Psalm 57 – Shadow of Your Wings
As we here in Michigan face frigid temperatures, the thought of being kept warm under God’s wings appeals to me. What can we learn about God’s wings from Psalm 57 – shadow of your wings?
Psalm 57 – Superscription
Psalm 57 – shadow of your wings, opens with the following superscription: “For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave.” It’s interesting to note that there are four “Do Not Destroy” psalms, 57, 58, 59, and 75. “Do not Destroy” indicates that each psalm is sung to the same tune.
But there are other commonalities. Perhaps it refers to David’s determination to not destroy Saul, as there were times that Saul was put into David’s hands and David refused to kill God’s anointed king. Or to David’s plea that God would not allow him to be destroyed. Charles Spurgeon noted, “In all of them there is a distinct declaration of the destruction of the wicked and the preservation of the righteous.” (Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 57)
Again, we are following the events of 1 Samuel, in this case it is most likely the cave referenced was at Adullum, 1 Samuel 22:1. Still on the run, David was no stranger to caves and the dangers posed by such refuge as he seeks to escape Saul.
Psalm 57
Psalm 57 – Shadow of your wings, begins with David’s plea to God for mercy:
“Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” (1)
David’s need is so great that he repeats his cry for mercy. He calls out to God to save him:
“I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me.
He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me—God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.” (2-3)
In verse 4, David speaks of the danger he is in from his enemies. They are like lions waiting to devour him, perhaps a reference to lions that might lurk in caves.
“I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—
men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” (4)
“They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.” (6)
His enemies set a trap, then fell into it themselves. You might say they were “hoisted by their own petard.”
The psalm ends with words of praise:
“I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” (9-10)
The refrain “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth,” (5, 11) is repeated twice in the psalm.
Praising God in every Circumstance
Steven J. Cole writes about Elizabeth Elliot who lost her first husband when he and four other men were martyred as they tried to spread the gospel to a hostile tribe and her second husband to cancer.
“In an address to the Urbana Missions Conference (December, 1976) she told of being in Wales and watching a shepherd and his dog. The dog would herd the sheep up a ramp and into a tank of antiseptic in which they had to be bathed to protect them from parasites. As soon as they would come up out of the tank, the shepherd would grab the rams by the horns and fling them back into the tank and hold them under the antiseptic for a few more seconds. Mrs. Elliot asked the shepherd’s wife if the sheep understood what was happening. “They haven’t got a clue,” she said.
Mrs. Elliot said, “I’ve had some experiences in my life that have made me feel very sympathetic to those poor rams‑‑I couldn’t figure out any reason for the treatment I was getting from the Shepherd I trusted. And He didn’t give a hint of explanation.” (Psalm 57: Singing In The Cave | Bible.org)
Praying in the Dark
I’m sure David could relate. There he was, once again stuck in a dark cave. As Cole goes on to state.
“Even with lights, I wouldn’t want to live in a cave, especially if there was a hostile army outside seeking to kill me! If I were holed up in a cave, hiding from a madman and his army, and if God had promised me something that didn’t seem to be coming true, about the last thing I would be doing would be writing praise songs. Yet, here is David, singing in the cave! And he’s not singing the blues! … David must have wondered, “God, why are You allowing this to happen to me? You anointed me as king; I didn’t choose the job. Why don’t You remove Saul and put me in office?” (Psalm 57: Singing In The Cave | Bible.org)
But David understood something few of us get. “David understood that to ask the question “Why?” in the midst of suffering is to ask the wrong question. The proper question to ask is, “God, what do You want from my life in the midst of this trial and as a result of this trial?” (Psalm 57: Singing In The Cave | Bible.org)
Psalm 57 – Shadow of Your Wings
David was at peace for he was in the shadow of God’s wings. David used the image of a mother bird to show his trust in God. Just as a mother bird shelters her chicks under her wings, God sheltered David.
This metaphor appears in Psalms 17:8 “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings;” Psalm 36:7 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings;” and Psalm 63:7 “Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”
Jesus also used this image: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Mt. 23:37)
This is in contrast to Psalm 55:6 where the psalmist longs to have wings of a dove so that he can fly away. “There the desire was for the inefficient wings of a dove for flight. Here the sense is of the sufficient wings of God for refuge until calamities are past.” (Morgan Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 57)
God wants to gather us under his wings, if only we let him.
Asking the Right Questions
So, what do we learn from Psalm 57 – Under Your Wings? That when times of trouble arise, as they always do, we need not ask why, but what and how. What does God want of me? How might I praise God even in this mess?
When troubled, do you ask the right questions? Have you ever rested under the shadow of God’s wings?
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 57: Under God’s Wings – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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