung.
Yea, in the shadow of thy wings, &c.] As the little chicken in danger of the kite hovereth, and covereth under the hen.
Until these calamities be over past] For long they will not continue. Nubecula est, cito transibit, said Athanasius of the Arian persecutions, which for present were very sharp. So Master Jewel, about the beginning of Queen Mary’s reign, persuading many to patience, said often, Haec non durabunt setatem, This sharp shower will soon be over.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–11 Be merciful unto me: the repetition implies both the…
Be merciful unto me: the repetition implies both the greatness of his danger, and the fervency of his spirit in this request, and withal that his whole trust and hope was in God’s mercy. In the shadow of thy wings, i.e. of thy protection; to which alone I trust, and not to the shadow of this dark cave, in which I now hide myself. These calamities; or, the time of these calamities, which I know will shortly have an end.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 7 The title of this psalm has one word new…
The title of this psalm has one word new in it, Al-taschith - Destroy not. Some make it to be only some known tune to which this psalm was set; others apply it to the occasion and matter of the psalm. Destroy not; that is, David would not let Saul be destroyed, when now in the cave there was a fair opportunity of killing him, and his servants would fain have done so. No, says David, destroy him not, Sa1 24:4, Sa1 24:6. Or, rather, God would not let David be destroyed by Saul; he suffered him to persecute David, but still under this limitation, Destroy him hot; as he permitted Satan to afflict Job, Only save his life. David must not be destroyed, for a blessing is in him (Isa 65:8), even Christ, the best of blessings. When David was in the cave, in imminent peril, he here tells us what were the workings of his heart towards God; and happy are those that have such good thoughts as these in their minds when they are in danger!
I. He supports himself with faith and hope in God, and prayer to him, Psa 57:1, Psa 57:2. Seeing himself surrounded with enemies, he looks up to God with that suitable prayer: Be merciful to me, O Lord! which he again repeats, and it is no vain repetition: Be merciful unto me. It was the publican's prayer, Luk 18:13. It is a pity that any should use it slightly and profanely, should cry, God be merciful to us, or, Lord, have mercy upon us, when they mean only to express their wonder, or surprise, or vexation, but God and his mercy are not in all their thoughts. It is with much devout affection that David here prays, "Be merciful unto me, O Lord! look with compassion upon me, and in thy love and pity redeem me." To recommend himself to God's mercy, he here professes,
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1. That all his dependence is upon God: My soul trusteth in thee, Psa 57:1. He did not only profess to trust in God, but his soul did indeed rely on God only, with a sincere devotion and self-dedication, and an entire complacency and satisfaction. He goes to God, and, at the footstool of the throne of his grace, humbly professes his confidence in him: In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, as the chickens take shelter under the wings of the hen when the birds of prey are ready to strike at them, until these calamities be over-past. (1.) He was confident his troubles would end well, in due time; these calamities will be over-past; the storm will blow over. Non si male nunc et olim sic erit - Though now distressed, I shall not always be so. Our Lord Jesus comforted himself with this in his sufferings, Luk 22:37. The things concerning me have an end. (2.) He was very easy under the divine protection in the mean time. [1.] He comforted himself in the goodness of God's nature, by which he is inclined to succour and protect his people, as the hen is by instinct to shelter her young ones. God comes upon the wing to the help of his people, which denotes a speedy deliverance (Psa 18:10); and he takes them under his wing, which denotes warmth and refreshment, even when the calamities are upon them; see Mat 23:37. [2.] In the promise of his word and the covenant of his grace; for it may refer to the out-stretched wings of the cherubim, between which God is said to dwell (Psa 80:1) and whence he gave his oracles. "To God, as the God of grace, will I fly, and his promise shall be my refuge, and a sure passport it will be through all these danger." God, by his promise, offers himself to us, to be trusted; we by our faith must accept of him, and put our trust in him.
2. That all his desire is towards God (Psa 57:2): "I will cry unto God most high, for succour and relief; to him that is most high will I lift up my soul, and pray earnestly, even unto God that performs all things for me." Note, (1.) In every thing that befalls us we ought to see and own the hand of God; whatever is done is of his performing; in it his counsel is accomplished and the scripture is fulfilled. (2.) Whatever God performs concerning his people, it will appear, in the issue, to have been performed for them and for their benefit. Though God be high, most high, yet he condescends so low as to take care that all things be made to work for good to them. (3.) This is a good reason why we should, in all our straits and difficulties, cry unto him, not only pray, but pray earnestly.
3. That all his expectation is from God (Psa 57:3): He shall send from heaven, and save me. Those that make God their only refuge, and fly to him by faith and prayer, may be sure of salvation, in his way and time. Observe here, (1.) Whence he expects the salvation - from heaven. Look which way he will, in this earth, refuge fails, no help appears; but he looks for it from heaven. Those that lift up their hearts to things above may thence expect all good. (2.) What the salvation is that he expects. He trusts that God will save him from the reproach of those that would swallow him up, that aimed to ruin him, and, in the mean time, did all they could to vex him. Some read it, He shall send from heaven and save me, for he has put to shame him that would swallow me up; he has disappointed their designs against me hitherto, and therefore he will perfect my deliverance. (3.) What he will ascribe his salvation to: God shall send forth his mercy and truth. God is good in himself and faithful to every word that he has spoken, and so he makes it appear when he works deliverance for his people. We need no more to make us happy than to have the benefit of the mercy and truth of God, Psa 25:10.
II. He represents the power and malice of his enemies (Psa 57:4): My soul is among lions. So fierce and furious was Saul, and those about him, against David, that he might have been as safe in a den of lions as among such men, who were continually roaring against him and ready to make a prey of him. They are set on fire, and breathe nothing but flame; they set on fire the course of nature, inflaming one another against David, and they were themselves set on fire of hell, Jam 3:6. They were sons of men, from whom one might have expected something of the reason and compassion of a man; but they were beasts of prey in the shape of men; their teeth, which they gnashed upon him, and with which they hoped to tear him to pieces and to eat him up, were spears and arrows fitted for mischiefs and murders; and their tongue, with which they cursed him and wounded his reputation, was as a sharp sword to cut and kill; see Psa 42:10. A spiteful tongue is a dangerous weapon, wherewith Satan's instruments fight against God's people. He describes their malicious projects against him (Psa 57:6) and shows the issue of them: "They have prepared a net for my steps, in which to take me, that I might not again escape out of their hands; they have digged a pit before me, that I might, ere I was aware, run headlong into it." See the policies of the church's enemies; see the pains they take to do mischief. But let us see what comes of it. 1. It is indeed some disturbance to David: My soul is bowed down. It made him droop, and hang the head, to think that there should be those that bore him so much ill-will. But, 2. It was destruction to themselves; they dug a pit for David, into the midst whereof they have fallen. The mischief they designed against David returned upon themselves, and they were embarrassed in their counsels; then when Saul was pursuing David the Philistines were invading him; nay, in the cave, when Saul thought David should fall into his hands, he fell into the hands of David, and lay at his mercy.
III. He prays to God to glorify himself and his own great name (Psa 57:5): "Whatever becomes of me and my interest, be thou exalted, O God! above the heavens, be thou praised by the holy angels, those glorious inhabitants of the upper world; and let thy glory be above or over all the earth; let all the inhabitants of this earth be brought to know and praise thee." Thus God's glory should lie hearer our hearts, and we should be more concerned for it, than for any particular interests of our own. When David was in the greatest distress and disgrace he did not pray, Lord, exalt me, but, Lord, exalt thy own name. Thus the Son of David, when his soul was troubled, and he prayed, Father, save me from this hour, immediately withdrew that petition, and presented this in the room of it, For this cause came I to this hour; Father, glorify thy name, Joh 12:27, Joh 12:28. Or it may be taken as a plea to enforce his petition for deliverance: "Lord, send from heaven to save me, and thereby thou wilt glorify thyself as the God both of heaven and earth." Our best encouragement in prayer is taken from the glory of God, and to that therefore, more than our own comfort, we should have an eye in all our petitions for particular mercies; for this is made the first petition in the Lord's prayer, as that which regulates and directs all the rest, Father in heaven, hallowed by thy name.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–11 Be merciful unto me, O God,.... Or "be gracious…
Be merciful unto me, O God,.... Or "be gracious to me" (k); which words are repeated by him. "Be merciful", or "gracious, unto me"; to show the greatness of his distress, the eagerness, vehemency, and importunity he used in prayer; his case requiring a speedy answer, and immediate relief; and that he expected only from the mercy and grace of God; See Gill on Psa 56:1;
for my soul trusteth in thee; or "in thy word"; as the Targum; and in thee only, both as the God of providence and the God of grace; and a great act of faith this was to trust in the Lord in such circumstances; and it was not a bare profession of trust, but it was hearty and sincere; his "soul" trusted in the Lord; he trusted in him with all his heart and soul, and trusted him with his soul or life: and this he makes a reason or argument for mercy; seeing, as the mercy of the Lord is an encouragement to faith and hope; so the Lord has declared, that he takes pleasure in those that hope and trust in it; wherefore mercy may be expected by such;
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yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge; or "I will hope" (l); the meaning is, that he would betake himself to the power and protection of God, and make him his refuge from the enemy: the allusion is either to the hen, or any other bird covering its young with its wings, when a bird of prey is near, till that is gone; or to the cherubim, whose wings overshadowed the mercy seat, between which the glory of God dwelt; and so the Targum,
"in the shadow of thy Shechinah, or glorious Majesty, will I trust;''
which agrees with his applying to the mercy seat, or to God on a throne of grace and mercy: and here he determines to abide,
until these calamities be overpast; the storm of them was over, which was very black and threatening. The Targum is,
"until the tumult is over;''
and so the Syriac version; until Saul and his men were gone, of whom he was afraid. The Septuagint version, and those that follow it, render the words "until sin passeth away"; the cause of these troubles; unless sin is put for sinful men; and so the sense is as before; see Isa 26:20.
(k) "gratiam fac mihi", Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius; so Piscator, Ainsworth. (l) "sperabo", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "spero", Tigurine version, Musculus, Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 David here begins with prayer and complaint, tho' not…
David here begins with prayer and complaint, tho' not as without hope, ver. 1-6. He concludes with joy and praise, ver. 7- 11. To the chief musician Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Title of the psalm. Al-taschith - The word signifies, destroy not. Which some think to be a preface, containing the sum of the psalm. The cave - Either
That of Adullam, 1 Sam. xxii, 1, or
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–11 David cries to God for mercy, with the strongest…
PSALM LVII
David cries to God for mercy, with the strongest confidence of
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being heard, 1-3;
he describes his enemies as lions, 4;
thanks God for his deliverance, 5;
and purposes to publish the praises of the Lord among his
people, 6-11.
NOTES ON PSALM LVII
The title is, To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, (destroy not,) a golden Psalm of David, (or one to be engraven,) where he fed from Saul in the cave. It is very likely that this Psalm was made to commemorate his escape from Saul in the cave of En-gedi, where Saul had entered without knowing that David was there, and David cut off the skirt of his garment. And it is not improbable that, when he found that Saul was providentially delivered into his hand, he might have formed the hasty resolution to take away his life, as his companions counselled him to do; and in that moment the Divine monition came, אל תשצת al tascheth! Destroy not! lift not up thy hand against the Lord's anointed! Instead, therefore, of taking away his life, he contented himself with taking away his skirt, to show him that he had been in his power. When, afterwards, he composed the Psalm, he gave it for title the words which he received as a Divine warning. See the history 1Sa 24:1-22. See also my note upon the fourth verse of that chapter. 1Sa 24:4.
Verse 1. Be merciful unto me] To show David's deep earnestness, he repeats this twice; he was in great danger, surrounded by implacable enemies, and he knew that God alone could deliver him.
My soul trusteth in thee] I put my life into thy hand; and my immortal spirit knows no other portion than thyself.
In the shadow of thy wings] A metaphor taken from the brood of a hen taking shelter under her wings when they see a bird of prey; and there they continue to hide themselves till their enemy disappears. In a storm, or tempest of rain, the mother covers them with her wings to afford them shelter and defence. This the psalmist has particularly in view, as the following words show: "Until these calamities be overpast."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–7 Psa 57:1. Be merciful unto me, O God —…
Psa 57:1. Be merciful unto me, O God — Thus the psalmist prays, and looks to God for help, when surrounded with enemies: and he repeats his petition because of the greatness of his danger, and through the fervency of his spirit in his request, withal implying that his whole hope and trust was in God’s mercy. Yea, in the shadow of thy wings — In thy almighty protection; will I make my refuge — Will I still depend, as I have hitherto done, for defence and preservation; until these calamities be overpast — Or the time of these calamities, which I know will soon have an end: or till this danger be past, which is now impending over me, and threatens to destroy me.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–11 Be merciful unto me, O God - The same…
Be merciful unto me, O God - The same beginning as the former psalm - a cry for mercy; an overwhelming sense of trouble and danger leading him to come at once to the throne of God for help. See the notes at Psa 56:1.
