Once, while fishing with my father on a small lake, a fierce storm suddenly came up, and the wind and waves threatened to swamp our boat. With much haste, we headed for a quiet little cove along the shore where we found shelter until the storm passed, and there we were safe. As I think back on this time, it occurs to me that our lives in this fallen world are a lot like my trip to this lake. There is generally a mixture of storm and sunshine in our days here in this scene; but, during very stormy times, we need a safe harbor to shelter us until the storm passes. Psalm 57 speaks of just such a shelter from the storms of life, and that shelter is very much at our disposal both day and night. We read in verse 1, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.”

I understand that this psalm describes a time in David’s life when he was compelled to find refuge in a cave, while King Saul was trying to hunt him down like a prey. But David trusted in the God of heaven who cared for him. Note the lovely metaphor of the mother hen sheltering her chicks under her wings: “in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge.”

The psalmist also adds, “He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up” (v. 3). Just think, given the fierce, deadly threat of the enemies who would swallow us up, believers can anticipate with assurance that the God of heaven will send relief by His mighty arm, and will thoroughly frustrate those who would do us harm. Come what may, well may we offer David’s prayer of praise in verse 5: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth.”