Psalm 57

Psalm 57 belongs to Book II of the Psalms (Psalms 42–72). Like the preceding Psalm 56, it is a lament of David bearing the heading "Michtam." The superscription gives its setting: "when he fled from Saul in the cave."

Structure

• Verses 1–3: The psalmist pleads for God's mercy and resolves to take refuge in the shadow of God's wings until calamity has passed. He confesses that God will send forth His mercy and truth from heaven to save him.
• Verse 4: The enemies are likened to lions and to those that are set on fire; their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
• Verse 5: A refrain prays that God be exalted above the heavens and that His glory be above all the earth.
• Verse 6: The enemies prepared a net and dug a pit, but they themselves fell into it.
• Verses 7–10: The psalmist twice declares, "My heart is fixed," and resolves to awaken psaltery and harp and to awaken the dawn. He vows to praise the Lord's mercy and truth among the peoples and the nations.
• Verse 11: The psalm closes by repeating the refrain of verse 5.

Key Verses

• Psalm 57:1: "In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." This is a classic expression of faith that takes refuge in God in the midst of crisis.
• Psalm 57:8: "I myself will awake early." (The Korean Bible renders this "I will awaken the dawn.") The verse expresses a resolve to begin the morning with praise.
• Psalm 57:10: "For thy mercy is great unto the heavens." This verse sums up God's mercy and truth, the foundation of the entire psalm.

People and Places

• David: The speaker of the psalm, named in the superscription.
• Saul: The first king of Israel, who pursued David to kill him.
• The cave: Mentioned in the superscription, though the text does not identify which cave is meant.

Points for Reflection

• Some identify the "cave" of the superscription with the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22), while others identify it with the cave at En Gedi, where David spared Saul's life and let him go (1 Samuel 24). The traditional view accepts the superscription as a record from David's own time, while some scholars regard it as a later editorial addition.
• "Al-taschith" in the superscription is commonly interpreted as "Do not destroy," whereas the precise meanings of "Michtam" and Selah are unknown. The New Korean Revised Version renders the term for "chief Musician" as "leader."
• Verses 7–11 are nearly identical to Psalm 108:1–5.
• "Mercy" translates the Hebrew hesed. The image of taking refuge under God's wings also appears in Psalm 17:8, Psalm 91:4, and elsewhere. It is sometimes read alongside Matthew 23:37, where Jesus speaks of Jerusalem in terms of a hen gathering her chickens under her wings.
• The plea in verse 1, rendered "Be merciful unto me" in the Korean Revised Version, was changed to "Be gracious to me" in the New Korean Revised Version.

In the Korean Church

The phrase "I will awaken the dawn" (verse 8) is widely known as a verse frequently cited in sermons and exhortations connected with dawn prayer meetings.