For my soul trusteth in thee - See the notes at Psa 56:3. He had nowhere else to go; there was no one on whom he could rely but God.
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Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge - Under the protection or covering of his wings - as young birds seek protection under the wings of the parent bird. See the notes at Psa 17:8. Compare Psa 36:7.
Until these calamities be overpast - Compare Job 14:13, note; Psa 27:13, note; also at Isa 26:20, note. He believed that these calamities “would” pass away, or would cease; that a time would come when he would not thus be driven from place to place. At present he knew that he was in danger, and he desired the divine protection, for under “that” protection he would be safe.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 57
Psalms 57
To the chief Musician, Al-taschit, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cavs
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Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:
For my soul trusteth in thee:
Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge,
Until these calamities be overpast.
2 I will cry unto God most high;
Unto God that performeth all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven, and save me,
From the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah.
God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
4 My soul is among lions:
And I lie even among them that are set on fire,
Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let thy glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps;
My soul is bowed down:
They have digged a pit before me,
Into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake up, my glory; awake psaltery and harp:
I myself will awake early.
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people:
I will sing unto thee among the nations.
10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens,
And thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:
Let thy glory be above all the earth.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Its Contents and Composition.—For the title comp. Introduction, § 12 and § 88. The repetition of the same verse, Psa_57:5; Psa_57:10, divides the Psalm into two halves. In the first half the hope of faith, in the near and sure help of God, out of great peril of life occasioned by violent men, which hope is based on experience, declares itself in the prayer for new exhibitions of Divine grace, whereby the truth and the trustworthiness of God may be actually proved. In the last half of the Psalm, after a short description of the snares which turned out to the ruin of the enemies themselves, the certainty of victory expresses itself in an exhortation of his own soul to praise God in the whole world on account of God’s revelation of Himself in His glory. The resemblances with other Davidic Psalms are numerous; with Psalms 7, not only in the comparison of enemies with lions, which likewise occurs in Psalms 10, 22, 58, but at the same time in the designation of the soul as glory in the figure of the pit; with Psalms 22, in the reference to the proclamation of the acts of God among all nations; with Psalms 36, in the hiding under the wings of God and the comparison of grace and truth with the height of heaven; with Psalms 46, in the opening words and the similar expressions for persecutor; with Psalms 42, in the poetical word for fulness of ruin, and at the same time with Psalms 55, 59, 64, in the figure of the sword of the tongue, which in Psalms 120 is compared with arrows as here the teeth. Respecting its relation to Psalms 107, see the explanations there. The emphatic repetition of the same word in Psa_57:1; Psa_57:3; Psa_57:7-8, is peculiar to this Psalm. We cannot decide whether the cave mentioned in the title is the one mentioned in 1 Samuel 22 as the cave of Adullam, or that situated by the sheepcotes upon the Alpine heights of Engedi. These caves are numerous in the limestone and chalk mountains, and are often of great extent and are still the hiding-places of fugitives (Robinson’s Bib. Researches, vol. I. p.500).
Str. I. Psa_57:1. Has sought refuge with Thee.—The perfect, which is important for the sense, in distinction from the imperfect of the same word in the next line, is overlooked by many interpreters [so A. V.], although expressed by the more ancient ones (Chald., Jerome, Flamin., Calvin), and expressly made prominent by Venema.—[In the shadow of Thy wings.—Perowne: “This exceedingly striking image may have been suggested by Deu_32:11, see above on Psa_17:8. Still more tender is the N. T. figure, Mat_23:37.”9 Delitzsch: “The shading of God’s wings is the protection of His soft, sweet love and the shadow of His wings is the refreshing, trusting comfort connected with this protection. In this shadow the poet takes his refuge again as before, until חַוּות, that is to say, the ruinous danger which threatens him passes by, præteriverit (comp. Isa_26:20, and for the enallage numeri Psa_10:10, Gesenius, § 147 a.) Not as if he would not then need the Divine protection any more, but now he feels himself especially needy, and therefore his first aim is the brave, victorious endurance of the sufferings which hover over him.”—C. A. B.]
Str. II. Psa_57:2. Who accomplisheth concerning me.—It is better to supply: His purposes, than: His mercy (Kimchi), or: His promises (Calvin), or indeed: my wishes (Flamin.), or: my undertakings (Rosenm., De Wette). For since the object is not mentioned, we must not supply an actual limitation of it, but only a comprehensive general term. There is no reason for the translation: who makes an end of my sorrow (Luther), or to regard גמר as the same with the related root, גמל=who is my benefactor (Septuagint, Ewald, Hitzig, Hupfeld, [Perowne]). Psa_138:8 affords a parallel which explains this clause.
Psa_57:3. He will send from heaven.—This likewise does not need to have any specific object supplied, neither: His arm (Deu_33:27), nor: His hand (Psa_18:16; Psa_144:7), nor: His help (Psa_20:2); nor from the following clause: His grace and truth. The singer is satisfied at the beginning with the fact that: if this is sure, he has good ways with the what (Hengstenberg). The additional words: “from heaven,” give the idea of a wonderful, extraordinary deliverance (Calvin).—He reproacheth who snorts at me.—To regard this clause as a simple continuation and therefore a statement of an action of God=He gives my persecutor to shame (the ancient versions, Kimchi, Flaminius, Ewald), is as well against the parallel passage, Psa_42:10; Psa_44:16; Psa_55:12; Psa_55:21; Psa_56:5; Psa_59:7, as against the context, which leads, by the change of word and the close description, Psa_57:4, to a reproach proceeding from the enemies. That the object of the reproach cannot be here as sometimes elsewhere, God (Cocc. De Wette), is shown by the grammatical construction, which does not allow of the acceptance of a relative clause. The accents indeed point to a clause dependent upon the preceding one; but this can only be a hypothesis, so that we have to supply a particle (Aben Ezra, Geier, and most interpreters). Since, however, in this case the imperfect would be expected, we must, in order to explain with grammatical accuracy, regard the clause as a parenthesis, explaining the situation, with a selah, as Psa_55:20. Köster would remove it to the close of the verse. To connect it with the following clause, thus making it a hypothetical antecedent: supposing that he reproached (Delitzsch), requires not only that the accents should be altered, but brings about a too close connection with the consequent which would then be, and this is not expressed. The supposition that these words are in the wrong place (Olsh., De Wette), is especially objectionable from the fact that no other suitable place for the clause can be shown. And the alteration of the reading in order to get the sense: “from the first of those who snort against me” (Hitzig), is mere conjecture. The translation: from the reproach of him that would swallow me up (Luther, [A. V.]), is against the form of the word and the meaning of the passage.
Str. 3. Psa_57:4. I will lie down among the lickerish.—The reference here is not to flames (Ewald) but to lions, which then are designated as (greedy) lickerish, yet, not as devouring (Hupfeld, or as breathing out flames (Chald., Rabbins, and most interpreters). But we must not overlook the fact that שׁכב does not express the idea of prostrate, jacere (most interpreters) but cubare, and that this verb is here in the optative or cohortative. Accordingly it expresses not a complaint of his dangerous situation, but the resolution of trust in God, with which he will lie down to sleep in the midst of dangerous circumstances. But it is not said that he will lie down to sleep among the lions of the wilderness, and that hostile men are worse than these beasts of prey, Sir_25:15 (Delitzsch), but the enemies are called directly lions. Their name of “lickerish,” which expresses their greed of murder, forms the transition to the direct designation of the enemies as sons of men, whose teeth and tongue are then directly mentioned as the instruments of their attack and pursuit. If there was any reference to flames, this certainly might, according to a figure used in most language, be called as well licking as flattering, but without such occasion we must abide by the usual fundamental meaning of the word, and there is no more reason to think of fiery look and revenge (Delitzsch), than to pass over from the figure of lions to a new comparison by the translation: “I lie upon fire-brands” (Hengstenberg), or, omitting the accents, connect the lying with the first member of the verse, “with my soul I lie in the midst of the lions,” and then add in apposition: fire-breathing children of men (Hitz., similarly, Aquila, Symm., Jerome), or begin a new clause=men are flames (Luther).—[Whose teeth are spears and arrows,etc.—The enemies are lions, greedy of their prey, but the teeth of these men-lions are spears and arrows, and the tongues of these men-lions are a sharp sword. As the lion uses his teeth and tongue, these children of men use their spears, arrows, and swords to destroy their prey, having the same greedy, lickerish natures as the wild beasts.—C. A. B.]
Psa_57:5. Exalt Thyself above the heavens,etc.—This prayer cannot be here synonymous with the appeal for interference: lift up Thyself, properly: stand up, as Isa_21:14; Isa_33:10, but must either mean: be exalted=praised (Psa_18:46) by the inhabitants of heaven and earth (Hengstenberg), or: show Thyself in Thy sublimity (Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and most interpreters), Psa_46:10.10
Str.IV. Psa_57:6. Have bent down my soul.—This expression is striking, at the same time incorrect and against the parallelism; yet the change of the reading in order to get the sense: “his soul,” that is to say, himself “is seized upon ” (Hitzig), is mere conjecture. [The Anglican Prayer Book has: He pressed down my soul. This is approved by Alexander, with the idea that he was caught, held down by a trap or snare. Perowne, whilst admitting that the word occurs everywhere else in a transitive meaning, assumes an indefinite subject: “one hath bowed down my soul ”=“my soul is bowed down ” [so the A. V.]. But it is better with Moll to regard the enemies as the subject in parallelism with the preceding and following clauses.—C. A. B.]
Str.V. Psa_57:7. My heart is confident.—The translation: my heart is ready (Septuagint, Chald., Calvin, Luther), though possible in itself, does not agree with the repetition so well as the literal: steadfast (Hitzig, et al.), in the sense which is likewise usual: confident, fearless (Symm., Hupfeld, Delitzsch).
Psa_57:8. [My glory=my soul, comp. Psa_7:5; Psa_16:9; Psa_30:12—C. A. B.]—I will awake the dawn.—The intransitive interpretation of the verb, Psa_35:23, which is here parallel with the Kal, is highly objectionable, the interpretation of שָׁחַר as an accusative of time, unheard of, accordingly the translation: I will awake at the time of the dawn (the ancient versions, most Rabbins and interpreters), must be given up. The true interpretation, followed by all recent exegetes, occurs moreover already by itself. The legend of the Talmud is very interesting (according to Delitzsch): “A either hung over David’s bed, and when midnight came, the north wind blew upon the strings, so that it sounded of itself; he arose at once and occupied himself with the law until the pillars of the dawn arose.” Isaki remarks upon this: the other kings are awakened by the dawn, but I, said David, will awaken the dawn.
[Str. VI. Psa_57:9. Delitzsch: “His song of praise is not to sound in a arrow space where it can scarcely be heard; he will appear as an evangelist of his deliverance and his deliverer, among the nations of the world; his calling extends beyond Israel, the experiences of his person are for the benefit of humanity. We see here the self-consciousness of an all-comprehensive mission, which has accompanied David from the beginning to the end of his royal course (Psa_18:49). That which is said, Psa_57:10, is the motive and at the same time the theme of the preaching among the nations: God’s grace and truth towering up to heaven, Psa_36:5. That they reach even to the heavens, is only an earthly idea of the infinity of them both (comp. Eph_3:18). In Psa_57:11, which differs from Psa_57:5 only by one letter [article before שָּׁמַיִם], the Psalm returns to prayer. Heaven and earth have a comparative history, and the blessed, glorious end of this is the sunrise of the Divine glory over both, which is here implored.”—C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. A fugitive is not so safe and hidden in the gloom of the mountain cave as in the shadow of God’s wings. He who flees thither gains a courageous spirit and a steadfast, confident heart, so that he can lie down to sleep with calmness amidst numerous and mighty enemies, greedy for his life, and can commit himself and his cause to the Almighty in heartfelt prayer, resign his soul and rely upon Him for deliverance. If he is able to appeal to previous experiences of Divine help, his trust in God gains a firm foundation, and his prayer for grace a great confidence and a joyous flight. For the pressure of wickedness passes by; whilst grace and truth, which God sends, remain with the pious, and with every new sending from above, there follows, together with the confirmation of a Divine promise, a strengthening of the faith, and the designs of the wicked will be frustrated, and their attacks as well as their reproaches, slanders, and threats, remain fruitless, whilst God accomplishes His purposes.
2. Grace and truth come down from heaven and reach again up to heaven. These are as immeasurable, inexhaustible, invincible as the latter, but they unite both worlds together, and manifest in both the glory of God. Therefore the acts of God towards His anointed receive through them a universal historical character and a significance as well as to the praise of God. The servant of God will not only late and early praise God, awake cither and harp and anticipate the dawn, so that he is not called by it, but the dawn by him; he will likewise encourage and lead the nations throughout the earth by his praise of God that they may praise Him likewise. He has a missionary calling, and he knows it.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Let him who flees from enemies see to it where he remains and whither he turns.—We may hide from men but not from God; and we cannot hide with men, but with God and in God.—Among the good gifts that come down from above, grace and truth are as valuable as they are indispensable for us; they unite heaven and earth.—If we pray to God for what we want, He will give us what we need.—Wickedness must not only pass by the pious without injuring them, it likewise ruins its own servants and instruments.—The arrows of wickedness rebound harmless from the armor of faith.—Much depends upon how we close the evening and greet the morning.—It would be a bad sign if you had only complaints and no prayer and no thanksgiving.—Grace and truth reach as far as their origin is high, and should be praised accordingly.—The glory of the Lord should be praised early and late, near and far, in heaven and on earth, and yet there would be no recompense for what God has done for us by sending His grace and truth.
