Psalm 57

1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be over past.

2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performs all things for me.

3 He shall send from heaven and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have dug a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.

7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth. (KJV)

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 falls into 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 in his life, 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.

This period is David’s life was probably very difficult for developing his relationship to God.  One of the greatest life lessons I have learn from my studies in the Psalms and the study of David’s life is how amazing the relationship that an individual can have with the Creator of this universe.  In Philippians 3:10 Paul writes these words about his relationship to Christ “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”.  One of Paul’s greatest desires was to be made conformable unto the death of Christ.  As we study the individuals from the scriptures, we witness the personnel relationship they had with God. So in times of testing, we must be like David and not forsake God, but wait on him to reveal his purpose to us.

As I read verse seven of this psalm “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.”  I can feel the closeness that David had with God.  This is a closeness that grows with daily fellowship with the Lord.  It is a fellowship that seeks God’s presence in every aspect of one’s daily living.  It is not a relationship that has God waiting on me to send up a prayer when I have an issue that I need his help in my deliverance of some issue that has arisen in my life,  It is much different than that type of relationship.  It is a relationship that daily seeks the fellowship of someone who you desire to share your life desires with as well as seek direction as you travel down this path of life,  This is the type of relationship that nothing can come between,