Psalm 57 — 58
faithful. The word calamities means "a destructive storm that could engulf me."
PSALM 58
Saul and his men were like panting animals pursuing their prey (vv. 3–4; see 7:2; 10:9; 17:12; 57:4; Dan. 6; 1 Peter 5:8), but God would protect David with His love and faithfulness. If David lay down in the cave to sleep, perhaps Saul's men would find him. But David's God is "God Most High" (7:17; 57:2; 78:56) and "possessor of heaven and earth" (Gen. 14:19), and He would fulfill His great purposes for David (138:8). David included a song of praise in his evening prayer (v. 5) and lay down and went to sleep. David didn't pray only at bedtime, as too many people do, but all day long; however, he closed the day with a special time of worship and commitment.
During David's exile years, Saul led the nation down a path of political and spiritual ruin as he disobeyed God's law and opposed God's anointed king. Saul was surrounded by a group of fawning flatterers who fed his ego and catered to his foolish whims (1 Sam. 22:6ff.), and he put into places of authority people who used their offices for personal gain and not for the national good. They wanted to get as much as they could before the kingdom collapsed. David himself had been treated illegally, and it's likely that many of his men lost all they had because they followed David (1 Sam. 22:1–2). This psalm was probably written late in David's exile, or very early in his reign in Hebron, and may have grown out of his pondering the mess he had inherited from his father-in-law. (See 82 for a parallel psalm by Asaph.) The prophets often preached against the lawlessness of the leaders in Israel (Isa. 1:23–28; 5:22–25; 10:1–4; Amos 5:7–13; Mic. 3:1–4, 9–12; 7:1–6). Certainly nations, corporations, and even churches today need to take this kind of leadership crisis seriously. This is an imprecatory psalm (see 6).
Each Day Is a Day of Praise (vv. 6–11) In verses 1–5, the order is prayer (v. 1), witness (vv. 2–3), and a description of the enemy (v. 4), followed by the refrain, but in this section the order is the enemy (v. 6), witness to the Lord (vv. 7–8), and praise (vv. 9–11), with praise as the emphasis. David now compared his enemies to hunters who dug pits and set traps for their prey, an image frequently used in biblical poetry (7:15; 9:15ff.; 35:7). However, David trusts God and has good reason to sing and praise the Lord. A steadfast heart is one that is fixed on the Lord's promises and not wavering between doubt and faith (51:10; 108:1; 112:7; 119:5). This same word is used to describe the constancy of the heavenly bodies (8:3; 74:16). Note that verses 7–11 are found also in 108:1–5. David praised the Lord all day long, but he opened the day with special praise and even anticipated the sunrise. Instead of the dawn awakening him, his voice awakened the dawn. (See 30:5; Lam. 3:22–23.)
Accusation—Lawlessness Practiced (vv. 1–5) David addressed the lawless leaders and asked them if their words were just, their decisions legal, their sentences fair, and their silences honest. Were they upholding the law and defending the righteous or twisting the law and benefiting the wicked? He knew the answer, and so do we. When they should have spoken, they were silent, and when they spoke, they ignored God's law. The problem? They had evil hearts, for they were born in sin just like the rest of us (51:5; Gen. 8:21). However, they made no effort to seek God's help in controlling that sinful nature but gave in to its evil impulses. It's because humans are sinners that God established government and law, for without law, society would be in chaos. It's from the heart that evil words come out of our mouth and evil deeds are done by our hands.
David wanted his victory in the Lord to be a witness to the other nations, for as king, he knew that Israel was to be a light to the Gentiles. His psalms bear witness today of the great things God did for him. In verse 3, God sent His mercy and truth down from heaven, but in verse 10, mercy and truth reach up to the clouds! There is plenty for everybody!
These unjust judges were liars. Their words were like venom that poisoned society instead of like medicine that brought health (Prov. 12:18; 15:4). David compared them to snakes (vv. 4–5) and lions (v. 6), both of which are images of the devil (Gen. 3; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Peter 5:8). Like the cobra, they obeyed the charmer only when they got something out of it, but they had a mind of their own. Snakes have no visible ears or internal eardrums, but they do have small bones in the head that conduct sound vibrations. The cobra responds more to the movements of the charmer than to the tune he plays.
Each Day Is a Day of Exalting the Lord (vv. 5, 11) This refrain calls upon the Lord to manifest His greatness in such a way that people had to say, "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes" (118:23 kjv). In his other psalm from Gath, David called on people to exalt the Lord (34:3; and see 18:46; 21:13; 30:1; 35:27; 40:16; 99:5, 9; 107:32; 145:1; 108:5; Matt. 5:16). If we are praying, trusting, and praising the Lord, we should have no problem exalting His name in all that we say, do, and suffer. We're commanded to do everything to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), and if "everything" includes hiding in caves, then may the Lord be magnified! The elements of prayer, praise, and a desire for God to be magnified will transform any cave into a Holy of Holies to the glory of God.
Condemnation—Lawlessness Punished (vv. 6–8) Seeing innocent people suffer because of unjust judges made David angry, and rightly so. There is a righteous anger that ought to show itself whenever innocent people are condemned or helpless people are abused.