Starke: The higher and stronger our enemies are, the more does faith depend on God, who alone is exalted above all the majesty and power of the creature.—Where all human help fails, there God’s help begins in earnest.—Better that sleep should be broken off than prayer.—What we love we speak of more than once.—Osiander: God cannot and will not forsake those who trust in Him with all their hearts.—Selnekker: God protects His own children in a wonderful manner, and gives their enemies into their hands when they rage the most.—Franks: When it is clearly manifested to the heart of man that God is the Most High, he fears nothing, not even the devil and his hosts of hell, but is confident and unterrified.—Renschel: The cross is a storm; it passes by; in the meanwhile we sit under the shadow of His wings.—Tholuck: O how sleepy man remains when the praise of God for undeserved bounties is in question.—Guenther: The delivered must yet inquire: why and wherefore has God spread His wings over you? What would He with you, of you, for you?—Taube: David’s first cry of need is not a call for help, but for grace.—Make not that narrow which God’s love has made wide, wide as the heavens.
[Matt. Henry: To God as the God of grace will I fly, and his promise shall be my refuge, and a sure passport it will be through all these dangers.—We need no more to make us happy, but to have the benefit of the mercy and truth of God.—When God is coming towards us with His favors, we must go forth to meet Him with our praises.—Barnes: The welfare of the universe depends on God; and. that God should be true, and just, and good, and worthy of confidence and love,—that He should reign,—that His law should be obeyed,—that His plans should be accomplished,—is of more importance to this universe than anything that merely pertains to us; than the success of any of our own plans; than our health, our prosperity, or our life.—Spurgeon: Urgent need suggests the repetition of the cry, for thus intense urgency of desire is expressed. If “he gives twice who gives quickly,” so he who would receive quickly must ask twice.—Blessed be God, our calamities are matters of time, but our safety is a matter of eternity.—God’s attributes, like angels on the wing, are ever ready to come to the rescue of His chosen.—C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
[8][This Psalm begins a series of three Psalms , 57, 58, 59, all of which have Al-taschith in their titles.—C. A.B.]
[9][Perowne: “Perhaps there is nothing more remarkable in the Psalms, than this ever-recurring expression of a tender personal affection on the part of the sacred poets to God. There is no parallel to this in the whole range of heathen literature. Monsters to be feared and propitiated were the deities of Paganism, but what heathen ever loved his god? The apotheosis of man’s lusts could only produce a worship of servility and fear.”—C. A.B.]
[10][The same refrain is found in Psa_57:11, at the close of the Psalm.—C. A. B.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–9 performeth--or, completes what He has begun.
performeth--or, completes what He has begun.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–11 1. Be merciful… be merciful—The repetition springs from a…
1. Be merciful… be merciful—The repetition springs from a soul in agony.
Shadow of thy wings—The metaphor denotes protection and tenderness. Psa_94:1; Psa_94:4; Mat_23:37.
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Until these calamities be overpast—The plural noun with a singular verb denotes that it is to be taken distributively—until every one of these calamities shall pass.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–11 1. Be merciful unto me] Be gracious unto me,…
1. Be merciful unto me] Be gracious unto me, as in Psa_56:1.
for my soul &c.] Render:
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For in thee hath my soul taken refuge,
And in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge,
Until destruction’s storm be overpast.
The distinction of tenses is significant. He has placed himself under Jehovah’s protection, and in his present distress claims his rights as Jehovah’s client. The shadow of thy wings is a beautiful metaphor from the care of the mother-bird for her young. When danger threatens, they run to her for shelter. Cp. Psa_17:8; Psa_36:7; Psa_61:4; Psa_63:7; Psa_91:4; Rth_2:12; Mat_23:37.
Calamities is the same word as that rendered mischiefs in Psa_52:2, wickedness in Psa_55:11 (see notes), and the verb suggests the metaphor of a storm. Cp. Isa_26:20.
1–5. Beset by fierce and cruel enemies, the Psalmist throws himself upon God’s protection, with the confident assurance of speedy help.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 (1) Trusteth.—Better, has taken refuge. The future of the…
(1) Trusteth.—Better, has taken refuge. The future of the same verb occurs in the next clause.
Shadow of thy wings.—See Note, Psa_17:8.
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Until these calamities.—Danger of destruction gives the feeling of the Hebrew better than “camities.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–11 This psalm the "twin psalm" with the last has…
This psalm the "twin psalm" with the last has also an elaborate "title," which runs thus: "To the precentor (or chief musician): destroy not; David"s; Michtam; when he fled from Saul; in the cave." The meaning of the second and fourth headings is doubtful Some explain the second as "musical;" others as an allusion to David"s words when he bade Abishai not to kill Saul. The last two clauses give the place and occasion of the composition. It was written "in the cave probably the cave of Adullam (1Sa_22:1) when David was flying from Saul. No valid reason can be urged against these statements.
The psalm is divided by its refrain (vers. 5, 11) into two parts, which are further subdivided by the pause mark, "Selah." The initial strophe (vers. 15) is a mixture of prayer and complaint; the concluding one (vers. 6-11) begins with complaint (ver. 6), but almost immediately changes into "a strain of exulting and triumphant confidence," so exulting and triumphant as to cause its selection by our Church for recitation on Easter Day.
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Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee (compare the preceding psalm, vers. 1 and 4). Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge. (see the comment on Psa_17:8; and comp. Psa_36:7 Psa_61:4 Psa_63:7 Psa_91:4) The metaphor is first used in Deu_32:11. Until these calamities (rather, these wickednesses, or these malignities) be overpast. That they will pass away the psalmist has no doubt. What he needs is support while they endure.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Vers. 1-11. One of God"s rescues.
The Bible is full of records of deliverances, not only deliverances of nations, hut rescues of individuals. These things are "written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope". (Rom_15:4) We have in this psalm the story of one of God"s rescues. We see
I RESCUE SORELY NEEDED. The enemies of the soul are represented as strong, crafty, and merciless. They are savage as "lions." They use guile and deceit, and "hunt every man his brother with a net". (Mic_7:2) Though they wound body and soul, this is not enough. Blood is what they want. If they had their will, they would cast the Joseph of their hate into the "pit," caring not if he perish miserably. In this world of sin and sorrow and temptation, we are always in danger; but there are times when peril comes closer, and "calamities" crowd on every side, leaving no way of escape. Happy are we if, in our helplessness and, fear, we "flee for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us"!
II RESCUE EARNESTLY SOUGHT. (Vers. 1-3) Here is a difference between the ungodly and the godly. The ungodly seeks deliverance by his own devices; the godly seeks deliverance from God. He cries for rescue, not in his own way, but in the way that accords with God"s character and will. When it comes, it must be in the line of "mercy and truth." What God was, he is. What God has done is earnest of what God will do. What God undertakes, he will carry out. Man promises more than he performs. God performs more than he promises. The nearer we get to God, the more clearly we see things in God"s light. Our faith gains force and our hopes grow stronger. If dangers press, we cry with the more urgency for help. God is "able to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think". (Eph_3:20)
III RESCUE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED. (Vers. 7-11) Religion is for the whole of life, but there are times when special services are proper. Deliverances wrought for us by God are not to be kept secret, but to be openly acknowledged. Our gratitude should be sincere, hearty, and demonstrative. Like the woman of Capernaum, who was healed of the issue of blood, we should yield to the gentle solicitings of love, and declare unto our Lord, before all the people, what he has done for us. Like the Samaritan cured of his leprosy, though alone, we should come with a full heart to God, and to give thanks for his goodness and wonderful works. (Luk_8:47 Luk_17:18) How inspiring and comforting it is to read of the great deliverances which God wrought for David and the prophets, and for the saints of every land and tongue! When we remember these things, our hearts burn within us; for this God is our God, this Saviour is our Saviour. Nay, more; in thought of what God is and has done, we rise to the sight of the things not yet seen, and to the vision of the latter day when the kingdom shall not be limited to Israel, but the glory of the Lord shall fill the whole earth. W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-11. Expectation and assurance of deliverance.
In many respects this psalm is very like the previous one. May be regarded under two general aspects. As expressing
I THE PSALMIST"S EXPECTATION OF DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER. (Vers. 1-6) Founded:
1. Upon his trust in Gods tender protection. (Ver. 1 Deu_22:11, Deu_22:12) This faith in the tender love of God "has no parallel in heathen literature.
2. God could not fail to perform or complete the work he had begun for him. (Ver. 2) "He who hath begun a good work in you," etc. God does not abandon his own work.
3. God"s retributive justice must give the victory to the righteous. (Vers. 3, 4, 6) The designs of wicked men recoil in the end upon themselves, and ensure their own destruction. This is true, in the long run, of God"s providence.
II THE JOYFUL, INWARD ASSURANCE OF DELIVERANCE. (Vers. 7-12)
1. His heart is steadfast with fearless confidence in God. (Ver. 7) The psalm records the gradual progress of his mind towards the highest rejoicing in the Divine deliverance.
2. He calls upon himself to celebrate the praise of God in the highest strains. (Ver. 8) "His glory," equivalent to "his soul." He will wake the dawn with his earnest, fervent songs.
3. He will make his praises to sound forth among the heathen. (Ver. 9) Not only among his own people.
4. He calls upon heaven to unite with earth in praising the glory of God. (Ver. 12) His triumph in God over his enemies has now reached its culminating point. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–11 To the Chief Musician. So glad a song as…
To the Chief Musician. So glad a song as this becomes ere it closes, should be in the keeping of the most skilled of all the temple minstrels. Altaschith, i.e., DESTROY NOT. This petition is a very sententious prayer, as full as it is brief, and well worthy to be the motto for a sacred song. David had said, "destroy not, "in reference to Saul, when he had him in his power, and now he takes pleasure in employing the same words in supplication to God. We may infer from the spirit of the Lord's prayer, that the Lord will spare us as we spare our foes. There are four of these "Destroy not" Psalms, namely, the 57th, 58th, 59th, and 75th. In all of them there is a distinct declaration of the destruction of the wicked and the preservation of the righteous, and they all have probably a reference to the overthrow of the Jews, on account of their persecution of the great Son of David: they will endure heavy chastisement, but concerning them it is written in the divine decree, "Destroy them not." Michtam of David. For quality this Psalm is called golden, or a secret, and it well deserves the name. We may read the words and yet not know the secret joy of David, which he has locked up in his golden casket. When he fled from Saul in the cave. This is a song from the bowels of the earth, and, like Jonah's prayer from the bottom of the sea, it has a taste of the place. The poet is in the shadow of the cave at first, but he comes to the cavern's mouth at last, and sings in the sweet fresh air, with his eye on the heavens, watching joyously the clouds floating therein.
We have here prayer, Ps 57:1-6, and praise, Ps 57:7-11. The hunted one takes a long breath of prayer, and when he is fully inspired, he breathes out his soul in jubilant song.
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Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me. Urgent need suggests the repetition of the cry, for thus intense urgency of desire is expressed. If `he gives twice who gives quickly, 'so he who would receive quickly must ask twice. For mercy the psalmist pleads at first, and he feels he cannot improve upon his plea, and therefore returns to it. God is the God of mercy, and the Father of mercies, it is most fit therefore that in distress he should seek mercy from him in whom it dwells.
For my soul trusteth in thee. Faith urges her suit right well. How can the Lord be unmerciful to a trustful soul? Our faith does not deserve mercy, but it always wins it from the sovereign grace of God when it is sincere, as in this case where the soul of the man believed. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness."
Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge. Not in the cave alone would he hide, but in the cleft of the Rock of ages. As the little birds find ample shelter beneath the parental wing, even so would the fugitive place himself beneath the secure protection of the divine power. The emblem is delightfully familiar and suggestive. May we all experimentally know its meaning. When we cannot see the sunshine of God's face, it is blessed to cower down beneath the shadow of his wings.
Until these calamities be overpast. Evil will pass away, and the eternal wings will abide over us till then. Blessed be God, our calamities are matters of time, but our safety is a matter of eternity. When we are under the divine shadow, the passing over of trouble cannot harm us; the hawk flies across the sky, but this is no evil to the chicks when they are safely nestling beneath the hen.
Title. This Psalm was composed, as the title notes, by David prayer wise, when he hid himself from Saul in the cave, and is inscribed with a double title, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Altaschith refers to the scope, and Michtam to the dignity of the subject matter. The former signifies destroy not, or, let there be no slaughter; and may either refer to Saul, concerning whom he gave charge to his servants not to destroy him; or rather it hath reference to God, to whom in this great exigence he poured out his soul in this pathetic ejaculation; Altaschith, destroy not. The latter title, Michtam, signifies a golden ornament, and so is suited to the choice and excellent matter of the Psalm, which much more deserves such a title than Pythagoras' golden verses did. John Flavel (1627-1692), in "Divine Conduct, or the Mystery of Providence."
