32 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 57 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Some think the words "Altaschith" are the beginning of a song, to the tune of which this was set, as Aben Ezra; others, that they are taken from Deuteronomy 9:26; they signifying "destroy not" (g); others, that they refer to what...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Be merciful unto me, O God,.... Or "be gracious to me" (k); which words are repeated by him. "Be merciful", or "gracious, unto me"; to show the greatness of his distress, the eagerness, vehemency, and importunity he used in prayer; his case requiring a speedy answer, and immediate relief; and that he expected only from the mercy and grace of God;...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
This psalm is very much like that which goes next before it; it was penned upon a like occasion, when David was both in danger of trouble and in temptation to sin; it begins as that did, "Be merciful to me;" the method also is the same. I. He begins with prayer and complaint, yet not without some assurance of speeding in his request, ver. 1-6. II....
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
1. Be 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. The heading of this Psalm — “To the chief musician, Aitaschith Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave,” — tells us when it was written. It is one of David’s “...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Be merciful unto me, O God — He begins with the same note as in the last Psalm; it is a note that cannot be too often on the believer’s tongue: “Be merciful unto me, O God,” — Psa_57:1. Be merciful unto me: As an old writer says, “The tongue of the bell strikes on both sides, and the note is the same in each case, ‘Be merciful unto me, be merciful...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
For my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpass. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. “That perfecteth all things for me,” so it may be read; “that perfecteth all his mercies, all his promises, — and that will perfect all that concerneth...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: He pleads twice; for his was an urgent case. He would have the Lord help him at once; for, perhaps, if the Lord’s mercy came not to him at once, it would be too late; so he cried, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me.” Psa_57:1. For my soul trusteth in thee: This is the feather on the...
Spurgeon - Treasury of David - Charles H. Spurgeon
Ver. 1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me. Urgent need suggests the repetition of the cry, for thus intense urgency of desire is expressed. If `he gives twice who gives quickly, 'so he who would receive quickly must ask twice. For mercy the psalmist pleads at first, and he feels he cannot improve upon his plea, and therefore returns...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I will cry unto God most high,.... To remember him in his low estate, and who is higher than the highest, than Saul and his mighty men with him. This epithet David no doubt made use of, to encourage his faith in the Lord, who is above all, and can do all things; as follows; unto God that performeth [all things] for me; in a providential way,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. Faith is never dumb; true faith is a crying faith. If thou hast a confidence in God of such a kind that thou dost not need to pray, get rid of it; for it is of no use to thee; it is a false confidence, it is presumption. Only a crying faith will be a prevailing faith. “I...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
He shall send from heaven, and save me,.... His angel, as the Targum adds; or his angels, as Kimchi; who are ministering spirits, sent forth by him, to encamp about his people, and guard them, as they did Jacob when in fear of Esau, Genesis 32:1; or to deliver them out of trouble, as Peter when in prison, Acts 12:7; or rather the sense may be,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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. 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. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. If he cannot find any means upon earth for saving David, he will send from heaven to do it; but he will save him. God is sure to find an ark for his Noahs if the floods should cover the whole earth; and when they cannot be preserved any longer on the earth,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
My soul [is] among lions,.... Not literally understood; though such there might be in the wildernesses where he sometimes was; but figuratively, men comparable to lions, for their stoutness, courage, strength, fierceness, and cruelty; meaning not his own men, as some think, who were fierce, and of keen resentment against Saul, and would fain have...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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. Yet, notice that David says, “I lie” there, that is the emphatic word; and the force of that word conveys this idea, “I recline there; I feel at ease, notwithstanding the danger of my...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens,.... That is, show thyself to be God, that sittest in the heavens, and art higher than they, by saving me, and disappointing mine enemies; that I, and those that are with me, may magnify the Lord and exalt his name together. The Targum is, "be thou exalted above the angels of heaven, O God;'' [let] thy...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. David so rises above his present circumstances that he begins to praise his God. O beloved, there is no condition in which God ought to be robbed of a song! What if I am sick? Yet my Lord must have my music, even if the harp-strings are not well tuned. What if I am...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
They have prepared a net for my steps,.... They laid snares for him, as the fowler does for the bird, in order to take him. It denotes the insidious ways used by Saul and his men to get David into their hands; so the Pharisees consulted together how they might entangle Christ in his talk, Matthew 22:15; my soul is bowed down; dejected by reason of...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
They 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. My heart is fixed, God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
They 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. They hunted him as they spread a snare for a bird, or as they sought to entrap a wild beast by digging a pit, and covering it over that he might stumble into it. David scarcely has time to tell us of...