Psalm 57
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, 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 set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
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| David realizes Saul means business |
Determining the origin of this particular psalm is no ample task. The story behind the song comes from Saul’s continuous attempts on David’s life. David is no doubt fearful for his own safety as Saul seeks him out. The exact moment of strife noted in this poem happens when Saul wanders into the cave where David is hiding; however, Saul does not realize David is there. David is presented with the perfect opportunity to kill the man who is hell bent on killing him. Instead, David seizes this moment to show mercy to the King in the same way the Lord has continuously shown mercy and offered protection to David.
1 Samuel 24: “When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats' Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which theLord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5 And afterwardDavid's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 6 He said to his men, “TheLord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the Lordjudge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15 May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
Throughout 1 Samuel, readers see David constantly fleeing in order to keep his life. Saul seeks him out relentlessly because he feels that David is a threat to his throne. With Joshua, Saul’s son, helping him, Davide is able to narrowly escape death on several different occasions.
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| David gives Yahweh the puppy dog eyes |
Psalm 57 shows the wide ranges of emotions and thoughts David is experiencing at this point in his life. This lament poem begins with David pleading with God to be merciful towards him; seemingly, this would be something that many people would do if their lives were immediately threatened. In verses 1-3 David expresses his feeling that the merciful hand of Yahweh is the only thing that will deliver him from Saul. This particular passage is separated by the anacrusis, “selah.” while there are many interpretations of what purpose this anacrusis holds, many scholars believe it was a sign that the audience, reader, or whoever is experiencing the psalm, should stop to reflect. David proceeds to explain his problem to the Lord in verses 4-6. He is in need of serious help, and he knows that Yahweh alone can provide that help. However, at the end of verse 6, there is a sudden swing in mood in progression: “They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves” (emphasis is my own). This verse shows that David’s supplication to Yahweh has paid off, and it ends with the same anacrusis, “selah.” The remainder of the poem goes on to describe David’s praise to the Lord for delivering from the evil he seemed so destined to encounter.
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| David wins |
This psalm is alive with literary elements to help it achieve the desired effect of the poet. The psalm itself follows the basic order of a lament poem: invocation and supplication (verses 1-3), lamentation (verses 4-6), confession of faith (verse 7), and praise (verses 8-11). Interestingly enough, the shift in mood comes in verse 6, near the exact middle of the poem.
Verses 1-3: The poem begins with exact parallelism to help show the drastic implications concerning the event being described. Parallelism is used to describe God’s mercy in line 1, and in lines 2-3 it is used again to detail the refuge the Lord has to offer. Imagery comes into the picture (hilarious, right? so punny) to help illustrate the safety to be found in Yahweh’s “wings”: “in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”
Verses 4-6: The imagery found in verse 1 pales in comparison to that found in this segment. The poet allots animalistic characteristics to those who are pursuing David, describing them as “lions” and “fiery beasts” who have “spears and arrows” for teeth and “sharp swords” for tongues. This is followed up with more synonymous parallelism that places Yahweh in a position of power: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!”. The climax of the poem to this point is marked by the reversal of roles that have seemingly been assigned so far. David becomes the animal who is in danger of falling into the net or pit that have been presented to him by his pursuers. However, David’s enemies are the ones who fall victim to their trap, thus furthering the animalistic qualities already ascribed to them.
Verse 7: David faith has been strengthened due to the deliverance he experienced at the hand of Yahweh. Parallelism is used in an immensely important way. Verse 7, “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!”, very closely echoes verse 1, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me”. The similarity of these two verses highlight the fact David’s supplication was answered. This verse brings the psalm full circle.
Verses 8-11: Since the psalm has come full circle, there are not many new directions for the poet to take while remaining on the same idea. So, in a sense, it starts over. However, instead of an outpouring of fearful emotion, pure happiness and thankfulness is decanted before the Lord. Parallelism (yes, again) and anaphora are used excellently
to accentuate the joy of David. Verse 8 contains imagery in two parallel lines: “Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre!”. After commanding his own soul to rouse, David expresses his intention to awake more things on the Lord’s behalf by saying, “I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to you among the nations.” The last two verses once again use parallelism to drive home their respective points. The idea of wakefulness found in verse 8 should have its own explication, in my opinion. David describes a process, or a cycle, that his spirit goes through in regards to this psalm and the story behind it. First, his soul is awakened: "Awake, my glory [soul]!" Then, he rouses his praise: "Awake, O harp and lyre!" Lastly, He starts a new season of his life, no longer as fearful of Saul as before: "I will awake the dawn!" This unique passage seems almost meta-theatrical in nature; it is a nested story that colors David's response to the original story from start to finish.
It is surprising to me the amount of repetition of both ideas and words appear in this psalm. The use of parallelism, along with many other literary devices, translate quite well. It’s almost ironic to think that Hebrew poetry may be the most versatile of all poetic styles (or should I say adaptive), and it just so happens to be the style used in the most scrutinized, analyzed, and marginalized book in the history of mankind. The Hebrew poetry found in Psalms carries beauty, elegance, and understanding with it wherever it goes.
Like everything else in the Bible, this specific Psalm has survived (and even thrived) in today's world, and in this case, you don't have to look for an obscure reference to it in a song you've never heard, movie you've never watched, or book you've never read. No, I'm not talking about Pirates of the Caribbean (even though the evidence is totally there), but these words penned (presumably) by David are the driving force behind Mumford & Sons' greatest hits, "Awake My Soul." The Americana/Folk Rock staple band often quotes the Bible, along with other staples of classic literature, so it isn't surprising to find this illusion. The song's chorus continually echoes David's cry for the awakening of his soul found in verse 8 (the English Standard Version uses "glory").
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