Title. A Psalm composed when David fled from Saul in the cave, which is referred to in Psalm 143, and which, because it is without any other distinction called "the cave, "is probably that celebrated cave where David with his six hundred followers lay concealed when Saul entered and David cut off the skirt of his robe. The king, accompanied by three thousand followers, chased him to the loftiest alpine heights--"to the sheepcotes, "where the cattle were driven in the hottest summer months only--to hunt him in every hiding place. There was a cave, in the darkened cool of which David and his men were hid. Such caves in Palestine and the East are frequently enlarged by human hands, and so capacious that they accommodate thousands of people. This song of complaint was written during the hours of suspense which David spent there, to wait until the calamity was overpast (Ps 57:2); in which he only gradually gains a stout heart (Ps 57:8). His life was really suspended by a hair, if Saul or any of his attendants had espied him! Agustus F. Tholuck.
Title. The cave. There appear good grounds for the local tradition which fixes the cave on the borders of the Dead Sea, although there is no certainty with regard to the particular cave pointed out. The cave so designated is at a point to which David was far more likely to summon his parents, whom he intended to take from Bethlehem in to Moab, than to any place in the western plains... It is an immense natural cavern, the mouth of which can be approached only on foot along the side of the cliff. Irby and Mangles, who visited it without being aware that it was the reputed Cave of Adullam, state that it "runs in by a long, winding, narrow passage, with small chambers or cavities on either side. We soon came to a large chamber with natural arches of great height; from this last there were numerous passages, leading in all directions, occasionally joined by others at right angles, and forming a perfect labyrinth, which our guides assured us had never been perfectly explored--the people being afraid of losing themselves. The passages are generally four feet high by three feet wide, and were all on a level with each other." ...It seems probable that David as a native of Bethlehem, must have been well acquainted with this remarkable spot, and had probably often availed himself of its shelter, when out with his father's flocks. It would, therefore, naturally occur to him as a place of refuge when he fled from Gath. John Kitto (1804-1854), in "A Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature."
Whole Psalm. Mystically this hymn may be construed of Christ, who was in the days of his flesh assaulted by the tyranny both of spiritual and temporal enemies. His temporal enemies, Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and people of Israel, furiously raged and took counsel together against him. The chief priests and princes were, saith Hierome, like lions, and the people like the whelps of lions, all of them in a readiness to devour his soul. The rulers laid a net for his feet in their captious interrogatories, asking (Mt 22:17), "Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?" and (Joh 8:5) whether the woman taken in the very act of adultery should be stoned to death or no. The people were "set on fire, "when as they raged against him, and their teeth and tongues were spears and swords in crying, "Crucify him, crucify him." His spiritual enemies also sought to swallow him up; his soul was among lions all the days of his life, at the hour of his death especially. The devil in tempting and troubling him, had laid a snare for his feet; and death, in digging a pit for him, had thought to devour him. As David was in death, so Christ the Son of David was in the grave. John Boys, 1571-1625.
Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me, O God, etc. This excellent Psalm was composed by David when there was enough to discompose the best man in the world. The repetition notes both the extremity of the danger, and the ardency of the supplicant. Mercy! Mercy! Nothing but mercy, and that exerting itself in any extraordinary way, can now save him from ruin. The arguments he pleads for obtaining mercy in this distress are very considerable.
1. He pleads his reliance upon God as an argument to move mercy. My soul trusteth in thee, etc. This his trust and dependence upon God, though it be not argumentative in respect of the dignity of the act; yet it is so in respect both of the nature of the object, a compassionate God who will not expose any that take shelter under his wings, and in respect of the promise, whereby protection is assured to them that fly to him for sanctuary. Isa 26:3.
2. He pleads former experiences of his help in past distresses, as an argument encouraging hope under the present strait (Ps 57:2). John Flavel.
Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me. According to the weight of the burden that grieveth us, is the cry that comes from us. How do poor condemned prisoners cry to their judges, "Have pity upon us, have pity upon us!" David, in the day of his calamities doubles his prayer for mercy: Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee, etc., Until these calamities be overpast. It was not a single calamity, but a multitude of calamities which compassed David, and therefore he compasseth the Lord about with petitions. His spirit being up in prayer, like a bell that rings out, he strikes on both sides, Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me. Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me. The first clause contains the prayer itself in a very forcible word ygnx, properly, "Show thy most tender affection to me, "such as animals, with a humming sound, show to their young. Hermann Venema.
Ver. 1. For my soul trusteth in thee. The best reason with God, who "taketh pleasure in those that hope in his mercy." Ps 147:11. Poole's Synopsis.
Ver. 1. Soul. His soul trusted in God; and this is a form of expression the force of which is not to be overlooked; for it implies that the trust which he exercised proceeded from his very innermost affection--that it was of no volatile character, but deeply and strongly rooted. He declares the same truth in figurative terms, when he adds his persuasion that God would cover him with the shadow of his wings. John Calvin.
Ver. 1. In the shadow of thy wings I will trust; properly, I will seek for protection. The very delightful figure here employed, is taken from the chicken lying safely hid under the mother's wings; at the same time it seems to have reference to the wings of the cherubim, by which the mercyseat was covered. Simon de Muis, 1587-1644.
Ver. 1. The shadow of thy wings. Compare Ps 17:8 61:4; and Mt 23:37; and the Apocalyptic imagery, describing the church fleeing from the dragon in the wilderness; and "to her are given the two wings of the great eagle, "and she is delivered from the dragon, who desires to swallow her up. See Re 12:6, 15-16. Christopher Wordsworth, 1868.
Ver. 1. Until these calamities be overpast. He compares his afflictions and calamity to a storm that cometh and goeth; as it is not always fair weather with us in this life, so not always foul. Athanasius said of Julian furiously raging against the Lord's Anointed, "Nubecula est, cito transibit, "he is a little cloud; he will soon pass away. Man is born to labour and dolour, to travail and trouble; to labour in his actions, to dolour in his passions; and so, "Great are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of all." If we put our trust in him and cast all our care upon him, he will in his good time bring it to pass, that all our afflictions shall overpass. He will either take them from us or us from them, and then we shall assuredly know that the troubles of this life present are not worthy of the glory which in the life to come shall be showed unto us. For as the globe of the earth, which improperly for his show of bigness we term the world, and is, after the mathematician's account, many thousand miles in compass; yet, being compared unto the greatness of the starry sky's circumference, is but a centre or little prick: so the travail and affliction of this life temporal, in respect of the joys eternal in the world to come, bear not any proportion, but are to be reputed in comparison a very nothing, as a dark cloud that cometh and goeth in a moment. John Boys.
Ver. 1-3. In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast, etc. As if he had said, Lord, I am already in the cave and in the holds, and in the shadow of it, but yet for all that I think not myself safe indeed, till I have made my refuge in the shadow of thy wings: that is therefore the course I resolve and build upon. It was wisely done of him: and mark what course he takes to do it, Ps 57:2, I will cry unto God most high, I will by prayer put myself under the shadow of God's wings: and mark what success should follow, Ps 57:3, He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. When we send prayers up to heaven, God will send help down from heaven. But yet David prays to God, as well as trusts in God. And unless we pray as well as trust, our trust will fail us, for we must trust to God for that we pray for. Jeremiah Dyke, 1620.
Ver. 1. (first clause). Repetition in prayer.
1. Its dangers. May degenerate into "vain repetitions." Carried to excess painfully suggests the idea, God is unwilling.
2. Its uses. Eases the soul like tears. Manifests intense emotion. Enables those of less mental activity to join in the general supplication. R. A. Griffin.
Ver. 1. Here are--
I. Calamities.
1. War.
2. Pestilence.
3. Privations.
4. Sin, greatest of all.
5. Death.
6. Curse of a broken law. II. Here is a refuge from these calamities.
1. In God.
2. Specially in the mercy of God. III. There is flying to that refuge.
1. By faith; My soul trusteth in thee; Under the shadow, etc.
2. By prayer; "Be, "etc. IV. Here is continuance both in faith and prayer; until, etc. G. R.
Ver. 1,4,6-7. Note the varying condition of the same heart, at the same time. My soul trusteth in thee... My soul is among lions... My soul is bowed down... My heart is fixed.
The Works of JOHN BOYS, D.D., "Deane of Canterburie, "1629, folio, pp. 834-40, contains an Exposition of Psalm 57.
In CHANDLER'S "Life of David, "Vol. 1., pp. 176-9, there is an Exposition of this Psalm.
Psalms 57:2*
Ver. 1-3. In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast, etc. As if he had said, Lord, I am already in the cave and in the holds, and in the shadow of it, but yet for all that I think not myself safe indeed, till I have made my refuge in the shadow of thy wings: that is therefore the course I resolve and build upon. It was wisely done of him: and mark what course he takes to do it, Ps 57:2, I will cry unto God most high, I will by prayer put myself under the shadow of God's wings: and mark what success should follow, Ps 57:3, He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. When we send prayers up to heaven, God will send help down from heaven. But yet David prays to God, as well as trusts in God. And unless we pray as well as trust, our trust will fail us, for we must trust to God for that we pray for. Jeremiah Dyke, 1620.
Ver. 1-3. In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast, etc. As if he had said, Lord, I am already in the cave and in the holds, and in the shadow of it, but yet for all that I think not myself safe indeed, till I have made my refuge in the shadow of thy wings: that is therefore the course I resolve and build upon. It was wisely done of him: and mark what course he takes to do it, Ps 57:2, I will cry unto God most high, I will by prayer put myself under the shadow of God's wings: and mark what success should follow, Ps 57:3, He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. When we send prayers up to heaven, God will send help down from heaven. But yet David prays to God, as well as trusts in God. And unless we pray as well as trust, our trust will fail us, for we must trust to God for that we pray for. Jeremiah Dyke, 1620.
Ver. 1,4,6-7. Note the varying condition of the same heart, at the same time. My soul trusteth in thee... My soul is among lions... My soul is bowed down... My heart is fixed.
Ver. 1,4,6-7. Note the varying condition of the same heart, at the same time. My soul trusteth in thee... My soul is among lions... My soul is bowed down... My heart is fixed.
Ver. 1,4,6-7. Note the varying condition of the same heart, at the same time. My soul trusteth in thee... My soul is among lions. My soul is bowed down... My heart is fixed.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 Be merciful unto me, O God.
Psa_57:1-11
Be merciful unto me, O God.
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Spiritual experimentalism
I. A blessed religious exercise.
1. Praying. Be merciful unto me, etc. An epitome of all true prayer. Mercy is what we need; to remove our sense of guilt, to break our moral chains, to clear our spiritual vision, to quicken and harmoniously develop all the powers of our higher nature.
2. Trusting. My soul trusteth in Thee. This implies--
(1) A knowledge of the trustworthiness of God.
(2) A supreme love for the excellency of God.
3. Resolving. Yea, in the shadow, etc. God is the natural Protector of souls.
4. Hoping (Psa_57:3). All godly souls are in a waiting attitude.
II. A wretched social condition. Among savage, crafty and deadly enemies (Psa_57:4; Psa_57:6). That men should feel thus to their fellow-men argues two things.
1. That morally they are in an abnormal condition.
2. That sin is essentially malignant. Sin, when it enters the soul, scorches all benevolent sympathy. Sin never fails to make its subject a tormenting devil.
III. A happy moral state. Moral fixation, or godly decision of soul, My heart is fixed. In our unregenerate state the heart is unsettled, divided, distracted, and herein is its misery. This fixation originates--
1. High happiness. I will sing and give praise. Awake, psaltery and harp, etc.
2. High worship. I will praise Thee, O Lord, etc. (Homilist.)
Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing
The writer begins in deep distress; but he prays himself out of the pit; and in the end he rises to a sunny height of security and faith, where he praises the God who has delivered him.
I. The art of prayer (Psa_57:1-6). Here he, first, clearly and fully describes his trouble. This is part of the art of prayer. It is often because we have nothing definite to pray about that our devotions are unsatisfactory. God is as interested in the trials of His people to-day as He was in those of David. Next, he argues his ease. And this also is part of the art of prayer. God likes us to put our intellect as well as our feeling into our prayers. His first argument is that he is trusting in God (Psa_57:1): he is trusting, he says, as the fledgeling cowers beneath the wing of the mother bird. Can God leave in the lurch any one who is thus depending on Him? But in Psa_57:2 he uses a still stronger argument: he appeals to Gods character, calling Him God that performeth--or rather perfecteth--all things for me. God the Perfecter, who, when He has begun a good work, must finish it--how can He leave the career of His servant in its broken and incomplete condition? This is an argument we can all use, and it is one which cannot fail with God. He has now raised himself to complete confidence that God will deliver him; and to this he gives exquisite expression in the third verse, describing Mercy and Truth as two angels, whom God will send forth to rescue him from his necessities. In the same way in the 23rd psalm Goodness and Mercy are represented as attendants, following a good man all the days of his life, watching over his footsteps and always at his service.
