Psalm 57

¹ Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
² I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills {his purpose} forme.
³ He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah God sends his love and his faithfulness.
⁴ I am in the midst of lions; I lay among ravenous beasts men 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 spread a net for my feet I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
⁸ Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
⁹ I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
¹⁰ For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

This is another psalm of David as he fled from Saul into the caves. David’s starts out this psalm off in the same manner as he did in psalm 56. He asks for God’s mercy as he takes refuge in him.

Key Facts:

We must ask for mercy because we have no righteousness to stand on.

God has provided a refuge for us and that is where we need to hide.

God has his purpose for me.

God does save me.

He rebukes those who are against his chosen.

David’s faith was steadfast and so must our faith in God.

The wicked will fall in their own traps.

I will praise Him. Why?

For great is His Love.

Great is His faithfulness

And He alone is exalted.

As I read verse two “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me” it takes me back to Matthew 26:39 where Jesus prays “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” as his purpose. David did become the king of Israel as God purposed him to be as we will someday be made Christ-like when Christ appears the second time. However, until this event takes place, we must that refuge in the shadow of God’s wing and pray the same prayer that Christ our example prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. It is God who fulfills his purpose, not us fulfilling the purpose that God has given us. As a good soldier puts his life on the line to fulfill the military commander’s objectives so must we put on life and our dreams on the line to serve Christ.

When studying David’s life at this time we must realize that he was going through a period of self-examination. Everything that he believed was being tested. At this time, he was surrounded by a small band of followers who like him was running and hiding. It is a setting like this that even when you are part of a group you still feel like you are alone with God. It is in these times of testing that God will slowly work to transform us to be making according to His purpose.