Psalms 57:1

Context

Psalm 57¹

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style;² a prayer³ of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave.⁴

57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!

For in you I have taken shelter.⁵

In the shadow of your wings⁶ I take shelter

until trouble passes.

Psalms 63:1

Context

Psalm 63⁷

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness.⁸

63:1 O God, you are my God! I long for you!⁹

My soul thirsts¹⁰ for you,

my flesh yearns for you,

in a dry and parched¹¹ land where there is no water.

[57:1] ¹sn Psalm 57. The psalmist asks for God’s protection and expresses his confidence that his ferocious enemies will be destroyed by their own schemes.

[57:1] ²tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 58-59, 75.

[57:1] ³tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56, 58-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[57:1] ⁴sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when he fled from Saul and hid in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3.

[57:1] ⁵tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[57:1] ⁶sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).

[63:1] ⁷sn Psalm 63. The psalmist expresses his intense desire to be in God’s presence and confidently affirms that God will judge his enemies.

[63:1] ⁸sn According to the psalm superscription David wrote the psalm while in the “wilderness of Judah.” Perhaps this refers to the period described in 1 Sam 23-24 or to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam 15:23.

[63:1] ⁹tn Or “I will seek you.”

[63:1] ¹⁰tn Or “I thirst.”

[63:1] ¹¹tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” This may picture the land as “faint” or “weary,” or it may allude to the effect this dry desert has on those who are forced to live in it.