II. The art of praise (Psa_57:7-11). First, praise begins with the fixing of the heart--My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. The flutter of excitement is over, and he is able to collect his powers in perfect repose. But, secondly, they are not to go to sleep, though they are in repose; for he says, Awake up, my glory; awake psaltery and harp; I myself will awake early. My glory is a name in Scripture for the soul, and surely a very fine one; the soul is the glory of man. But it needs to be awaked to engage in Gods praise. There is music in it, as there is in a piano when it is shut; but the instrument must be opened and the keys touched. The music in our souls is allowed to slumber too much. The words, I myself will awake early, ought rather to read, I will awake the dawn. David was to be so early astir at his devotions that, instead of the dawn awaking him, he would awake it: he would summon it to arise out of the east and help him to praise his Maker. But it is not Nature alone he would inspire with his enthusiasm: so full is he of joy in God that he wishes to communicate his emotions to all his fellow-creatures (Psa_57:9). How marelously has this wish been fulfilled! The Psalter has been translated into scores of languages, and wherever it has been known it has been loved. Finally he gives the reasons for praise (Psa_57:10), For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds. These will always be the reasons for praise that is truly hearty--to know the mercy that is as far above our sins as the dome of heaven is above the earth, and to know the faithfulness which, having begun a good work in us, will complete it unto the day of Christ. (J. Stalker, D. D.)
In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge.--
Christ our refuge
What a beautiful illustration is the city of refuge of olden time of Christ as our Refuge! We have heard the solemn words, The soul that sinneth it shall die. How can we escape from death? There is a Refuge, even Jesus; and we can hide in Him and be safe.
1. The cities of refuge were so scattered over the country that one of them could be easily reached from any part. Kedesh in the north, and Hebron in the south, while Shechem lay midway. Bezer was situated in the flat country, while Ramoth and Golan were on elevated ground. So our Refuge is easily reached by any one, it is whosoever believeth in Him, and him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out. It is the simple coming to Him and the taking Him at His word.
2. The gates of the cities of refuge were open day and night, that the man-slayer might enter at any time. And we, too, may go to our Refuge at any time. He is ever ready to hear our cry and to rescue us, and to save us; but let us not delay.
3. Any one might flee thither, the stranger as well as the Israelite. So it is with Christ: all may come to Him, of whatever nationality (Gal_3:28).
4. When the man-slayer reached the city of refuge, he had to plead his cause to the elders of that city, and then, if necessary, before the congregation of the children of Israel; and it was only when his innocence of the crime of murder had been proved that he was allowed to take refuge there; otherwise he was delivered up to the avenger of blood to be slain. But in Christ the murderer may take refuge, and find pardon and peace; the worst of sinners have found refuge there.
5. Then we read that the man-slayer who had fled for refuge should stay in that city, for if he went out of the gate at any time the avenger of blood might slay him, and his blood would be upon his own head. He should have remained in the city whither he had fled. So with us; if we are not in Christ the Refuge, we are out at our own risk. (L. Shorey.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 57
Psalms 57
THIS psalm resembles the preceding in the singers circumstances of peril and in his bold faith. It has also points of contact in the cry, "Be gracious," and in the remarkable expression for enemies, "Those that would swallow me up." It has also several features in common with the other psalms ascribed by the superscriptions to the time of the Sauline persecution. Like Psalms 7 are the metaphor of lions for enemies, that of digging a pit for their plots, the use of glory as a synonym for soul. The difficult word rendered "destructions" in Psa_57:1 connects this psalm with Psa_55:11, dated as belonging to the time of Sauls hostility, and with Psa_5:9; Psa_38:12, both traditionally Davidic. There is nothing in the psalm against the attribution of it to David in the cave, whether of Adullam or Engedi, and the allusions to lying down among lions may possibly have been suggested by the wild beasts prowling round the psalmists shelter. The use in Psa_57:1 of the picturesque word for taking refuge derives special appropriateness from the circumstances of the fugitive, over whose else defenceless head the sides of his cave arched themselves like great wings, beneath which he lay safe, though the growls of beasts of prey echoed round. But there is no need to seek for further certainty as to the occasion of the psalm. Baethgen thinks that it can only have been composed after "the annihilation of the independence of the Israelite state," because the vow in Psa_57:9 to make Gods name known among the nations can only be the utterance of the oppressed congregation, which is sure of deliverance, because it is conscious of its Divine call to sing Gods praise to heathens. But that vow is equally explicable on the assumption that the individual singer was conscious of such a call.
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There is no very sharp division of parts in the psalm. A grand refrain separates it into two portions, in the former of which prayer for deliverance and contemplation of dangers prevail, while in the latter the foe is beheld as already baffled, and exuberant praise is poured forth and vowed.
As in Psalms 54 and often, the first part begins with an act of faith reaching out to God, and strengthening itself by the contemplation of His character and acts. That energy of confidence wins assurance of help, and only after that calming certitude has filled the soul does the psalmist turn his eye directly on his enemies. His faith does not make him oblivious of his danger, but it minimises his dread. An eye that has seen God sees little terror in the most terrible things.
The psalmist knows that a soul which trusts has a right to Gods gracious dealings, and he is not afraid to urge his confidence as a plea with God. The boldness of the plea is not less indicative of the depth and purity of his religious experience than are the tender metaphors in which it is expressed. What truer or richer description of trust could be given than that which likens it to the act of a fugitive betaking himself to the shelter of some mountain fastness, impregnable and inaccessible? What lovelier thought of the safe, warm hiding place which God affords was ever spoken than that of "the shadow of Thy wings"? Very significant is the recurrence of the same verb in two different tenses in two successive clauses (Psa_57:1 b, c). The psalmist heartens himself for present and future trust by remembrance of past days, when he exercised it and was not put to shame. That faith is blessed, and cannot but be strong, which is nurtured by the remembrance of past acts of rewarded faith, as the leaves of bygone summers make rich mould for a new generation of flowers. When kites are in the sky, young birds seek protection from the mothers wing as well as warmth from her breast. So the singer betakes himself to his shelter till "destructions are gone by." Possibly these are likened to a wild storm which sweeps across the land, but is not felt in the stillness of the cave fortress. Hidden in God, a man "heareth not the loud winds when they call," and may solace himself in the midst of their roar by the thought that they will soon blow over. He will not cease to take refuge in God when the stress is past, nor throw off his cloak when the rain ceases; but he will nestle close while it lasts, and have as his reward the clear certainty of its transiency. The faith which clings to God after the tempest is no less close than that which screened itself in Him while it raged.
Hidden in his shelter, the psalmist, in Psa_57:2 tells himself the grounds on which he may be sure that his cry to God will not be in vain. His name is "Most High," and His elevation is the pledge of His irresistible might. He is the "God" (the Strong) who accomplishes all for the psalmist which he needs, and His past manifestations in that character make His future interventions certain. Therefore the singer is sure of what will happen. Two bright angels-Lovingkindness and Troth or Faithfulness their names-will be despatched from heaven for the rescue of the man who has trusted. That is certain, because of what God is and has done. It is no less certain, because of what the psalmist is and has done; for a soul that gazes on God as its sole Helper, and has pressed, in its feebleness, close beneath these mighty pinions, cannot but bring down angel helpers, the executants of Gods love.
The confidence expressed in Psa_57:2 is interrupted by an abrupt glance at the enemy. "He that would swallow me up blasphemes" is the most probable rendering of a difficult phrase, the meaning and connection of which are both dubious. If it is so rendered, the connection is probably that Which we have expressed in the translation by inserting "For." The wish to destroy the psalmist is itself blasphemy, or is accompanied with blasphemy; and therefore God will surely send down what will bring it to nought. The same identification of his own cause with Gods, which marks many of the psalms ascribed to the persecuted David, underlies this sudden reference to the enemy, and warrants the conclusion drawn, that help will come. The Selah at the end of the clause is unusual in the middle of a verse; but it may be intended to underscore, as it were, the impiety of the enemy, and so corresponds with the other Selah in Psa_57:6, which is also in an unusual place, and points attention to the enemys ruin, as this does to his wickedness.
The description of the psalmists circumstances in Psa_57:4 presents considerable difficulty. The division of clauses, the force of the form of the verb rendered I must lie down, and the meaning and construction of the word rendered "those who breathe out fire," are all questionable. If the accents are adhered to, the first clause of the verse is "My soul is among lions." That is by some-e.g., Delitzsch-regarded as literal description of the psalmists environment, but it is more natural to suppose that he is applying a familiar metaphor to his enemies. In Psa_57:4 b the verb rendered above "I must lie down" is in a form which has usually a cohortative or optative force, and is by some supposed to have that meaning here, and to express trust which is willing to lie down even in a lions den. It seems, however, here to denote objective necessity rather than subjective willingness. Hupfeld would read lies down (third person), thus making "My soul" the subject of the verb, and getting rid of the difficult optative form. Cheyne suggests a further slight alteration in the word, so as to read, "My soul hath dwelt"-a phrase found in Psa_120:6; and this emendation is tempting. The word rendered "those who breathe out fire" is by some taken to mean "those who devour," and is variously construed, as referring to the lions in a, taken literally, or as describing the sons of men in c. The general drift of the verse is clear. The psalmist is surrounded by enemies, whom he compares, as the Davidic psalms habitually do, to wild beasts. They are ready to rend. Open mouthed they seem to breathe out flames, and their slanders cut like swords.
The psalmists contemplation of his forlorn lair among men worse than beasts of prey drives him back to realise again his refuge in God. He, as it were, wrenches his mind round to look at God rather than at the enemies. Clear perception of peril and weakness does its best work, when it drives to as clear recognition of Gods help, and wings faithful prayer. The psalmist, in his noble refrain, has passed beyond the purely personal aspect of the desired deliverance, and wishes not only that he may be shielded from his foes, but that God would, in that deliverance, manifest Himself in His elevation above and power over all created things. To conceive of his experience as thus contributing to Gods world wide glory seems presumptuous; but even apart from the consideration that the psalmist was conscious of a world wide mission, the lowliest suppliant has a right to feel that his deliverance will enhance the lustre of that Glory; and the lowlier he feels himself, the more wonderful is its manifestations in his well-being. But if there is a strange note in the apparent audacity of this identification, there is a deep one of self-suppression in the fading from the psalmists prayer of all mention of himself, and the exclusive contemplation of the effects on the manifestation of Gods character, which may follow his deliverance. It is a rare and lofty attainment to regard ones own well-being mainly in its connection with Gods "Glory," and to desire the latter more consciously and deeply than the former.
It has been proposed by Hupfeld to transpose Psa_57:5-6, on the ground that a recurrence to the description of dangers is out of place after the refrain, and incongruous with the tone of the second part of the psalm. But do the psalmists observe such accuracy in the flow of their emotions? and is it not natural for a highly emotional lyric like this to allow some surge of feeling to run over its barriers? The reference to the enemies in Psa_57:6 is of a triumphant sort, which naturally prepares for the burst of praise following, and worthily follows even the lyrical elevation of the refrain. The perfects seem at first sight to refer to past deliverances, which the psalmist recalls in order to assure himself of future ones. But this retrospective reference is not necessary, and the whole description in Psa_57:6 is rather to be taken as that of approaching retribution on the foes, which is so certain to come that the singer celebrates it as already as good as done. The familiar figures of the net and pit by both of which wild animals are caught, and the as familiar picture of the hunter trapped in his own pitfall, need no elucidation. There is a grim irony of events, which often seems to delight in showing "the engineer hoised with his own petard"; and whether that spectacle is forthcoming or not the automatic effects of wrongdoing" always follow, and no man digs pits for others but somehow and somewhen he finds himself at the bottom of them, and his net wrapped round his own limbs. The Selah at the end of Psa_57:6 calls spectators to gather, as it were, round the sight of the ensnared plotter, lying helpless down there. A slight correction of the text does away with a difficulty in Psa_57:6 b. The verb there is transitive, and in the existing text is in the singular, but "He has bowed down my soul" would be awkward, though not impossible, when coming between two clauses in which the enemies are spoken of in the plural. The emendation of the verb to the third person plural by the addition of a letter brings the clauses into line, and retains the usual force of the verb.
The psalmist has done with the enemies; they are at the bottom of the pit. In full confidence of triumph and deliverance, he breaks out into a grand burst of praise. "My heart is fixed," or "steadfast." Twice the psalmist repeats this, as he does other emphatic thoughts in this psalm. (cp. Psa_57:2, Psa_57:4, Psa_57:8-9). What power can steady that fluttering, wayward, agitated thing, a human heart? The way to keep light articles fixed on deck amidst rolling seas and howling winds; is to lash them to something fixed; and the way to steady a heart is to bind it to God. Built into the Rock, the building partakes of the steadfastness of its foundation. Knit to God, a heart is firm. The psalmists was steadfast because it had taken refuge in God; and so, even before his rescue from his enemies came to pass, he was emancipated from the fear of them, and could lift this song of praise. He had said that he must lie down among lions. But wherever his bed may be he is sure that he will rise from it; and however dark the night, he is sure that a morning will Come. In a bold and beautiful figure he says that he will "wake the dawn" with his song.
