1 <To the chief music-maker; put to Al-tashheth. Michtam. Of David. When he went in flight from Saul, in the hole of the rock.> Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; for the hope of my soul is in you: I will keep myself safely under the shade of your wings, till these troubles are past.
You will be covered by his feathers; under his wings you will be safe: his good faith will be your salvation.
Come, my people, into your secret places, and let your doors be shut: keep yourself safe for a short time, till his wrath is over.
<To the chief music-maker; put to Jonath elem rehokim. Of David. Michtam. When the Philistines took him in Gath.> Have mercy on me, O God, for man is attempting my destruction; every day he makes cruel attacks against me.
How good is your loving mercy, O God! the children of men take cover under the shade of your wings.
And those who have knowledge of your name will put their faith in you; because you, Lord, have ever given your help to those who were waiting for you.
The Lord give you a reward for what you have done, and may a full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take cover.
And he will put an end to all their weeping; and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain; for the first things have come to an end.
And I said to him, My lord, you have knowledge. And he said to me, These are they who came through the great testing, and their robes have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
Take as an example of pain nobly undergone and of strength in trouble, the prophets who gave to men the words of the Lord. We say that those men who have gone through pain are happy: you have the story of Job and the troubles through which he went and have seen that the Lord was full of pity and mercy in the end.
And if those days had not been made short there would have been no salvation for any, but because of the saints those days will be made short.
Who among you has the fear of the Lord, giving ear to the voice of his servant who has been walking in the dark and has no light? Let him put his faith in the name of the Lord, looking to his God for support.
Because you have said, I am in the hands of the Lord, the Most High is my safe resting-place;
Happy is he whose resting-place is in the secret of the Lord, and under the shade of the wings of the Most High;
But as for me, let my prayer be made to you, O Lord, at a time when you are pleased; O God, give me an answer in your great mercy, for your salvation is certain. Take me from the grip of the sticky earth, so that I may not go down into it; let me be lifted up from the deep waters. Let me not be covered by the flowing waters; let not the deep waters go over my head, and let me not be shut up in the underworld. Give an answer to my words, O Lord; for your mercy is good: be turned to me, because of your great pity.
I will make your tent my resting-place for ever: I will keep myself under the cover of your wings. (Selah.)
<To the chief music-maker; put to At-tashheth. Michtam. Of David. When Saul sent, and they were watching the house, to put him to death.> Take me out of the hands of the cruel ones, O my God; keep me safe from those who come up against me.
For fear that he may be angry, causing destruction to come on you, because he is quickly moved to wrath. Happy are all those who put their faith in him.
<Maschil. Of David. A prayer when he was in the hole of the rock.> The sound of my cry went up to the Lord; with my voice I made my prayer for grace to the Lord.
So with these words David kept his servants back, and did not let them make an attack on Saul. And Saul got up and went on his way.
Then Saul took three thousand of the best men out of all Israel, and went in search of David and his men on the rocks of the mountain goats.
For in a very short time my passion will be over, and my wrath will be turned to their destruction.
Truly I say to you, You will be weeping and sorrowing, but the world will be glad: you will be sad, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 57
Commentary on Psalms 57 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 57
This psalm is very much like that which goes next before it; it was penned upon a like occasion, when David was both in danger of trouble and in temptation to sin; it begins as that did, "Be merciful to me;' the method also is the same.
So that hence we may take direction and encouragement, both in our supplications and in our thanksgivings, and may offer both to God, in singing this psalm.
To the chief musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
Psa 57:1-6
The title of this psalm has one word new in it, Al-taschith-Destroy not. Some make it to be only some known tune to which this psalm was set; others apply it to the occasion and matter of the psalm. Destroy not; that is, David would not let Saul be destroyed, when now in the cave there was a fair opportunity of killing him, and his servants would fain have done so. No, says David, destroy him not, 1 Sa. 24:4, 6. Or, rather, God would not let David be destroyed by Saul; he suffered him to persecute David, but still under this limitation, Destroy him hot; as he permitted Satan to afflict Job, Only save his life. David must not be destroyed, for a blessing is in him (Isa. 65:8), even Christ, the best of blessings. When David was in the cave, in imminent peril, he here tells us what were the workings of his heart towards God; and happy are those that have such good thoughts as these in their minds when they are in danger!
Psa 57:7-11
How strangely is the tune altered here! David's prayers and complaints, by the lively actings of faith, are here, all of a sudden, turned into praises and thanksgivings; his sackcloth is loosed, he is girded with gladness, and his hallelujahs are as fervent as his hosannas. This should make us in love with prayer, that, sooner or later, it will be swallowed up in praise. Observe,