A psalm of refuge and praise, attributed to David when he fled from Saul into a cave. David takes shelter under God's wings, declares his trust amid enemies whose teeth are spears and whose tongues are sharp swords, and erupts into praise that aims to wake the dawn. The psalm features the refrain 'Be exalted above the heavens, God; let your glory be over all the earth.'
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The psalm's most striking moment is verse 9 (Hebrew): 'Wake up, my glory! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn.' David does not wait for the dawn to come and bring hope — he commands his instruments to rouse the dawn itself. This is the audacity of worship in darkness: the singer does not wait for conditions to improve before praising. The praise itself becomes the agent that summons the new day. The cave setting (whether Adullam, 1 Samuel 22:1, or En-gedi, 1 Samuel 24:3) adds physical texture — David is literally underground, in darkness, hiding, and from that place he declares that God's faithfulness reaches the skies (v. 11).
Translation Friction
The superscription says al tashchet ('do not destroy'), which may be a melody name or a liturgical instruction. Some connect it to David's refusal to destroy Saul in the cave at En-gedi (1 Samuel 24:4-7) or in the Wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 26:9). The second half of this psalm (vv. 8-12) reappears almost identically as Psalm 108:2-6, suggesting that psalm compositions could be modular — sections recombined for different liturgical purposes.
Connections
The cave setting connects to 1 Samuel 22:1 (cave of Adullam) or 24:1-7 (cave at En-gedi). The 'wings' refuge image (v. 2) echoes Ruth 2:12 and Psalm 36:7. The teeth-as-spears imagery (v. 5) parallels Psalm 52:4 and Proverbs 30:14. Psalm 108:2-6 reuses verses 8-12. The faithfulness-to-the-skies language (v. 11) appears also in Psalm 36:5 and 89:2.
For the director of music. "Do Not Destroy."
A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.
KJV To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
al tashchet ('do not destroy') appears in four psalm superscriptions (57, 58, 59, 75). Whether this is a melody title, a liturgical instruction, or a thematic label is uncertain. If connected to the cave narrative, it may recall David's command to his men not to destroy Saul when they had the chance (1 Samuel 24:6; 26:9). The miktam designation links this psalm to the cluster of Psalms 56-60.
Be gracious to me, God — be gracious to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I will take shelter
until the storms of destruction pass.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The cave provides a physical analog for the theological image: David is literally hiding in a dark enclosed space while enemies search for him outside. The 'wings' transform the cave from a hole in the ground to the shelter of God's presence.
havvot ('destructions') is the same word used in Psalm 52:4 for what the wicked tongue devises. David is sheltering from the same destructive forces that the previous psalms have been naming.
I call out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
KJV I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
gomer alai ('who completes/finishes concerning me') — God is not a partial actor but one who carries things to completion. The verb gamar means 'to finish, to complete, to bring to an end.' Whatever God has started in David's life, he will see it through. This anticipates Paul's confidence in Philippians 1:6.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he rebukes the one who tramples me.
Selah.
God will send his faithful love and his truth.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶתchesed ve-emet
"faithful love and truth"—loyal love and reliability, covenant faithfulness and trustworthiness
This word pair functions as a compound description of God's covenant character. When God sends chesed ve-emet, he sends his own nature into the situation. The pair appears at key moments of divine intervention throughout the Hebrew Bible.
Translator Notes
The pairing of chesed ve-emet ('faithful love and truth') is one of the most common divine attribute pairs in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 24:27, Psalm 25:10, 85:10, 89:14). The two qualities are inseparable: love without truth is sentimentality; truth without love is brutality. God's character holds both in perfect union.
My soul lies down among lions,
among people who are ablaze —
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongue is a sharpened sword.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The lion image transforms David's cave setting: he is not merely hiding in a cave — he is lying down in a lions' den. The cave that should be refuge has become a trap with predators. The tongue-as-sword image continues the thread from Psalms 52 and 55: speech is the deadliest weapon in these psalms.
Be exalted above the heavens, God!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
KJV Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This refrain appears again at verse 12, framing the psalm's second half. It reappears in Psalm 108:6. The prayer for God's glory over 'all the earth' expands the psalm's scope from personal rescue to cosmic reality — David's situation is a small piece of a much larger story.
They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed low.
They dug a pit before me —
they fell into it themselves!
Selah.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The selah after the reversal creates a pause for the listener to absorb the justice: they dug a pit, and they fell into it. The simplicity of the reversal is its power. No elaborate mechanism is needed — evil defeats itself when God is at work.
My heart is steady, God;
my heart is steady.
I will sing — I will make music!
KJV My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
nakhon from kun ('to establish, to make firm') is the opposite of mot ('to totter, to shake'). David's heart has stopped shaking. This does not mean his circumstances have changed — he is still in the cave, still hunted. But his inner condition has been established by trust.
Wake up, my glory!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake the dawn.
KJV Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase a'irah shachar ('I will wake the dawn') has been one of the most beloved lines in the Psalter across traditions. It reverses the normal relationship between the singer and the morning: usually dawn wakes the sleeper. Here the worshiper wakes the dawn. Praise creates the conditions for a new day.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, Lord;
I will make music to you among the nations.
KJV I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The scope expands from David alone in a cave to thanksgiving ba-ammim ('among the peoples') and ba-le'ummim ('among the nations'). David's personal praise has universal ambition — what God has done for one fugitive in a cave deserves to be proclaimed to every nation. This verse is quoted in Romans 15:9 as evidence that God's salvation was always intended to reach the Gentiles.
Here chesed is given spatial magnitude — it is gadol ('great') and reaches the heavens. The claim is not metaphorical but a statement about the scope of God's commitment: it extends to the farthest boundary imaginable.
Translator Notes
The pairing of chesed and emet with heavens and clouds creates a visual image: God's faithful love fills the entire vertical space between earth and the top of the sky. There is nowhere you can be — even in a cave — that God's love has not already reached.
Be exalted above the heavens, God!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
KJV Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The refrain returns unchanged, closing the psalm with the same cosmic vision that punctuated its center. The repetition is liturgical — the congregation would have known this line and joined in. The cave is forgotten; the earth is covered in glory.