January 31
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PSALM 57 MY SOUL TAKES REFUGE IN THE LORD
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts—the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! – Psalm 57:1-10
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This psalm is another individual lament of David. Some commentaries says that the event when David wrote this would probably be the one mentioned in either 1 Samuel 22:1 or possibly 1 Samuel 24:3. Saul was pursuing David and wanted him dead in both circumstances. In 1 Samuel 18:7-11, we hear the account of how Saul began to be jealous of David, especially when the women sang their victories in war but compared David as killing ten-thousands whereas Saul only killed thousands. In verse 11, we see the pursuit of Saul to kill David because God had favored and given David much more victories than him.
In this psalm, instead of exercising vengeance on Saul for wanting him dead, he runs to the Lord Most High to plead for mercy. He had always relied on him. He could easily take down Saul, but he will never touch any anointed king by God, so he runs to his Lord for safety. In verse 2, David was hopeful amidst all these threat on his life; he looks forward to the fulfillment of God’s purpose for his life. In verse 3, he declares God’s promise of protection and deliverance where the Lord will trample on all those who want to crush him. He knows that God’s steadfast love will bring courage in the midst of all the threat to his life. He even was able to thank the Lord for sustaining him.
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REFLECTION
• How can David still be very positive in the midst of danger and threat to his life?