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Psalms 57

KJV · Chapter 57/150

1Be 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.

2I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.

3He 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.

4My 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.

5Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

6They 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.

7My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

8Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

9I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

10For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

11Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David takes refuge in the shadow of God's wings while surrounded by enemies compared to lions, but the psalm turns from plea to triumphant praise: 'awake up, my glory... I myself will awake early.'

Explanation

The title links this psalm to the moment when David hid in a cave fleeing from Saul (1 Samuel 22:1 or 24:1-3), a literal refuge that becomes a spiritual metaphor for God's protection ('in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge'). The image of protective wings reflects both the maternal protection of birds and Egyptian symbolism of winged protective gods, repurposed here to describe Yahweh. The psalm's turn — from extreme fear to a conscious decision to praise ('awake up, my glory') — shows that praise can be an act of the will and not merely a spontaneous feeling, especially in difficult moments.

Fun facts

  • The last two verses of this psalm (10-11) are almost identical to the opening of Psalm 108, showing how verses of praise could be reused and combined in different liturgical compositions.
  • The cave mentioned in the title is traditionally identified as the cave of Adullam or En Gedi, a mountainous region near the Dead Sea with several natural caves that can still be visited in Israel today.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Psalms 57:1"The shadow of thy wings" repeats a common image in the Psalms: birds shelter their young under their own wings, and this scene became a figure of speech for seeking protection in God — it doesn't mean God literally has wings.
  2. Psalms 57:2"God most high" translates the ancient Hebrew title El Elyon, used to affirm that He is above every other power. Saying He "performeth all things" for someone is trusting that God carries that person's cause through to the end, without leaving it half-finished.
  3. Psalms 57:3"Selah" appears here for the first time in this psalm: a musical or liturgical term whose exact sense has been lost, perhaps a pause for the instrumentalists. "Mercy and truth," meanwhile, is a fixed Hebrew pair describing God's constant faithfulness.
  4. Psalms 57:4It describes the enemies through their speech: lies and accusations are compared to spears and to a "sharp sword," weapons that wound just as much as a physical blow.
  5. Psalms 57:5This plea suddenly interrupts the description of danger — lions, spears, arrows — with an unexpected wish: that God's glory appear above it all. It's the same refrain that closes the psalm in verse 11.
  6. Psalms 57:6Nets and pits were real hunting traps in the ancient world, used here as a metaphor for a snare set against David. Saying the enemies themselves fell into it is an ironic image: the attacker caught by his own trap.
  7. Psalms 57:7Repeating "my heart is fixed" twice in a row is a Hebrew device of emphasis: a firm, resolved heart, without hesitation — the point where the psalm turns from lament to confident praise.
  8. Psalms 57:8The lute and the harp were common stringed instruments in ancient Israel, used to accompany songs and psalms. When David calls "my glory" (his own spirit) and these instruments to awake, he is summoning himself to begin praise at daybreak.
  9. Psalms 57:9Promising to praise God "among the people" and "among the nations" widens the psalm's horizon: this isn't praise confined to Israel, but a desire for God's fame to reach foreign peoples too.
  10. Psalms 57:10"Mercy" and "truth" form a fixed pair in Hebrew poetry describing God's faithfulness. Here it takes on cosmic scale: greater than any visible distance, from the ground up to the height of the clouds.
  11. Psalms 57:11The psalm closes by repeating almost word for word verse 5: this frame around the poem, called inclusio in Hebrew poetry, links the still-tense opening to the now-confident ending.

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