Wake Up!
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Psalm 57:1-11 English Standard Version
Psalm 57:superscription
1. To the choirmaster:
2. according to Do Not Destroy.
a. “Do Not Destroy” (cf. Deut 9:26) probably stands as the first sentence of a popular tune (cf. Pss 58:1; 59:1; 75:1).[1]
b. The “do not destroy it” expression seems to have been a popular saying or proverb which reflected the idea of a vineyard keeper refusing to destroy grapevines when the first clusters of grapes were bad. The vines still had the blessing of life in them and a potential for future production. [2]
3. A Miktam of David,
a. Like Psalm 56, this poem has been entitled Miktam, a kind of psalm designed to be sung softly, as a murmur (cf. Ps 16:1). [3]
b. Like its four neighbours, it is a miktam, and in connection with the only other miktamin the Psalter (Ps. 16) we have noted this word’s possible meaning of ‘hidden’ or ‘covered’, and therefore of its aptness for David’s time in hiding in the cave of Adullam.[4]
4. when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
a. 1 Samuel 22:1 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.
b. It is again the story in 1 Sam. 21:10 [11]–22:1 that refers to David “fleeing” from Saul and hiding in a “cave” (cf. Ps. 56). But 1 Sam. 24 also refers to David’s being in a “cave,” where he cuts off Saul’s kānāp(the corner of his garment); compare kĕnāpêkā(your wings) in v. 1 here[5]
c. The phrase “in the cave” in the superscription could refer to the episode in 1 Sam 24, when David refused to kill Saul when they were together in a cave. Because the superscription of Ps 56, however, locates that psalm at the end of 1 Sam 21, it seems that the reference to “the cave” in the superscription of Ps 57 more likely refers to the “cave of Adullam” to which David escaped at the beginning of 1 Sam 22 (1 Sam 22:1).[6]
Psalm 57:1
1. Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
a. Instead of running from the arms of the enemy as many prayers of help express, here the one praying is running toward God (in the shadow of your wings), where this one will be and remain safe.[7]
b. The opening plea is identical with that of 56,73 but doubled, reflecting even greater urgency.[8]
c. There are a number of points of contact between Pss 56 and 57. Both open with the plea, “Be gracious to me.” In both David speaks of enemies “trampling” on him.[9]
d. These links tie the two psalms together, as does the fact that both have “Miktam” in the superscription, where both also mention historical events relating to Saul’s persecution of David. Psalm 57 continues the series of psalms following 51 that deal with the difficulties Saul caused for David.[10]
e. Repetition of words is also a feature of the psalm (“be gracious,” v. 1; “take refuge,” v. 1; “my life,” vv. 1, 3, 6; “must send,” v. 3; “commitment and truthfulness,” vv. 3, 10; “heaven/the heavens,” vv. 3, 5, 10, 11; “honor/soul” [kābôd], vv. 5, 8, 11; “set/setting,” vv. 6–7; “my heart is set,” v. 7; “make music,” vv. 7, 9; “awake/wake,” v. 8; and the whole of vv. 5 and 11).[11]
i. We may note alongside this chiasmus another poetic technicality, called epizeuxis: the ‘fastening on’ of an extra mention of a phrase, for emphasis—Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me (v. 1); My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast (v. 7).[12]
ii. Technical terms like these are of course mere labels for an art which ‘Israel’s singer of songs’ would have practised almost instinctively. But they have their uses. Analysing a psalm, even if in this case we do no more than notice that it has, like its predecessor, a repeated refrain (vv. 5 and 11), does help us to catch the drift of it.[13]
f. In addition seven of the sixteen lines involve a word doing double duty (that is, occurring in one colon but applying to both). Four are invocations, all in the middle of the line and applying to both cola (vv. 5, 7a–b, 9, 11). Two are verbs, one at the beginning of a line, one in the middle (vv. 1, 3). One is an adjective, at the beginning of a line (v. 10).[14]
g. Psalm 57 indeed has a number of links with Ps. 56. The heading presupposes a similar setting, and it begins with the same plea. In v. 3 it goes on to use the uncommon verb šāʾap (“hound”; cf. 56:1–2 [2–3]) and in v. 5 to urge God to be “on high,” where attackers currently locate themselves (56:2 [3]).[15]
2. for in you my soul takes refuge;
3. in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
a. The image of hiding under the protective spread of the divine wings is used several times in the Psalter (cf. Pss. 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 63:7) and may well draw on the image of a protective hen gathering her brood under her wings (cf. Isa. 34:15; Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34). Some commentators understand this phrase as referring to taking asylum in the Jerusalem temple before the ark of the covenant and under the wings of its overshadowing cherubim.[16]
b. Moreover, the statues of the cherubim were placed in the utmost darkness of the inner room, where no shadow could be visible (1 Kgs 8:12).[17]
c. The metaphor “shadow of your wings” appears several times in the Psalter (17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 63:7). The image is that of a bird gathering its chicks under its wings (Isa. 34:15; Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34). Also, there are many instances of ancient deities with expansive wings, indicating the extensive use of this imagery. The same word for “disaster” (hawwot) appears in Psalm 91:3 (“deadly pestilence”). Note Psalm 91:4, which says, as here in 57:1c, “and under his wings you will find refuge.”[18]
4. till the storms of destruction pass by.
