Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 57

Psalm 57: refuge under wings among lions, and a fixed heart that wakes the dawn

General context

The speaker asks God twice to be merciful, for his soul trusts in him and he will make his refuge in the shadow of God's wings until the calamities are past. He will cry to God most high, who performs all things for him; God will send from heaven and save him from the reproach of the one who would swallow him up, Selah, and will send forth his mercy and truth. His soul is among lions, and he lies among men set on fire, sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows and whose tongue is a sharp sword. He asks God to be exalted above the heavens and his glory above all the earth. They have prepared a net for his steps and his soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before him and fallen into it themselves, Selah. His heart is fixed, he says twice, and he will sing and give praise; he calls his glory, psaltery and harp to awake, and says he himself will awake early. He will praise the Lord among the people and sing to him among the nations, for God's mercy is great to the heavens and his truth to the clouds. The psalm closes by repeating the call for God to be exalted above the heavens and his glory above all the earth.

Cited passages: Psalms 57:1, Psalms 57:2, Psalms 57:3, Psalms 57:4, Psalms 57:5, Psalms 57:6, Psalms 57:7, Psalms 57:8, Psalms 57:9, Psalms 57:10, Psalms 57:11

Psalms 57 (KJV)

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

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

³He 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.

⁴My 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Historical context

The text as printed here carries no heading; verse 1 opens with "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me", so this source names no author, occasion or musical direction. The speaker is a single "I" addressing God, with verses 2 and 3 speaking of God in the third person. "These calamities" are not described, and the enemies are given only as images, "lions", men "set on fire", and "the sons of men" with weapons for teeth and tongue; no person or place is named. The net and pit of verse 6 are the enemies' traps, and the text states their fall into their own pit as already happened. Selah stands twice, inside verse 3 and at the end of verse 6. Verses 7 to 11 reappear with small changes as the opening of Psalm 108, which begins "O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory" and continues "Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early"; there they are joined to lines shared with Psalm 60. The text does not say why the same verses appear in two psalms.

Cited passages: Psalms 57:1, Psalms 57:2, Psalms 57:4, Psalms 57:6, Psalms 108:1, Psalms 108:2

Literary context

Doubling is the psalm's method. It opens with "Be merciful unto me" twice, turns on "My heart is fixed" twice, and closes with a refrain, "Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens", that stands at verse 5 and again at verse 11, dividing the poem into a plea and a song. The plea is built on height and depth: refuge under wings, help sent "from heaven", the speaker lying low "among lions" and his soul "bowed down", while the enemies fall into their own pit. Bodies are made of weapons, teeth as spears and arrows, tongue as a sword. The song after verse 7 replaces those images with instruments, psaltery and harp, and with waking: the speaker will wake his glory and "awake early". The measure of mercy and truth, "unto the heavens" and "unto the clouds", matches the refrain's request that God be exalted above the heavens. The word "swallow" links this psalm to the previous one, where "man would swallow me up".

Cited passages: Psalms 57:1, Psalms 57:7, Psalms 57:5, Psalms 57:3, Psalms 57:6, Psalms 57:8, Psalms 57:10, Psalms 56:1

Key moments

In the shadow of thy wings (Psalms 57:1). The speaker asks twice for mercy and makes his refuge under God's wings until the calamities pass.
Among lions (Psalms 57:4). He lies among men whose teeth are spears and arrows and whose tongue is a sword.
Be thou exalted (Psalms 57:5). He asks God to be exalted above the heavens and his glory above all the earth.
Fallen into their own pit (Psalms 57:6). His enemies dig a pit before him and fall into it themselves, and Selah follows.
My heart is fixed (Psalms 57:7). He says twice that his heart is fixed and that he will sing and give praise.
Awake, psaltery and harp (Psalms 57:8). He calls his glory and instruments to wake and says he will wake early.
The refrain returns (Psalms 57:11). He repeats the call for God to be exalted above the heavens.

For reflection

The speaker says his soul is among lions and, three verses later, that his heart is fixed and he will wake the dawn with song; what in the poem accounts for the change, given that the lions are not said to have gone?