I. (57:1–5) Confident Request for Mercy. The psalm describes dire circumstances and at the same time enables the faithful person to “cry out to God” in confidence that he hears and “fulfills his purpose” for his children.

The psalm uses several pictures for the threat lying in the center of its concern: the enemies are like storms, and thus God is like a mother bird under whose wings the faithful can find shelter (v. 1); they are like brutal oppressors who would “trample” on the faithful (cf. 56:1–2), but whom God will “put to shame” (57:3); and they are like voracious predators (v. 4).

“Be merciful” is a humble request for God to show kindness and grant relief, recognizing that the singer cannot compel God to do so (cf. 30:10; 51:1; 123:3); the word can also be rendered “be gracious,” which conveys the same idea (4:1; 6:2; 56:1).

The translation “fulfills his purpose for me” (57:2) renders into English a Hebrew expression to the effect of “brings to completion concerning me”; that is, what God has in mind for me he brings to its proper completion. (The Hebrew in 138:8 is similar.) The link of the two parts of the verse is that the God who is “Most High” cannot be thwarted; he gets the last word for his faithful—the enemies do not. This thus provides a secure foundation for the confidence in Psalm 57:3. The song will look again at the enemies (v. 4) before finishing the stanza with the widest perspective: “Be exalted, O God!”

For the word “save” in verse 3 cf. comment on 3:1–2. The song anticipates that God will “put to shame” the oppressors, using a word that might also be rendered “taunt” (42:10; 44:16; 55:12). The idea is that God will triumph over these foes and make sure everyone knows it (79:12). “His steadfast love and his faithfulness” (cf. 57:10) point us back to Exodus 34:6, the fundamental assurance of the OT.

Psalm 57:5 prays that God would “be exalted” or “be high.” Since God is already high or exalted (cf. 113:4; 138:6), this is a prayer that people would acknowledge his greatness. Hence for his “glory” to “be over all the earth” is for people to honor God for his splendor and high position. Another dimension of this arises from the allusion to Exodus 34:6, in which God proclaimed his name in answer to Moses’ request for God to show him his glory (Ex. 33:18–19). More than that, “glory” in the OT is often God’s special presence with his covenant people, especially as they worship (Ex. 40:34).462 Further, the second stanza will mention “the peoples” and “the nations” (v. 9). The OT looks forward to the time in which the whole earth will be filled with his glory, that is, the whole earth will be a sanctuary (Num. 14:21; Ps. 72:19; Isa. 6:3 ESV mg.). In such a setting God’s exaltation over all the earth will complete his ultimate purposes for the world—and thus the momentary troubles of a fearful individual are given a place in God’s big scheme for the creation. He protects his faithful in order to give them a role in contributing to the progress of this great story, in order to bless the Gentiles (Gen. 12:1–3; Ex. 19:5–6).

II. (57:6–11) Confident Expectation of Victory. This section mentions the danger (“net” and “pit,” portraying the enemies as sneaky hunters; Ps. 57:6), only to exult in its reversal (“they have fallen into it themselves”; v. 6). The singer moves on to urge himself to praise and to look forward to bringing testimony of God’s goodness beyond the present people of Israel to the whole world (“peoples” and “nations”; v. 9).

The clause in verse 7, “My heart is steadfast [or “firm,” “established”]” is not set out as a precondition for God’s deliverance. Rather, to sing these words enables the faithful to renew their firm commitment to their God, to pledge themselves afresh. Thus they move on to “sing and make melody,” to honor God as he deserves, with the whole self engaged (“Awake, my glory!”),463 with the proper musical accompaniment (“Awake, O harp and lyre!”), and with the proper level of gusto (“I will awake the dawn!”). The God to whom they sing is too great for the worship of Israel alone to suffice; each person imagines instructing the Gentiles with song (v. 9), including their voices in the general praise.

Verse 11, like verse 3, alludes to Exodus 34:6. Here these attributes reach to the heavens and the clouds—they are not simply high above the earth but are universal, applicable to all peoples and nations (Psalm 57:9). Thus the closing prayer of verse 11, which repeats verse 5, takes on a new cast: it prays not only that God would vindicate his greatness in delivering the singer from his persecutions but also that the whole world would honor and worship the true God.