Psalm 57:2
1. I cry out to God Most High,
2. to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
Psalm 57:3
1. He will send from heaven and save me;
a. The hope that God will send help from heaven reminds the reader of the dramatic rescue in Psalm 18:3–15.[19]
2. he will put to shame him who tramples on me.
a. We should probably translate those who trample upon me as ‘those who hotly pursue me’: cf. on 56:1.[20]
3. Selah
a. The Selah may seem misplaced at first, but it serves to both put a definitive end on the preceding declaration as it also sets the last line in the verse apart as the climax of this section: God will send his hesed and his faithfulness—an expression that will be repeated in slightly different form in v. 10. God’s hesed and faithfulness are often paired in the psalter (25:10; 40:10; 61:7; 85:10; 89:14; 115:1; 138:2) and usually serve a restorative or protective function. The pair, then, fits well within the context of one seeking refuge, where one is in need of both restoration and protection.[21]
4. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
Psalm 57:4
1. My soul is in the midst of lions;
2. I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man,
a. Fiery - to eat up v. — to eat or devour completely, as with great appetite.
b. The verb “lie down” thus compares with that in 3:5 [6]; 4:8 [9]; it suggests lying down to sleep in a relaxed way, notwithstanding the dangers that surround (cf. v. 1).[22]
i. Psalm 3:5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lordsustained me.
ii. Psalm 4:8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
3. whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
a. The beastly killers would eat him alive, and David describes them as inflammatory “burning ones,” these sons of Adam have teeth like spear and blade, and their tongues are a sharp sword.[23]
b. Like Psalms 54–56, Psalm 57 is a prayer for deliverance from the slanderous attacks of the enemy (cf. 54:5; 55:3a, 9a, 12a; 56:2a; 57:4).[24]
Psalm 57:5
1. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
2. Let your glory be over all the earth!
Psalm 57:6
1. They set a net for my steps;
2. my soul was bowed down.
a. Bowed down - to be depressed v. — to be or become saddened or discouraged; most typically caused by negative events.
3. They dug a pit in my way,
4. but they have fallen into it themselves.
a. In verse 4, he described his enemies as if they were lions; here he uses another well-known metaphor, describing them as hunters who use a net (perhaps suggesting a fowler; see Prov. 1:17) and a pit to capture their prey. For the idea that the enemy will fall into the traps that they themselves set, see commentary at 9:15–16.[25]
b. Psalm 54:5 He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them.
c. Proverbs 26:27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
d. Proverbs 28:10 Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.
5. Selah
Psalm 57:7
1. My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!
a. The cry, my heart is steadfast! stands in happy contrast to 6a: ‘my soul was bowed down’.[26]
2. I will sing and make melody!
a. The stirring refrain of verses 5 and 11 punctuates and binds the psalm together, and verses 7–11 will reappear as the opening to Psalm 108, which brings together this act of praise and the battle-hymn from Psalm 60.[27]
b. Since Ps 108 seems to be a mosaic of parts found elsewhere (vv 7–12 are found in Ps 60:7–14), it is possible that Ps 57 is the source of the material there. However, it is equally probable that both psalms use material drawn from a common repertoire out of the traditions of the pre-exilic temple in Jerusalem (Beyerlin, Die Rettung der Bedrängten, 130).[28]