The world wide destination of his praise is clear to him. It is plain that such anticipations as those of Psa_57:9 surpass the ordinary poetic consciousness, and must be accounted for on some special ground. The favourite explanation at present is that the singer is Israel, conscious of its mission. The old explanation that the singer is a king, conscious of his inspiration and divinely given office, equally meets the case.
The psalmist had declared his trust that God would send out His angels of Lovingkindness and Troth. He ends his song with the conviction, which has become to him matter of experience, that these Divine "attributes" tower to heaven, and in their height symbolise their own infinitude. Nor is the other truth suggested by Psa_57:10 to be passed over, that the manifestation of these attributes on earth leads to their being more gloriously visible in heaven. These two angels, who come forth from on high to do Gods errands for His poor, trusting servant go back, their work done, and are hailed as victors by the celestial inhabitants. By Gods manifestation of these attributes to a man, His glory is exalted above the heavens and all the earth. The same thought is more definitely expressed in Pauls declaration that "to the principalities and powers in heavenly places is known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 Superscription.—“To the Chief Musician.” The chief musician was the…
INTRODUCTION
Superscription.—“To the Chief Musician.” The chief musician was the director of the music in public worship. And the Psalms which were addressed to him were intended for use in the Temple services. “Al-taschith” = “destroy not.” According to some expositors, the expression denotes the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung. The Psalm was to be sung to the same tune as the song known as, “Destroy not.” According to others it is a musical expression, probably denoting the key in which the Psalm was to be sung. And, “according to others, it must be a maxim, which the Psalmist at that time continually revolved in his heart, and must indicate the quintessence of the Psalm.” “Michtam of David.” See Introduction to Psalms 56. “When he fled from Saul in the cave.” Moll: “We cannot decide whether the cave is the one mentioned in 1 Samuel 21 as the cave of Adullam, or that situated by the sheepcotes upon the Alpine heights of Engedi (1 Samuel 24). These caves are numerous in the limestone and chalk mountains, and are often of great extent, and are still the hiding-places of fugitives.”
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A SAFE REFUGE IN SORE PERIL
(Psa_57:1-6.)
Let us consider—
I. The extreme perils in a good man’s life. David mentions three things as causes of danger and trial to him at this time.
1. The bitter reproaches of his enemies. “The reproach of him that would swallow me up.” The rendering of Hengstenberg and Moll presents what we regard as the true idea of this clause. “He reproaches that snuffs after me.” “He reproacheth who snorts at me.” It is not that God would reproach the enemies, but that the enemies reproached the Psalmist. Calumny and slander were freely plied by Saul and his party at this time against David.
2. The fierce cruelty of his enemies. “My soul is among lions,” &c. “The enemies are lions, greedy of their prey, but the teeth of these men-lions are spears and arrows, and the tongues of these men-lions are a sharp sword. As the lion uses his teeth and tongue, these children of men use their spears, arrows, and swords to destroy their prey, having the same greedy, lickerish natures as the wild beasts.”—(C. A. Briggs.) Their eagerness for the destruction of the Poet is brought into prominence. They snorted at him as enraged wild beasts, or as wild beasts greedy for their prey. We know how eagerly and ferociously Saul and his companions at this time sought to kill David.
3. The subtle schemes of his enemies. “They have prepared a net for my steps,” &c. Not content with open and fierce pursuit, they concocted deep plans, hoping, by means of them, to ensnare the Poet. They used fraud as well as force against him. They left no means unemployed by which they thought they might effect his overthrow. Such were the trials from which the Psalmist was suffering, and the perils to which he was exposed. The enemies had so far succeeded that, in some measure, the spirit of the Psalmist drooped. “They have bowed down my soul.” He was not insensible to trial. He felt the pressure of their persecutions. He was aware of the dangers with which they surrounded him.
II. The secure refuge from the perils of a good man’s life. “In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge.” The figure is very beautiful and expressive. Perowne: “This exceedingly striking image may have been suggested by Deu_32:11. (See Psa_17:8.) Still more tender is the New Testament figure (Mat_23:37). Perhaps there is nothing more remarkable in the Psalms than this ever-recurring expression of a tender personal affection on the part of the sacred poets to God. There is no parallel to this in the whole range of heathen literature.” Delitzsch: “The soft shading of God’s wings is the protection of His soft, sweet love, and the shadow of His wings is the refreshing, trusting comfort connected with this protection. In this shadow the Poet takes his refuge until the ruinous danger which threatens him passes by.” The image is suggestive of affection, rest, shade, safety. The Psalmist indicates—
1. The ground of his trust in God.
(1) His supremacy. “I will cry unto God Most High.” However great the power and the multitude of our enemies, they cannot injure us if we have made the Most High our Refuge. “Now that he takes in view the Most High, the giants of the earth become changed into pitiful dwarfs.” Franke: “When it is clearly manifested to the heart of man that God is the Most High, he fears nothing, not even the devil and his hosts of hell, but is confident and unterrified.”
(2) His continuous activity on his behalf. “God that performeth all things for me.” Or, “God who accomplisheth for me.” “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” “He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Hengstenberg: “With God the beginning furnishes a pledge for the finishing, the word for the deed.”
(3) His kindness toward him. “God shall send forth His mercy.” David confided in the infinite and free favour of God.
(4) His fidelity. “And His truth.” The Psalmist had an unshaken reliance on the faithfulness of God. He knew that He would fulfil His promises, and save those who trusted in Him. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” Surely here we have most firm and ample ground for trusting in God. He in whom all these perfections inhere must be worthy of the fullest confidence as a secure Refuge in the trials of life.
2. The expression of his trust in God. “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me.… I will cry unto God Most High.” The trust expresses itself here in prayer. Calvin: “He makes the calling upon to follow the confiding, for it cannot fail, but that those who trust in God should direct their prayer to Him,” In this brief prayer there are three points worthy of notice.
(1) It reveals a just estimate of the poet’s own moral condition. He pleads no merit of his own; he does not urge his innocence, but asks for mercy.
(2) It honours God. By appealing to the Divine mercy, David manifests an exalted estimate of the kindness and faithfulness of God;—he honours Him by his faith, &c.
(3) It is fervent. The urgency of need and desire is indicated by the repetition of the cry.
3. The greatness of his trust in God. This is seen—
(1) In his sense of his own perfect security. “I lie among them that are set on fire,” &c. In the midst of his enemies he lay down to rest calmly as on a soft couch in perfect safety. Moll: “It expresses not a complaint of his dangerous situation, but the resolution of trust in God, with which he will lie down to sleep in the midst of dangerous circumstances.” Faith is triumphant over fear.
(2) In his supreme desire for the universal honour of God. “Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, Thy glory above all the earth.” The grand wish of the Psalmist, to which all other feelings were subordinated, was that God might be supremely and universally glorified. The Psalmist loses sight of his own peril, or rises quite superior to it, in his fervent desire for the exaltation of God.
(3) In his assurance that the wicked designs and doings of his enemies would issue in their own ruin. “They have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.” “In the cave, when Saul thought David should fall into his hands, he fell into the hands of David, and lay at his mercy.” “God beats the enemies of His servants with their own weapons.” (See “The Hom. Com.” on Psa_7:14-16.)
CONCLUSION.—The application is obvious.
1. To all, life is more or less a scene of trial.
2. Trial involves danger.
3. In trial, every man needs a refuge.
4. Various are the refuges resorted to by men in trial.
5. Only one Refuge it adequate and trustworthy.
6. To that One all may have access.
7. “Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a Refuge for us.”
A LIFE OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD
(Psa_57:1.)
Consider—
I. The grounds on which a life of confidence in God is encouraged. His holy Word affords the greatest encouragement unto His people to put their trust in Him. The whole life of a believer consists in trusting in God. The very first exercise of religion is an act of confidence in the mercy of God, &c. The believer may take encouragement to trust in God, from—
1. The relation which the Divine Being sustains to him. He is his Father. “Like as a father pitieth,” &c. A child trusts, &c. He is his God. All His Divine perfections are engaged on behalf of His people.
2. The efficiency of the mediation of Jesus Christ. The atonement for sin which He has made, and the intercession which He offers on our behalf are perfect, and should encourage our trust (Heb_4:14-16).
3. The promises of God. These are suited to all our circumstances, &c.
4. The deliverances which He has wrought for His people.
II. The nature of trust in God, and the circumstances in which we should trust Him.
1. The nature of trust in God. It consists in relying upon the declarations and promises of God, in believing the truth of God, and in acting accordingly.
(1.) Trust in God can be exercised only in connection with a proper regard to the precepts of His Word; without this, reliance upon His promises would be presumption, not the confidence of faith.
(2) To rely upon the Divine promises whilst regarding the Divine precepts is the proper exercise of confidence in God.
2. The circumstances in which we should trust in God. We should trust in Him at all times and in all circumstances, but especially—
(1) When oppressed with guilt.
(2) In seasons of temptation.
(3) In seasons of persecution (2Ti_3:12.)
(4) Under all the trials of life (Psa_50:15).
III. The advantages of a life of confidence in God. Trust in God is a duty enjoined by many precepts, and enforced by many examples. It is also a privilege of the greatest value (Psa_146:5.) A life of confidence in God will be attended with—
1. Peace (Isa_26:3).
2. Security. The arm of Omnipotence is engaged for the defence of those who trust in God.
3. Support under trial.
4. Deliverance from troubles.
5. The sanctification of trials to our good.
CONCLUSION.—
1. It is manifestly our wisdom to trust in God.
2. A life of confidence in God is one of the best evidences of true religion. If we would know whether we are the subjects of religion, let us inquire whither we go for refuge, &c.
3. The believer has the prospect of everlasting rest in God, &c. “There remaineth a rest for the people of God.”—Abridged from an unpublished M.S.
THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD A MOTIVE TO PRAYER
(Psa_57:2.)
The Psalmist felt himself and all his affairs in the hands of Providence. He knew that God performed all things for him. From this view of providence he took encouragement to make Him his refuge. “I will cry unto God,” &c. These words suggest the interesting and important truth that the providence of God presents us with a powerful motive to prayer.
I. Endeavour to illustrate this truth.
1. The providence of God is closely connected with His existence. If we believe in His existence we cannot consistently deny His providence.
2. The Sacred Volume teaches the doctrine—
(1) It represents all the affairs of the universe as under the government of God (Psa_31:15; Psa_103:19; et al.)
(2) Its precepts which enforce the duty of putting our trust in Him imply that His providence is universal, and extends to all our concerns (Pro_3:5-6; Mat_6:31-34; et al.)
(3) The history of the Church and of individual believers, which it records, testifies to the exercise of the Divine providence—Jewish Church, Jacob, Joseph, Job, David, Daniel.
3. The conduct of providence is governed by the infinite perfections of God. Wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, power.
4. We are at all times, and under all circumstances, under the care of the Divine providence. In infancy, youth, &c. In prosperity, adversity, &c.
5. It is important to realise the universality of the Divine providence. Such realisation will lead us to commit our ways unto Him, will afford peace, &c.
II. The circumstances in which it is important to realise this truth, and to make God a refuge by prayer. It is important to realise it continually; but especially—
1. In difficulties. These arise from various causes.
2. In troubles from enemies. David at this time.
3. In painful trials.
4. Prayer ought to be esteemed a privilege.
III. The advantages of a life of faith and prayer are many and great.
1. We realise that some wise end is to be answered by trials.
2. Our trials are accounted as for our good.
3. Support under trial and deliverance from it are granted in answer to prayer.
4. A review of the conduct of providence may be profitable under peculiar trials. David found it so. Every man may study Divine providence to his profit.
CONCLUSION.—
1. Bring all troubles to the throne of grace.
2. Every deliverance in answer to prayer should be acknowledged by praise.
3. Past providences afford encouragement to trust God for the future.
4. The mysteries of providence will be explained in a better state.—Abridged from an unpublished MS.
EXEMPLARY PRAISE
(Psa_57:7-11.)
The Psalmist’s praise of God expressed in these verses is worthy of imitation in each and all of its main features.
I. In its Theme. “I will sing and give praise. For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds.” Mercy and truth are the Divine perfections which are most prominent in God’s covenant relations with His people. His mercy is the source of all blessings to sinful men. And His truth is an assurance that He will fulfil His word, that He will perform His promises. The poet represents these perfections as infinite. Such is the meaning of the figures which he employs. “Great unto the heavens,” &c. From the infinity of God’s mercy and truth we infer—
1. That the blessings which flow from them reach unto all men.
2. That they are worthy of the unreserved confidence of all men.
II. In the spirit of its Offerer. The poet manifests—
1. Strong confidence in God. “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed.” Perowne: “My heart is steadfast.” Moll: “My heart is confident.” His confidence in God was firm and abiding. It enabled him to rise above all fear of danger.
