Chapter 57 was uttered by King David when he fled from Saul and found himself in the cave with him. The three adjacent psalms all open with the phrase "Al Tashchet" ("Do not destroy"), and all of them deal with Saul's pursuit of David. Rashi explains that David titled the psalm this way because he was close to death, and "Al Tashchet" (spelled with a tav, from the root of destruction [hashchatah] rather than slaughter [shechitah]) is a plea: Do not destroy me, Hashem. We find this exact expression used by David himself when he said to Avishai, who sought to strike Saul: "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch forth his hand against Hashem's anointed and remain guiltless?" - demonstrating that destruction signifies putting to death. Here, David asks: Do not bring me to death through Saul's pursuit of me.
The Radak writes that he already noted at the beginning of the book that we lack definitive clarity regarding the meaning of the terms in the headings of the psalms and the distinctions between them - what "Lamnatze'ach al HaGittit" means, what "Michtam" means, and so forth. Most commentators explain that these are types of musical instruments or melodic modes, much like one might say today "such-and-such maqam," and the psalm would be played to that specific tune.
לַמְנַצֵּחַ אַל תַּשְׁחֵת לְדָוִד מִכְתָּם בְּבָרְחוֹ מִפְּנֵי שָׁאוּל בַּמְּעָרָה׃ - For the conductor, "Do not destroy," of David, a Michtam, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
The Malbim notes that there is another psalm composed about this very same event - Psalm 142 - yet there is a distinction between them. There, David speaks solely of his personal distress, whereas here he also addresses the struggle not to kill Saul. For David harbored two fears, just as we find regarding Yaakov Avinu, "And he was afraid and distressed": lest he be killed, and lest he kill. Lest he be killed - he flees and does not want to die; and lest he kill - lest, Heaven forbid, he be brought to a point where he kills Saul, the king of Israel, for "who can stretch forth his hand against Hashem's anointed and remain guiltless?"
Therefore, the psalm is divided into two parts: up to verse 8, David prays that he not be killed and that Hashem rescue him; and from that point onward, he pleads that Hashem save him from harming Saul or causing his death. Further on in the psalm, it also speaks of David's restraint in not killing Saul, mastering his impulse. This brought him honor and glory, clearly demonstrating his righteousness - to the extent that Saul himself recognized David's righteousness: behold, he could have killed you in an instant, proving that David speaks the truth and does not seek your life. This constitutes the second part of the psalm.
חָנֵּנִי אֱלֹהִים חָנֵּנִי כִּי בְךָ חָסָיָה נַפְשִׁי וּבְצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ אֶחְסֶה עַד יַעֲבֹר הַוּוֹת׃ - Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until the calamities pass.
The Radak explains that this repetition serves to reinforce the plea: he asks twice without even altering his wording, in the manner of one crying out who repeats his words. "Until the calamities (havot) pass" - until the destructive plot Saul devises against me passes away, meaning until deliverance from these troubles arrives, for I have no refuge and no helper other than You. "Havot" signifies ruin and catastrophe: until this ruin passes from over me - for my soul takes refuge in You and I trust in You, therefore grant me grace and save me, from the concept of chaninah (grace and clemency).
The Metzudat David adds a nuance: David knows that even if the present distress passes, it will not be permanently eliminated, for as long as Saul lives, David remains a target of pursuit. Therefore, he prays "until the calamities pass" - until it passes entirely and ceases to be. He does not desire merely surviving the immediate moment while awaiting the next campaign - as indeed occurred campaign after campaign, each time a different pursuit in a different place through another betrayal - but rather that the calamity pass away completely.
The Malbim explains that David asks Hashem to grant him grace until the impending ruin passes from before him, until Saul and his men move on from this place. The repetition "Choneini... Choneini" corresponds to the two fears mentioned earlier, which is also the homiletic exposition of Chazal and Rashi's interpretation: Be gracious to me so that I am not harmed by Saul, and be gracious to me so that I do not harm him, for I do not wish to stretch forth my hand against Hashem's anointed. Regarding the first request - that he not stumble into harming Saul - he says, "for in You my soul takes refuge," since "my soul" (nafshi) typically refers to the spiritual soul: Master of the Universe, my soul takes refuge in You so that You do not lead it to stumble by harming Hashem's anointed. And regarding the second request, that he himself not be harmed, he says, "and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge" - Your wings will shield me so Saul cannot harm me. This refers to physical salvation, like a bird spreading its wings over its chicks to conceal them, and thus do I take refuge in the shadow of the wings of the Holy One, Blessed be He.
