Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Psalms · About this commentary
My Heart Is Steadfast
Psalms 57:1-11
1 For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. 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. · WEB
Hiding in a cave from a king who wants him dead, a man wakes up the dawn.
When he fled from Saul, in the cave Psalms 57:1.
The setting is a hole in a hillside, with an army outside. What comes out of it is a psalm whose second half is pure music.
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 Psalms 57:1.
The mercy is asked for twice, which is what people do when they are frightened. And the refuge chosen is a shadow — he is sheltering in a cave and describing his actual protection as something else entirely.
Until disaster has passed. The psalm does not ask for the disaster to be canceled. It asks for cover while it goes by, which is a smaller and more realistic request than it first appears.
I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me Psalms 57:2.
The title Most High is used of a man in a cave's God, and the participle means one who completes, brings to an end, finishes on my behalf.
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 Psalms 57:4.
Three weapons in one sentence and all of them are in a mouth. As so often in this collection, the danger is described as speech even when there are soldiers involved.
They have prepared a net for my steps... They dig a pit before me. They fall into the middle of it themselves Psalms 57:6.
The pit image again, and here the reversal is reported in the middle of the psalm rather than promised for later.
My heart is steadfast, God. My heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises Psalms 57:7.
The turn, and it is stated twice like the plea for mercy in verse one. The word means fixed, set, established — the opposite of the restless heart of the previous psalm. Nothing outside the cave has changed.
Wake up, my glory! Wake up, lute and harp! I will wake up the dawn Psalms 57:8.
The most exuberant line in the second book. He wakes himself, then his instruments, then the morning — a man in hiding, singing loudly enough to be found, deciding that the sun is late.
I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations Psalms 57:9.
From a cave, he plans an international audience. Paul quotes this line, or its twin in the eighteenth psalm, as evidence that the nations were always in view Romans 15:9.
The last five verses of this psalm reappear as the opening of the hundred and eighth, joined to a fragment of another — a working hymnbook reusing what it had.
settled What this mark means