2. Fervent gratitude and reverent admiration towards God. “I will sing and give praise.” His confidence was religious. He was sensible of his obligations to God, and gratefully praised Him. He recognised the perfections of God, and reverently adored Him. This is the true spirit in which praise should be offered to the Most High.
III. In its enthusiasm. This is clearly seen in his resolution to praise God—
1. With the noblest powers of his being. “Awake up, my glory.” His “glory” is his soul, with all its wondrous faculties and capacities, as created in the image of God. David summons his noblest powers to the worship of God. Soulless praise is worthless, and even offensive in the sight of God.
2. With choice instrumental accompaniment. “Awake, psaltery and harp.” David would use the sweetest and most musical aids in this hallowed exercise. He seeks to give worthy expression to the feelings of his soul in praise of so glorious a Being.
3. With affectionate zeal. “I myself will awake early.” More correctly: “I will awake the morning-dawn.” He resolves to anticipate the morning-dawn with his songs of praise, so great were his zeal and love for the hallowed exercise. To him the praise of God was the purest pleasure. Surely this enthusiasm in the worship of God is worthy the imitation of all.
IV. In its sphere. “I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people; I will sing unto Thee among the nations.” He would celebrate the praise of God to the widest possible extent. Delitzsch: “His song of praise is not to sound in a narrow space where it can scarcely be heard; he will appear, as an evangelist of his deliverance and his Deliverer, among the nations of the world; his calling extends beyond Israel; the experiences of his person are for the benefit of humanity.” The praise of God should be universal, as “His mercy and truth” are.
V. In the sense of its imperfection. The Psalmist was conscious that his song fell far below the merit and glory of his theme; and he, therefore, prays, “Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, Thy glory above all the earth.” Our most reverent and most enthusiastic praise is inadequate to so sublime and glorious a theme.
“Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.”
—Newton.
CONCLUSION.—
1. Let us “not make that narrow which God’s love has made wide—wide as the heavens” (Psa_57:10).
2. Let us, like the Psalmist, anticipate the promised deliverances of God with our praises.
3. Let us strive to make our praise of God commensurate with His mercy and truth. In this we shall never succeed; yet the effort will be pleasing to Him and beneficial to us. “The glory of the Lord should be praised early and late, near and far, in heaven and on earth,” and yet it would immeasurably surpass our praise.
DECIDED PIETY
(Psa_57:7.)
Consider—
I. The properties of a pious or godly life.
1. True piety has its seat in the heart. “My heart is fixed.”
2. True piety springs from just views of truth. The heart will not be fixed until the great facts which lie at the foundation of religion are known, &c.
3. Decided piety may be traced to just views of redemption and the greatness of its blessings.
4. Relief from the burden of guilt, through the great sacrifice for sin, tends to fix the heart, &c.
5. Piety is strengthened by religious exercises.
6. Divine deliverances strengthen piety. Answers to prayer promote firmness of purpose to trust in God.
7. Progress in religion strengthens piety.
II. The advantages of a life of decided piety. Decided piety—
1. Is attended with security. Religious principles in the heart are a safeguard, &c.
2. Recommends religion (Mat_5:16).
3. It attended with happiness. Deliverance from guilt, fear, &c. Experience of the joy of salvation, &c.
4. Inspires confidence in God.
5. Strengthens hope in God.
6. Inspires praise to God. “I will sing and give praise.”
CONCLUSION.—Learn—
1. The importance of the heart being right with God.
2. The importance of a correct acquaintance with the principles of religion.
3. The importance of religious decision. Indecision is dangerous (Matt. 12, 30).—Abridged from an unpublished MS.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Faith’s present shelter and final deliverance.
Faith’s present shelter and final deliverance.
To the chief musician, Al-tashcheth: Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.
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The Al-tashcheth ("Destroy not") which is in the title of the two following psalms, and the Asaphic seventy-fifth, as well as the present, is hard from its brevity to understand, as well as from its apparent applicability in so many ways. The historical occasion of the psalm also, while there is no difficulty attending it, has, in the same way, no special noteworthiness that I can discover. An opportunity this which men will take to disparage Scripture in favor of their own ignorance; but the stars do not the less shine because our sight may be too dull to behold them. Thank God, they do not!
In the psalm itself, there is no peculiar difficulty. It goes on from present shelter to future deliverance and these are (speaking broadly) the two parts into which it is divided, each part being closed with the refrain.
1. In the first part the soul casts itself upon divine grace, as that which will surely meet the faith that takes refuge in it. The bird that, according to the ancient story, would shelter itself from the pursuer in the bosom of man may have cause to repent its confidence; but who shall ever say that his confidence in God has deceived him? Nay, rather, when all other trust is found to be in vain, this becomes the only and all-sufficient one. "Depths" of evil and abysses of sorrow there are indeed on every side; but the shadow of Jehovah’s wings is not merely a place of escape but a home rest, where the Eternal Light subdues itself to our weakness, and yet is an infinite glory of truth and holiness and fostering care.
How sweet then may be the self-abandonment to Love so competent: "I cry unto God most High: to the Mighty that accomplisheth for me." Where He has charge of all one’s concerns, how surely shall they all prosper; how deep may be the peace resulting.
But there is not merely an indefinite confidence. The future has been marked out for us by Him to whom all His works are known from the beginning; and Israel’s portion glows in the page of prophecy, for faith to possess itself beforehand of it. David is himself the forerunner of the later prophets, the leader of that magnificent choir of divine song. Here he foresees the intervention of God for His people: "He shall send from heaven and save me" -"God shall send forth His mercy and truth." In the meanwhile, however, there is plenty to test this confidence; and patience must have its perfect work. "My soul is among lions: I lie among them that are on fire, -children of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword."
But he cries in distress no more. His heart is full of another longing, in which prophecy and prayer are found together, and God fills the whole scene. But then, and thus only, man’s blessing is accomplished, as it is indeed by Man -the Son of man -that the prayer is fulfilled. "Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens" has its answer in the psalm of the Son of man, the eighth psalm, "Thou hast set Thy glory above the heavens," while "glory over all the earth" is the well-known result of the uprising of the Sun of righteousness in the appearing of the same blessed Person. God is with men -in Man: a consummation to which these psalms are leading on.
2. Accordingly the second part is occupied with the salvation of Israel -personated by the psalmist -and the blessing following for the earth. It begins with the recompense awarded to their enemies in divine righteousness. They have dug a pit and fallen into it. According to the eternal law of retribution, they have been taken in their own craftiness. Israel is delivered, and their heart, already turned to Him, is established as His by the grace shown them. "They will sing and psalm": not only themselves praise, but make the mute things vocal -which is just man’s office as head of the lower creation. Israel’s worship accordingly begins: her glory awakes; psaltery and harp awake; and this music of hers awakes the dawn of day for the whole earth. She is the herald of salvation for the nations also, the "first-born," to be followed by the later-born. She praises among the gathered peoples, and sings her psalms among the races of men.
God is with men. His mercy is great unto the heavens: -not, as before and afterwards said, His glory above them. The heavenly people will be witnesses of this mercy; and the parallel of His "truth unto the clouds" would seem to speak of heavenly influences for the earth, -whether the rule of the saints with Christ specifically, or in general the windows of heaven open, no restraint of those ministries from above, upon which all blessing for the earth depends. God is with men; but the supreme triumph of divine love is found even beyond and above this, God in Man, the visible glory and consummation of grace in Christ set above the heavens, while embracing all the earth in the lustre of His beams.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v7
Psalms
THE FIXED HEART
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Psa 57:7.
It is easy to say such things when life goes smoothly with us. But this Psalmist, whether David or another, says this, and means it, when all things are dark and frowning around him. The superscription attributes the words to David himself, fleeing from Saul, and hiding in the cave. Whether that be so or no, the circumstances under which the Psalmist sings are obviously those of very great difficulty and oppression. But he sings himself into confidence and good cheer. In the dark he believes in the light. There are some flowers that give their perfumes after sunset and are sweetest when the night dews are falling. The true religious life is like these. A heart really based upon God, and at rest in Him, never breathes forth such fragrant and strong perfume as in the darkness of sorrow. The repetition of ‘My heart is fixed’ adds emphasis to the expression of unalterable determination. The fixed heart is resolved to ‘sing and give praise’ in spite of everything that might make sobs and tears choke the song.
I. Note the fixed heart.
The Hebrew uses the metaphor of the ‘heart’ to cover a great deal more of the inward self than we are accustomed to do. We mainly mean thereby that in us which loves. But the Old Testament speaks of the ‘thoughts and intents’ as well as the ‘affections’ of the heart. And so to this Psalmist his ‘heart’ was not only that in him which loved, but that which purposed and which thought. When he says ‘My heart is fixed’ he does not merely mean that he is conscious of a steadfast love, but also and rather of a fixed and settled determination, and of an abiding communion of thought between himself and God. And he not only makes this declaration as the expression of his experience for the moment, but he mortgages the future, and in so far as any man dare, he ventures to say that this temper of entire consecration, of complete communion, of fixed resolve to cleave to God, which is his present mood, will be his future whatever may wait his outward life then. The lesson from that resolve is that our religion, if it is worth anything, must be a continuous and uniformly acting force throughout our whole lives, and not merely sporadic and spasmodic, by fits and starts. The lines that a child’s unsteady and untrained hand draws in its copy-book are too good a picture of the ‘crooked, wandering ways in which we live,’ in so far as our religion is concerned. The line should be firm and straight, uniform in breadth, unvarying in direction, like a sunbeam, homogeneous and equally tenacious like an iron rod. Unless it be thus strong and uniform, it will scarcely sustain the weights that it must bear, or resist the blows that it must encounter.
For a fixed heart I must have a fixed determination, and not a mere fluctuating and soon broken intention. I must have a steadfast affection, and not merely a fluttering love, that, like some butterfly, lights now on this, now on that, sweet flower, but which has a flight straight as a carrier pigeon to its cot, which shall bear me direct to God. And I must have a continuous realisation of my dependence upon God, and of God’s sweet sufficiency, going with me all through the dusty day. A firm determination, a steadfast love, a constant thought, these at least are inculcated in the words of my text. ‘My heart is fixed, O God! my heart is fixed.’
Ah, brethren! how unlike the broken, interrupted, divergent lines that we draw! Our religious moments are not knit together, and touching one upon the other, but they are like the pools in the bed of a half dried up Australian stream-a pond here, and a stretch of white, blistering pebbles there, and then a little drop of water, and then another reach of dryness. They should all be knit together by one continuous flow of a fixed love, desire, and thought. Is our average Christianity fairly represented by such words as these of my text? Do they not rather make us burn with shame when we think that a man who lived in the twilight of God’s revelation, and was weighed upon by distresses such as wrung this psalm out of him, should have poured out this resolve, which we who live in the sunlight and are flooded with blessings find it hard to echo with sincerity and truth? Fixed hearts are rare amongst the Christians of this day.
II. Notice the manifold hindrances to such a uniformity of our religious life.
They are formidable enough, God knows, we all know it, and I do not need to dwell upon them. There is, for example, the tendency to fluctuation which besets all our feelings, and especially our religious emotions. What would happen to a steam-engine if the stoker now piled on coals and then fell asleep by the furnace door? One moment the boiler would be ready to burst; at another moment there would be no steam to drive anything. That is the sort of alternation that goes on amongst hosts of Christians to-day. Their springtime and summer are followed certainly by an autumn and a bitter winter. Every moment of elevation has a corresponding moment of depression. They never catch a glimpse of God and of His love brighter and more sweet than ordinary without its being followed by long weariness and depression and darkness. That is the kind of life that many of you are contented to live as Christian people.
But is there any necessity for such alternations? Some degree of fluctuation there will always be. The very exercise of emotion tends to its extinction. Varying conditions of health and other externals will affect the buoyancy and clear-sightedness and vivacity of the spiritual life. Only a barometer that is out of order will always stand at set fair. The vane which never points but to south is rusty and means nothing.
But while there cannot be absolute uniformity, there might and should be a far nearer approach to an equable temperature of a much higher range than the readings of most professing Christians give. There is, indeed, a dismally uniform arctic temperature in many of them. Their hearts are fixed, truly, but fixed on earth. Their frost is broken by no thaw, their tepid formalism interrupted by no disturbing enthusiasm. We do not now speak of these, but of those who have moments of illumination, of communion, of submission of will, which fade all too soon. To such we would earnestly say that these moments may be prolonged and made more continuous. We need not be at the mercy of our own unregulated feelings. We can control our hearts, and keep them fixed, even if they should wish to wander. If we would possess the blessing of an approximately uniform religious life, we must assert the control of ourselves and use both bridle and spur. A great many religious people seem to think that ‘good times’ come and go, and that they can do nothing to bring or keep or banish them. But that is not so. If the fire is burning low, there is such a thing on the hearth as a poker, and coals are at hand. If we feel our faith falling asleep, are we powerless to rouse it? Cannot we say ‘I will trust’? Let us learn that the variations in our religious emotions are largely subject to our own control, and may, if we will govern ourselves, be brought far nearer to uniformity than they ordinarily are.