Psalm 57:8
1. Awake, my glory!
a. Also Psalm 16:9: “Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul [kabod] rejoices” (NRSV). The original meaning of kabod (“heavy, honor, glory”) is “liver,” since the liver was a heavy organ of the body.[29]
2. Awake, O harp and lyre!
a. The harp and the lyre must be as metaphorical as the wings and the lions and the pit. If David had to leave home in such a hurry that he had no time even to pick up his sword, he is scarcely likely to have brought his harp to the party, so to speak.[30]
b. In the two middle cola, the implication of stirring up the soul is that such worship does not necessarily happen naturally but that neither are we helpless with regard to whether it happens. We can stir up our inner beings, indulge in conversation with them (cf. 42:5, 11 [6, 12]; 43:5) to the end that they come alive, like a parent waking a child. [31]
3. I will awake the dawn!
a. Elsewhere in the Psalter deliverance comes “in the morning” after a night of suffering and prayer (cf. 5:3; 30:5; 59:16; 88:13; 130:5–6).[32]
b. David has spent a chilly and uncomfortable night in unpromising surroundings, yet the sunrise does not awaken him—he awakens it! He is already alert, telling his own soul, and the harp and lyre of his praising heart, and the dawn itself, that it is time to sing and make music to God.[33]
Psalm 57:9
1. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
2. I will sing praises to you among the nations.
a. These words, or their near-equivalent in 18:49, are taken with full seriousness in Romans 15:9 as a prophecy which had to be fulfilled.[34]
Psalm 57:10
1. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
2. your faithfulness to the clouds.
a. Psalm 57:3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
Psalm 57:11
1. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
2. Let your glory be over all the earth!
If one reads Psalm 57 as the words of Jesus, David’s descendant and the anointed (Messiah) of the Lord, we see that it reflects his suffering at the hands of those who wanted to destroy him. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he called on God to remove his suffering, but he eventually went to the cross. However, the victory was not ultimately his enemies’. His resurrection led to God’s exaltation ‘above the heavens’ and the spread of his glory ‘over all the earth’ (vv. 5, 11).[35]
When God is gracious to David, David’s enemies will be defeated, his throne will be established, and the knowledge of God’s character and glory will spread over all the earth. If not in David’s life, then in the life of the king God promised to raise up from his line.[36]
Psalm 57:9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
These words, or their near-equivalent in 18:49, are taken with full seriousness in Romans 15:9 as a prophecy which had to be fulfilled.[37]
Romans 15:8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
Romans 15:9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Psalm 18:49, which Paul quotes in Romans 15:9, is a close equivalent of 57:9. Paul hears in this verse a confirmation of the promise made to the patriarchs that the nations have been included in God’s saving plan (Gen. 12:3).[38]
[1] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 435.
[2] Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, vol. 20, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 77.
[3] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 435.
[4] Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms: Songs for the People of God, ed. J. A. Motyer, vol. 1, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 208.
[5] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 193.
[6] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 539.
[7] Nancy deClaissé-Walford and Beth Tanner, “Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 488.
73 Despite slightly different wording in NIV.
[8] Geoffrey W. Grogan, Psalms, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 112.
[9] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 539.
[10] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 539.
[11] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 193.
[12] Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms: Songs for the People of God, ed. J. A. Motyer, vol. 1, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 205.
[13] Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms: Songs for the People of God, ed. J. A. Motyer, vol. 1, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 205–206.
[14] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 193.
[15] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 193.
[16] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 831.
[17] Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003), 435.
[18] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 435.
[19] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 233.
[20] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 224.
[21] Nancy deClaissé-Walford and Beth Tanner, “Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 489.
[22] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 195.
[23] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 540.
[24] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 830.
[25] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 234.
[26] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 224.
[27] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 223.
[28] Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, vol. 20, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 75–76.
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
[29] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 436.
[30] Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms: Songs for the People of God, ed. J. A. Motyer, vol. 1, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 207.
[31] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 42–89, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 198.
[32] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 833.
[33] Michael Wilcock, The Message of Psalms: Songs for the People of God, ed. J. A. Motyer, vol. 1, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 207–208.
[34] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 225.
[35] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 235.
[36] James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 541.
[37] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 225.
[38] C. Hassell Bullock, Psalms 1–72, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, vol. 1, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015), 433.