God’s glory should be nearer our hearts than any interests of our own.
Whatever God performs concerning His people, it will finally appear to have been performed for their benefit.
By faith and prayer, let us therefore take refuge in Him in every time of pressure.
Psalm 1
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.
2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
3 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.
4 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.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
6 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.
7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 57 – “In the Shadow of Thy Wings”
This is one of the choicest psalms. It dates from Adullam or Engedi. It consists of two sections, each of which ends with the same refrain, Psalm 57:5,11.
First strophe, Psalm 57:1-5
The fugitive among rocky fastnesses hears the roar of the wild beast, but lies quietly in his hiding-place. God’s angels will shut lions’ mouths. As the wings of a mother-bird intercept the danger that menaces her nestlings, so the loving care of God protects His people. Is there not here a trace of words uttered earlier by David’s ancestor? Ruth 2:12; Deuteronomy 32:11.
Second strophe, Psalm 57:6-11
Before we can awake and sing, we must be conscious that we are touching bedrock. If we are without assurance of salvation, we shall be songless and joyless. In this short psalm the singer has sung himself clear into the blue heaven. He awakes the dawn with His notes. God’s mercy and truth—or faithfulness—like guardian angels in the meanwhile keep watch. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 57:2—God performeth all things for me.
It seemed to David that he was condemned to spend his days in a lion’s den; on every side were blasphemy and reproach; his enemies breathed out flames, and their slanders cut like swords. But amid it all he steadily looked away to God, the Most High, who from his elevation would reach down to deliver, and would surely accomplish all that was necessary. It is a marvelous thing to consider that God is literally willing to perform all things in us, and for us, if only we will let Him. The mischief is that most of us insist on performing all things in the energy of our own resolve, in the strength of our own power. We shut God out of our life: and He is coming to our help, we have forced ourselves, and offered the sacrifice to our own hurt.
Before, therefore, God will perform all things for us, as He did for his servant, we must learn, like him, to wait in his presence that He may teach us our absolute poverty and helplessness; that He may assure us of our need of absolute and unceasing dependence; that He may open our eyes to see the well-spring which Hagar saw on the desert sand. The fixed heart (Psalm 57:7), fixed only upon God, set upon waiting his time, receiving his help, and doing all things according to the inspiration and energy of his Spirit, is absolutely essential.
Awake the dawn, O child of God (Psalm 57:8). Give thanks to God: sing his praises (Psalm 57:9): let thy aspiration be for his exaltation (Psalm 57:5, 11): let thy heart be fixed in its resolve to take deliverance from none other—and He will send forth his twin-angels, Mercy and Truth (Psalm 57:3). They will come, even into the lion’s den, and save thee from those who would swallow thee up (Psalm 57:4). —Our Daily Homily