Psalms 57:1-11

Psalms 42:72

Gordon Churchyard

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Words marked with a *star are described in the word list at the end.

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Danger!

Psalms 57

Everyone in the *synagogue was very angry when they heard Jesus say these things. They got up and took him out of the city. They took him to the top of the hill that they had built their city on. They were going to throw him down. But Jesus just walked away from them and went on his way. (Luke 4:28-30)

Psalms 57

(This is) for the music leader.
(He must use the music called) "Do not destroy".
(This is) a *miktam of David, when he ran away from Saul into the *cave.

v1 Be *gracious to me, O God, be *gracious to me.
I have looked for a place to hide in that is near to you.
I will hide under the shadow of your *wings until the danger is past.

v2 I will pray to God, the *Most High God,
to the God who will finish his plan for me.

v3 He will send (a word) from *heaven and he will save me.
He will stop the people that are trying to catch me. *SELAH
God will send me his kind love and his *truth.

v4 There are *lions all round me!
I must lie down near man-eating animals!
They are men and their teeth are *like *spears and *arrows.
Their *tongues are *like sharp *swords.

v5 God, lift yourself up above the skies.
Lift your *glory above all the earth.

v6 (My enemies) put a *net for my feet.
I was very sad because of my trouble.
They dug a hole in front of me, but they fell into it! *SELAH

v7 God, I have decided to be yours always!
I will sing your *praises as well as I can!

v8 Wake up, *harp and *lyre.
I will wake up the dawn!

v9 *LORD, I will thank you in front of all the people.
I will sing your *praises everywhere.

v10 Your kind love is great. It is *higher than the clouds.
Your *truth reaches to the skies.

v11 God, lift yourself up above the skies.
Lift your *glory above all the earth.

The Story of Psalms 57

Saul was king of Israel. David was one of his servants. David’s job was to make music when Saul was sad. This happened often. People liked David very much. Saul did not like this. He tried to kill David. David ran away. He hid in a *cave. Saul did not find him. Bible students think that David wrote Psalms 57 at this time. They also think that he wrote it so that people could sing it to music that they called "Do not destroy". Psalms 57 is a *miktam. This means that it had a hidden meaning, or had special teaching in it. There are two stories in the Bible about David hiding in a *cave. One is in 1 Samuel 22, the other in 1 Samuel 24. We do not know which one this psalm is about.

What Psalms 57 means

The psalm is in two parts: verses 1 - 5 and verses 6 - 11. Both end with the words "God, lift yourself above the skies. Lift your *glory above all the earth" (verses 5 and 11). God is already above the skies, in his home in *heaven. These two verses mean "God, show everyone that you are *Lord of everything".

Verses 1 – 5: Here David is asking God for help. He asks God to be *gracious, or to "have *mercy". (Look at Psalms 56.) He wants God to be kind to him and save him from Saul. In verse 1 he says that he will hide under the shadow of God’s *wings. This is *like a mother bird hiding her babies under her *wings. She hides them from danger. This is a picture of God hiding David from danger. In verse 2 "his plan for me" means "all the things that God wants to happen to me". In verse 3 *heaven is where God lives. His word is what he wants to happen. His *truth is everything that he says. In verse 4 David sees Saul and all his other enemies as wild animals: they want to eat him *like a *lion eats smaller animals. "Their *tongues are *like *swords" probably means the *unkind things that they say. They hurt David.

Verses 6 – 11: Here David is thanking God because God saved him. Saul did not find David in the *cave! In verse 8 David tells his *harp and his *lyre to wake up. This means that he has not made music on them. They have been quiet, or "asleep"! Now he wants them to make music to *praise God. He will start so early in the morning that he will "wake up the dawn".

Something to do

Read Psalms 36. Is there anything in it that makes you think of Psalms 57?

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words)

July 2001

synagogue ~ a Jewish meeting (like a church).
like ~ another word for ‘as’.
miktam ~ maybe it means one of: something made from gold, something hidden, something with special meaning.
cave ~ a big hole in the ground or in the side of a hill.
gracious ~ kind, not punishing when you should.
punish ~ hurt someone when they do something wrong (hit them with a stick or put them in prison).
wings ~ what a bird uses to fly with.'Most High ~ a name for God which means that he is very important.
heaven ~ the home of God.
truth ~ words that are true.
lion ~ a wild animals, like a very big cat.
like ~ another word for ‘as’.
like ~ another word for ‘as’.
spear ~ a long stick with a very sharp end.
arrow ~ stick with a sharp point at the end, shot by a bow.
tongue ~ the bit in the mouth that speaks or tastes.
sword ~ a long sharp knife that soldiers used.
glory ~ (of God) a very bright light that shines from inside him.
glory ~ (of men) what makes somebody important (of God) a very bright light that shines from inside him.
net ~ something that you use to catch an animal or a bird or a fish.
praises ~ saying good things about someone, and how great they are.
harp ~ an instrument (thing) that makes music.
lyre ~ a *musical instrument, like a harp or guitar.
like ~ another word for ‘as’.
harp ~ an instrument (thing) that makes music.
LORD ~ a special name for God; only his people use it (look after Psalm 25 in Psalms 1-41).
lord ~ someone with authority (with a capital L a name for God, look after Psalm 25 in Psalms 1-41).
higher ~ more than high.
LORD ~ a special name for God; only his people use it (look after Psalm 25 in Psalms 1-41).
lord ~ someone with authority (with a capital L a name for God, look after Psalm 25 in Psalms 1-41).
mercy ~ when you do not punish (hurt) people that you should.
punish ~ hurt someone when they do something wrong (hit them with a stick or put them in prison).
unkind ~ not kind.
praise ~ (noun, or being something) words that say that someone or something is very good.
praise ~ (verb, or doing something) say that someone or something is very good.'