Psalms 57:1 - Meaning and Application

The title of this psalm includes a new word, Al-taschith, which means, “Destroy not.” Some take this to be the name of a tune to which the psalm was set. Others think it points to the psalm’s setting and theme. “Destroy not” may mean that David would not allow Saul to be destroyed when he had a clear chance to kill him in the cave, and his men wanted him to do it. David said, “Do not destroy him,” (1 Samuel 24:4, 1 Samuel 24:6). Or it may mean that God would not let Saul destroy David. God allowed Saul to persecute David, but only up to a limit, “Destroy him not,” as he allowed Satan to afflict Job, saying, “Only save his life.” David must not be destroyed, because there is a blessing in him (Isaiah 65:8), and that blessing is Christ, the greatest blessing of all.

When David was in the cave, in serious danger, he tells us here what was going on in his heart toward God. Happy are those who think such good thoughts when they are in danger. He strengthens himself with faith, hope, and prayer. Surrounded by enemies, he turns to God with a fitting prayer, “Be merciful to me, O Lord,” and he repeats it. This is not empty repetition. It is the tax collector’s prayer, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). It is sad when anyone uses it carelessly, or says, “Lord, have mercy,” only as an exclamation of surprise or frustration, while God and his mercy are far from their thoughts. David prays it with deep feeling: “Be merciful to me, O Lord, look on me with compassion, and in your love and pity, rescue me.”

To put himself in line with God’s mercy, David says that all his trust is in God: “My soul trusts in you” (Psalm 57:1). He does not just say he trusts God, he truly rests his whole soul on him, with sincere devotion and full confidence. He comes before God, humbly, at the foot of his grace, and says, “In the shadow of your wings I will make my refuge,” like chicks hiding under a hen’s wings when birds of prey are near. He does this until the trouble passes. He is sure his troubles will end in due time, “these calamities will be over.” The storm will blow over. Our Lord Jesus comforted himself with this in his suffering, “The things concerning me have an end” (Luke 22:37).

At the same time, David is calm under God’s protection. He rests in the goodness of God’s nature, which leads him to help and protect his people, just as a hen naturally shelters her young. God comes quickly to help his people, which shows speedy rescue (Psalm 18:10), and he gathers them under his wing, which shows warmth and comfort, even while trouble remains (Matthew 23:37). David also rests in God’s promise and covenant of grace. The image may point to the outstretched wings of the cherubim, where God was said to dwell (Psalm 80:1) and from which he gave his words. So David says, in effect, “I will flee to God as the God of grace, and his promise will be my refuge and a safe pass through every danger.” God offers himself to be trusted through his promise, and by faith we must receive him and trust him.

David also says that all his desire is toward God (Psalm 57:2). “I will cry to God Most High for help and relief. To the Most High I will lift up my soul, and pray earnestly to the God who does all things for me.” We should see and acknowledge God’s hand in everything that happens to us. Whatever is done, he has done it. His purpose is carried out, and Scripture is fulfilled in it. Whatever God does for his people will, in the end, prove to have been done for them and for their good. Though God is high, most high, he bends low enough to see that all things work together for good for his people. That is strong reason to cry to him in every trouble, not just to pray, but to pray earnestly.

David also says that all his hope is from God (Psalm 57:3). “He will send from heaven and save me.” Those who make God their only shelter, and flee to him in faith and prayer, can be sure of salvation in his way and in his time. He expects salvation from heaven. Looking around on earth, he sees no safe refuge and no help, so he looks upward. Those who lift their hearts to the things above may expect good from there. He also expects to be saved from the shame brought by those who try to swallow him up and ruin him, and who keep trying to upset him. Some read the verse this way: “He will send from heaven and save me, for he has put to shame the one who would swallow me up.” God has already frustrated their plans, and so he will complete David’s rescue. David gives the praise for his deliverance to God’s mercy and truth. God is good in himself and faithful to every promise he has made, and this becomes clear when he saves his people. We need nothing more to make us blessed than to have the benefit of God’s mercy and truth (Psalm 25:10).

Then David shows the power and cruelty of his enemies (Psalm 57:4). “My soul is among lions.” Saul and those with him were so fierce against David that he might have been as safe in a den of lions as among such men. They kept roaring against him and were ready to tear him apart. They were inflamed with rage, and they passed that rage among themselves. They were also set on fire by hell (James 3:6). They were sons of men, so one might have expected human reason and compassion from them. Instead, they were like wild beasts in human shape. Their teeth, which they ground against him, were like spears and arrows made for harm and murder. Their tongue, with which they cursed him and damaged his name, was like a sharp sword to wound and kill (Psalm 42:10). A harmful tongue is a dangerous weapon, and Satan often uses it against God’s people.

He describes their evil plans against him (Psalm 57:6), and then shows how those plans end. “They have prepared a net for my steps,” so they could trap him and keep him from escaping. “They have dug a pit before me,” so that he might fall into it before he knew what was happening. This shows how carefully the enemies of the church plot harm and how much effort they spend doing evil. But we should also see the result. Their scheme was troubling to David, and it made him bowed down and sad to think that anyone should hate him so much. But even so, it did not defeat him.

It was ruin for David’s enemies. They dug a pit for him, and then they fell into it themselves. The trouble they planned for David came back on their own heads, and their plans were thrown into confusion. When Saul was chasing David, the Philistines attacked Saul. Even in the cave, when Saul thought David would fall into his hands, Saul himself was really in David’s hands and at his mercy.

David then prays that God would be glorified and that his own great name would be honored (Psalm 57:5). In effect he says, “No matter what happens to me and my cause, be exalted, O God. Be praised above the heavens by the holy angels, the glorious people of the upper world, and let your glory cover all the earth, so that all people may know and praise you.” God’s glory should be closer to our hearts than any personal concern of our own.

When David was in great trouble and shame, he did not pray, “Lord, exalt me.” He prayed, “Lord, exalt your own name.” In the same way, the Son of David, Jesus, when his soul was troubled, first said, “Father, save me from this hour,” and then took back that request and said instead, “For this reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27-28). Or these words may be read as a reason for deliverance: “Lord, send help from heaven and save me, and by doing that you will show yourself to be the God of heaven and earth.”

The strongest encouragement we have in prayer comes from God’s glory. So when we ask for any mercy, we should look first to his honor, more than to our own comfort. That is why the Lord’s prayer begins with, “Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” because that request guides all the others.