Besides the fluctuations due to our own changes of mood, there are also the distracting influences of even the duties which God lays upon us. It is hard for a man with the material task of the moment that takes all his powers, to keep a little corner of his heart clear, and to feel that God is there. It is difficult in the clatter of the mill or in the crowds on ‘Change, to do our work as for and in remembrance of Christ. It is difficult; but it is possible. Distractions are made distractions by our own folly and weakness. There is nothing that it is our duty to do which an honest attempt to do from the right motive could not convert into a positive help to getting nearer God. It is for us to determine whether the tasks of life, and this intrusive external and material world, shall veil Him from us, or shall reveal Him to us. It is for us to determine whether we shall make our secular avocation and its trials, little and great, a means to get nearer to God, or a means to shut Him out from us, and us from Him. There is nothing but sin incompatible with the fixed heart, the resolved will, the continual communion, nothing incompatible though there may be much that makes it difficult to realise and preserve these.
And then, of course, the trials and sorrows which strike us all make this fixed heart hard to keep. It is easy, as I said, to vow, ‘I will sing and give praise,’ when flesh is comfortable and prosperity is spreading its bright sky over our heads. It is harder to say it when disappointment and bitterness are in the heart, and an empty place there that aches and will never be filled. It is harder for a man to say it when, like this Psalmist, his soul is ‘amongst lions’ and he ‘lies amongst them that are set on fire.’ But still, rightly taken, sorrow is the best ladder to God; and there is no such praise as comes from the lips that, if they did not praise, must sob, and that praise because they are beginning to learn that evil, as the world calls it, is the stepping-stone to the highest good. ‘My heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise’ may be the voice of the mourner as well as of the prosperous and happy.
III. Lastly, let me say just a word as to the means by which such a uniform character may be impressed upon our religious experience.
There is another psalm where this same phrase is employed with a very important and illuminating addition, in which we read, ‘His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.’ That is the secret of a fixed heart-continuous faith rooted and grounded in Him. This fluttering, changeful, unreliable, emotional nature of mine will be made calm and steadfast by faith, and duties done in the faith of God will bind me to Him; and sorrows borne and joys accepted in the faith of God will be links in the chain that knits Him to me.
But then the question comes, how to get this continuous faith? Brethren! I know no answer except the simple one, by continually making efforts after it, and adopting the means which Christ enjoins to secure it. A man climbing a hill, though he has to look to his feet when in the slippery places, and all his energies are expended in hoisting himself upwards by every projection and crag, will do all the better if he lifts his eye often to the summit that gleams above him. So we, in our upward course, shall make the best progress when we consciously and honestly try to look beyond the things seen and temporal, even whilst we are working in the midst of them, and to keep clear before us the summit to which our faith tends. If we lived in the endeavour to realise that great white throne, and Him that sits upon it, we should find it easier to say, ‘My heart is fixed, O God! my heart is fixed.’
But be sure of this, there will be no such uniformity of religious experience throughout our lives unless there be frequent times in them in which we go into our chambers and shut our doors about us, and hold communion with our Father in secret. Everything noble and great in the Christian life is fed by solitude, and everything poor and mean and hypocritical and low-toned is nourished by continual absence from the secret place of the Most High. There must be moments of solitary communion, if there are to be hours of strenuous service and a life of continual consecration.
We need not ask ourselves the question whether the realisation of the ideal of this fixedness in its perfect completeness is possible for us here on earth or not. You and I are a long way on this side of that realisation yet, and we need not trouble ourselves about the final stages until we have got on a stage or two more.
What would you think of a boy if, when he had just been taught to draw with a pencil, he said to his master, ‘Do you think I shall ever be able to draw as well as Raphael?’ His teacher would say to him, ‘Whether you will or not, you will be able to draw a good deal better than now, if you try.’ We need not trouble ourselves with the questions that disturb some people until we are very much nearer to perfection than any of us yet are. At any rate, we can approach indefinitely to that ideal, and whether it is possible for us in this life ever to have hearts so continuously fixed as that no attraction shall draw the needle aside one point from the pole or not, it is possible for us all to have them a great deal steadier than in that wavering, fluctuating vacillation which now rules them.
So let us pray the prayer, ‘Unite my heart to fear Thy name,’ make the resolve, ‘My heart is fixed,’ and listen obediently to the command, ‘He exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Title.—(RV) 'For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A…
Title.—(RV) 'For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David: Michtam: when he fled from Saul, in the cave.' This and the two following Pss. were set to the melody of the song beginning Al-tashheth ('Destroy not'), which was apparently a vintage song (Isa_65:8). The occasion referred to in the title is either David's stay in the cave of Adullam (1Sa_22:1), or the incident in the cave of Engedi (1Sa_24:3), but the Ps., has no relation either to the one or to the other. It is a companion to Psalms 56. The general situation is the same, but the refrain in this case (Psa_57:5, Psa_57:11) is even more triumphant. Psa_57:4, Psa_57:8 (see notes) mark the Ps. as an evening hymn. Psa_57:7-11 form Psa_108:1-5. This is one of the Pss. for Easter.
1. Trusteth] RV 'taketh refuge.'
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3. From the reproach, etc.] RV 'when he that would swallow me up reproacheth,' i.e. reproacheth God, blasphemeth. His truth] his faithfulness.
4. And Ilie, etc.] better, 'I will take my rest even among fiery foes'—an expression of the calm courage of faith.
6. My soul is bowed down] LXX 'They have bowed down my soul'; but perhaps we should read, 'their soul is bowed down,' which makes the v. consist of two contrasts.
7. My heart is fixed] is firm and steadfast in its courage.
8. My glory] my soul, as in Psa_7:5; Psa_16:9; Psa_30:12. Psaltery and harp] see on Psa_33:2. Will awake early] RM 'will awake the dawn,' by singing even before the morning appears.
9. People] RV 'peoples': see on Psa_56:7.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v1 (See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
trusteth
(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 57
Psalm 57
Perfect Trust in God
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1. Sheltered until the trouble is past (Psa 57:1-5)
2. Deliverance and praise (Psa 57:6-11)
The inscription is Al-taschith, which means “destroy not”; it is the Michtam of David when he fled from Saul. It shows us once more the exercise of faith in the godly of Israel. In the shadow of His wings they take refuge till these calamities are overpast. They look for intervention from above, from where it will surely come at the close of the days of tribulation. “He shall send from heaven, and save me.” Then they know they will be delivered in anticipation of which the voice of praise is heard. “Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, let Thy glory cover all the earth.”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The True Confidence of Faith.
The True Confidence of Faith.
To the chief musician, Al-taschith, to be chanted according to the melody "Destroy not," which also referred to the critical circumstances connected with the event which occasioned the writing of the hymn, Michtam, a poem of epigrams, of David when he fled from Saul in the cave, 1Sa 22:1; 1Sa 24:1-4. Its contents may well be used by every believer who finds himself in difficult straits on account of the persecution of his enemies.
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v. 1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for it is only the unmerited favor of God to which David appeals; for my soul trusteth in Thee, seeking refuge with the Lord alone; yea, in the shadow of Thy wings, a figure pointing out, in a most impressive manner, the full security under God’s protection, Deu 22:11; Psa 91:1; Mat 23:37, will I make my refuge, until these calamities, the mischiefs put in operation by his enemies, be overpast, until there is no longer a sign of the ruinous danger threatening his life.
v. 2. I will cry unto God Most High, the great Ruler of the universe; unto God, that performeth all things for me, always accomplishing His purposes for the deliverance of His children.
v. 3. He shall send from heaven, in an extraordinary form of deliverance, if necessary, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up, that is, even while the enemy pants after him in rage, snorting with greed to destroy him, David is sure of the Lord’s deliverance. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth, His loving favor according to His faithful promise, as the messengers bringing deliverance, Psa 25:10; Psa 36:5.
v. 4. My soul is among lions, surrounded by them on all sides, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, those greedy with desire for murder, the fact that he is ready to lie down to sleep in the midst of such dangerous circumstances showing the firmness of his trust in God, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword, instruments of destruction.
v. 5. Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, showing Himself in the sublimity of His majesty; let Thy glory be above all the earth, its light promising salvation to His children, but threatening death and destruction to His enemies.
v. 6. They have prepared a net for my steps, to capture him unawares; my soul is bowed down, the enemies having bent it down to the ground with their oppressions; they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves, their sudden and utter overthrow as a result of their own wickedness being emphasized. Selah.
v. 7. My heart is fixed, O God, ready, confident, fearless, my heart is fixed, in the certainty of victory; I will sing and give praise, both with voice and instrument.
v. 8. Awake up, my glory, his soul, his whole being should be aroused to the proper frame of mind, to give praise; awake, psaltery and harp, or, harp and zither, which he loved to play to the glory of God. I myself will awake early, arousing the very dawn in his eagerness to sing praises, urging the sun to rise that he may begin his matin service.
v. 9. I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people, not only in his own private devotions, but out in public, where all men could hear his message of deliverance. I will sing unto Thee among the nations, going even beyond the bounds of Israel to bring his joyful news to all mankind.
v. 10. For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, towering up so high, filling the entire universe, and Thy truth unto the clouds. And therefore the psalmist repeats his address of praise:
v. 11. Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth, the God of Israel, of His Church, the one true God throughout eternity. Such is the spirit of praise which lives in the hearts of all believers.
Cheth. True Piety the Calling of the Believers. —
v. 57. Thou art my Portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Thy words. To realize at all times that God is his Portion, his Inheritance, and that for that reason he intends to observe the words of the Lord, this is the calling of the faithful, in this everyone who is a child of God fulfils his destiny.
v. 58. I entreated Thy favor, literally, "I appealed with supplications to Thy face," with my whole heart, begging for a manifestation of divine grace; be merciful unto me according to Thy word, the believer once more holding the Lord to His promise.
v. 59. I thought on my ways, carefully examining them from all sides to see whether they were in agreement with God’s Word, and turned my feet unto Thy testimonies, deciding quickly in favor of following the Word of God all alone.
v. 60. I made haste, for the Lord delights in quick decisions in His favor, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments, always ready to exercise his piety in good works.
v. 61. The bands of the wicked have robbed me, rather, "the cords of the wicked have surrounded me," that is, they have laid their snares for him as they do for all children of God who show that their profession of godliness is sincere; but I have not forgotten Thy Law; in fact, the remembrance of the Word of God gives to the believer his wonderful strength.
v. 62. At midnight, as he meditates upon the wonderful manifestations of God’s favor, I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous judgments, to acknowledge with proper gratitude the judgments of God’s righteousness.
v. 63. I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, whose piety causes them to seek companionship of people of their own way of thinking, and of them that keep Thy precepts. All believers are united by their common faith, in a common cause.
v. 64. The earth, O Lord, is full of Thy mercy, the evidences of His merciful blessings are everywhere to be found; teach me Thy statutes; for only the proper appreciation of the Word of God as the highest treasure given by God will cause one to realize the incomparable greatness of His mercy. All Christians are eager to possess the light, the consolation, and the strength of the Word of God.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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For the chief musician
"This is for the director of music to use in worship"
set to Al Tashheth
This probably tells what musical style or tune to use when singing the psalm. AT: "sing this psalm using the tune of 'Al Tashheth'" or "sing this using the Al Tashheth style"
Al Tashheth
This means "Do Not Destroy." Translators may either write the meaning or copy the Hebrew words. (See: Translate Unknowns and Copy or Borrow Words)
A psalm of David
Possible meanings are 1) David wrote the psalm or 2) the psalm is about David or 3) the psalm is in the style of David's psalms.
A michtam
The meaning of the word "michtam" is uncertain. You may use the word "psalm" instead. This can be written as: "This is a psalm that David wrote." See how you translated this in Psalms 16:1.
when he fled from Saul, in the cave
The purpose of this phrase can be stated clearly along with some basic details about the situation. AT: "This is about when David hid in the cave from Saul" or "This is about when King Saul was chasing David, and David hid in a cave" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
I take refuge in you
Going to Yahweh for protection is spoken of as taking refuge in him. AT: "I go to you for protection" (See: Metaphor)
I stay under your wings for protection
The psalmist speaks of God as if he were a mother bird that protects its babies by huddling them under its wings. AT: "I trust you to protect me" (See: Metaphor)
until this destruction is over
The abstract noun "destruction" can be stated as "destructive." AT: "until this destructive storm is over" (See: Abstract Nouns and Metaphor)
translationWords
psalm
David
Saul (OT)
mercy
God
refuge
trouble
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 Ps 57 The psalmist’s cry for mercy and protection…
Ps 57 The psalmist’s cry for mercy and protection quickly turns into an affirmation of trust and confidence in the Lord (57:1-4). When the wicked fall into their own traps (57:6), the psalmist will praise the Lord (57:7-10).
57:title David . . . fled from Saul and went into the cave: See 1 Sam 22:1 or Ps 24:1-8.
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57:1 shadow of your wings: As a bird protects its young, God protects the one who trusts in him (see 17:8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.