Bible Commentaries
Psalms 57

Verses 1-11

PSALM 57

The confidence of the soul in God as a refuge, until all evils are past, the soul delivered, God exalted, and His glory displayed in all the earth.

(v. 1) In the midst of the calamities that meet the godly man on every side, he trusts in the mercy of God, and finds his refuge and home in the tender loving care of God set forth, in figure, by “the shadow of thy wings.”

(vv. 2-3) His cry is unto God the Most High, conscious that God will undertake for him in all things. God will send from the heavens and save the godly man, while covering with reproach those that seek his life (JND). God will send forth His mercy to deliver the godly; His truth to deal with the wicked. His judgment will be according to truth.

(vv. 4-5) In the meanwhile, as to actual circumstances, the godly man is among lions that breathe out destruction, even the sons of men who gnash upon him with rage and malice. Having God for his refuge, and in the consciousness that God will perform all things for him, the psalmist can look beyond the violence of men to the time when God will be exalted above the heavens, and His glory shine over all the earth.

(v. 6) The wicked may indeed have prepared a net to entangle the steps of the godly man, and a pit to encompass his fall; but, in the retributive ways of God, they will be taken in their own craftiness.

(vv. 7-11) Though faced with calamities, surrounded by violent men, with pitfalls at every step, the heart of the believer remains fixed and steadfast in the consciousness that God is His refuge, and will perform all things for His own glory and the salvation of His people. Therefore the psalmist breaks into praise; and his singing anticipates a new day for the world; it will “wake the dawn” (JND). With the dawn of this new day, the praise of God will spread “among the peoples” and “the nations.” Heaven and earth will join in witnessing to the truth of God. Thus God will be exalted, and His glory shine over all the earth.