Young At Heart Bible Study: The Book of Psalms Psalm 57

Psalm 57: His mercy reaches to the heavens

1 <To the chief Musician, Al taschith (“do not destroy”), Michtam of David, whenhe fled from Saul in the cave.> Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for my soul trusts in you; yes, in the shadow of your wings will I make my refugeuntil these calamities have passed by.2 I will cry to God most high, to God who completes all things for me.3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that wouldswallow 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 thesons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be above all the earth.6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down. They have duga pit before me, into the midst of which they have 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 you, O Lord, among the people; I will sing to you among thenations.10 For your mercy is great to the heavens, and your truth to the clouds.11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be above all the earth.

Psalms Bible Study Psalm 57

Psalm 57 is the story in prayer David’s time in the caves and, in particular, fleeing fromSaul. It is thought that this recounts the episode when David and his men encounteredSaul in a cave but did not take advantage so as to kill Saul. The Psalm also hasMessianic overtones, some passages reminding us of Christ’s persecution and later exaltation.The words “do not destroy” at the beginning of the psalm may speak of David’s counselnot to slay Saul but also could be viewed as David’s prayer that God would not allowhim to be harmed. We read of this meeting in 1 Samuel 24:

And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him,saying, Behold, David

in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosenmen out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. Andhe came to the sheepcotes by the way, where

was

a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet:and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him,Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thineand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, theLORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he

the anointed of theLORD. So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise againstSaul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on

his

way. David also arose afterward, andwent out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul lookedbehind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said toSaul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into minehand in the cave: and

some

bade

kill thee: but

mine eye

spared thee; and I said, I will notput forth mine hand against my lord; for he

the LORD'S anointed. Moreover, my father, see,yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed theenot, know thou and see that

there is

neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have notsinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The LORD judge between me and thee,and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause,and deliver me out of thine hand. And it came to pass, when David had made an end of

Psalms Bible Study Psalm 57

speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said,

this thy voice, my son David? And Saul liftedup his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou

art

more righteous than I: for thou hastrewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast shewed this day how thatthou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand,thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore theLORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know wellthat thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and thatthou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. And David sware unto Saul. And Saulwent home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.

(1) <To the chief Musician, Al taschith (“do not destroy”), Michtam of David, whenhe fled from Saul in the cave.> Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for my soul trusts in you; yes, in the shadow of your wings will I make my refugeuntil these calamities have passed by. (2) I will cry to God most high, to God whocompletes all things for me. (3) He shall send from heaven, and save me from thereproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercyand his truth.

•

Another Psalm for the Chief Musician. The

Al taschith

reference mean, as wehave said, “do not destroy.” The

michtam

is a poem, so again it is possible thatthe poem was composed for an existing tune known as “Do Not Destroy.”

•

Here David prays for mercy, and reminds God that he has come to God for aid.The image of the wings is powerful – David tells God that he has come to Himlike a chick looking for shelter under its mother’s wings. How can God refusewhen David is trusting him like this?

•

The titles of God also give David comfort, and can comfort us as well. Like Davidin verse 2, we should remember that our God is

El Elyon

, the highest or mostsupreme God! Few things can quicken our faith as much as reflecting on thewonderful titles of God, of the Son or of the Spirit.3