אֶקְרָא לֵאלֹהִים עֶלְיוֹן לָאֵל גֹּמֵר עָלָי׃ - I will call to God Most High, to God Who completes for me.
Even though David is currently being pursued, he says: despite all this, I will call upon God Most High. Who is the "high one" standing against him? The king. And when the king pursues you, what are the chances of survival? His forces are endless, his might is boundless, and the entire army is with him. To this David says: I have Someone higher - God, Who is Most High, far higher than King Saul. And because of this, "to God Who completes for me" - the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring His kindness toward me to completion. Just as He has performed kindnesses for me until now, He will complete His kindness until He brings me to the throne; for it was promised that David would reign, and Hashem will fulfill His kindness to the fullest by making me king.
The Malbim explains: I will call upon God to be saved from the two matters we discussed - spiritual salvation, that I not kill Saul and thus be spared from sin, and physical salvation, that Saul not kill me. And what is "Most High" (Elyon)? The First of all causes, the Primal Cause of everything, exalted above all else. When something is at the very top, everything that descends evolves from it. When speaking of the sefirot, where does everything begin? From the Name Y-H-V-H. And when speaking of the thin line of light that descended, upon which the sefirot were enclothed, that too refers to the Name Y-H-V-H. Everything begins with God, Who is Most High, the Source and Beginning of all existence.
Yet there is more to add: Is He merely the beginning, and from that point onward matters are no longer dependent upon Him? Regarding this, the Malbim makes a profound point: "To God Who completes for me" - He is also the ultimate cause. This can be compared to the President of the United States issuing an order. Is he also the patrol officer on the street carrying it out? From the moment he issues the order, it passes through many chains of command, passing into law, moving through department after department, until it reaches the executing officer. The first cause is not the final cause. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, it is so: He is Most High, the Initiator of everything, and He is also "He Who completes for me," the One Who concludes everything. It is not someone else, and it is not as Job claimed, that Hashem handed everything over to the celestial order, as if He made an initial decision while the natural system runs things. No - He is also the ultimate cause behind everything that happens here in this world.
The Yalkut Shimoni (remez 775, sourced in the Yerushalmi) cites: Rabbi Avin said, "I will call to God Most High, to God Who completes for me" - if a girl is three years and one day old, and the court decides to intercalate the year (adding a leap month), her virginity returns; if not, it does not return. This is an extraordinary wonder: the ruling of the earthly Beit Din actually creates physical reality in the world. For there is a halachah that if a young girl loses her virginity due to any injury before the age of three, her physical signs of virginity regenerate and heal (as was the recognized physiological reality in the era of Chazal); but if this happens after the age of three, they do not regenerate. What is the law if she reached the age of three and suffered such an injury, but the court then decided to intercalate the year, with the result that three full years had not yet elapsed, since this year now contains thirteen months instead of twelve? The Yerushalmi states: her virginity regenerates. Why? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, sustains the world according to the rulings of the earthly court below, and if they determined that the year has not yet ended, the year has not ended. This is the meaning of "to God Who completes (gomer) for me": whatever the court decrees below, Hashem concludes, completes, confirms, and brings into reality in accordance with their ruling.
יִשְׁלַח מִשָּׁמַיִם וְיוֹשִׁיעֵנִי חֵרֵף שֹׁאֲפִי סֶלָה יִשְׁלַח אֱלֹהִים חַסְדּוֹ וַאֲמִתּוֹ׃ - He will send from heaven and save me; the one who pants after me has blasphemed, Selah! God will send His kindness and His truth.
Radak explains: Although they are many and I stand alone against them, He will send from heaven and save me - for Hashem possesses endless hosts and angels, and He will send His messenger and His angel to deliver me from Saul's hand. "The one who pants after me has blasphemed" - the one who longs to swallow me up, namely Saul, has blasphemed God. Why characterize him as one who blasphemes God? Radak explains: were it not for Saul holding the word of God in contempt, he would not be pursuing David, for he already knew that Samuel the prophet had anointed him as king by the word of Hashem; and if you know he was anointed by divine command and you pursue him nonetheless, you are actively seeking to nullify the word of God. "God will send His kindness and His truth" - the kindness He showed me at the outset by choosing me as king, He will now bring to fruition; and "His truth" - that the word of Hashem will be verified, so that when I attain the monarchy, that which He promised will be fulfilled, for He spoke and it came to be.
Rashi explains that chereif sho'afi is not an expression of cursing, but rather of disgrace: Hashem will save me from the disgrace inflicted by the one who pants after me. Sho'ef denotes panting and swallowing, one who pants with a longing to swallow up and kill David - and from his taunting disgrace Hashem will rescue me.
The Malbim explains that the entire verse is a parenthetical statement, following the rule we have learned several times throughout Tehillim: wherever "Selah" appears, it marks the conclusion of a thought or an independent concept. This yields an original and brilliant interpretation: the verse should be read as "my pursuer blasphemed [by saying], 'Let Him send from heaven and save me!'" In other words, the one who seeks to swallow me up taunts and reviles me. And how does he do so? By sneering: "Let Him send from heaven and save me!" - implying that David has no natural chance of being saved and would require a supernatural force from heaven. And whenever someone says of a person that only a miracle from above can save him, he is effectively saying he has no chance at all; will a miracle drop out of the sky? It was said purely in mockery and ridicule.
To this, David comes and pleads: Master of the World, they say this to mock me - that only a higher power could save him - and I ask that You actually do so! What they mock me with, You will show them is true: a heavenly power will save him, and You will deliver me from their hands. Therefore, "I call out to God Most High," that He truly send His kindness and His truth. I do not look for natural salvation; that which they taunted me with - that is precisely what I desire! Did they taunt that this man needs help from Heaven? Yes, Master of the World, help from Heaven is what I want. I turn to no one but You, seeking not natural salvation but salvation from Heaven - whether from His kindness or from His truth, meaning His promise that I will reign.
נַפְשִׁי בְּתוֹךְ לְבָאִם אֶשְׁכְּבָה לֹהֲטִים בְּנֵי אָדָם שִׁנֵּיהֶם חֲנִית וְחִצִּים וּלְשׁוֹנָם חֶרֶב חַדָּה׃ - My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie among flaming ones, men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Radak explains "in the midst of lions" as being in the midst of the men of Israel who are pursuing me. And what does "in the midst of" mean? Even though he was fleeing from them, it was as if he were right in their midst, for he had nowhere to go. As David himself says: Where can I flee, abroad? And we have already seen what happened when he attempted to flee to Achish, king of Gath. Even when I try to flee - my soul is in their midst. And "I lie among flaming ones" - the word "in the midst of" serves double duty and applies to the next phrase as well: my soul is in the midst of lions, I lie in the midst of flaming ones. This is similar to what we have explained several times regarding the phrase, "who has not set our portion like theirs, nor our lot like that of all their multitude," where the initial "not" also applies to the second clause. And what does "flaming ones" mean? They burn me with the breath of their mouths, speaking ill of me and telling Saul things to my disparagement, which is the meaning of "their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." Why did he specifically mention teeth and tongue? Because through them the letters are articulated: there are letters articulated with the tongue - Dalet, Tet, Lamed, Nun, Tav - and there are letters articulated with the teeth - Zayin, Samech, Shin, Resh, Tzadi.
Malbim, as well as most commentators, explains "lions" (leva'im) as stemming from lavi - lions; and "flaming ones" (lohatim) refers to venomous serpents, for a snake is called a "burning one" because its venom burns, as in "fiery serpents and scorpions." However, David contends that he would rather lie among actual lions and serpents than among those of whom he speaks. Why? Because my lions and flaming serpents are not animals, but human beings: a lion has only teeth of bone, whereas these men have teeth of iron spears and arrows - far more dangerous; and a snake has only venom, whereas these have a tongue that is a sharp sword - far worse than fiery serpents. And David, who had struck down the lion and the bear, was not intimidated by actual lions; with them he could manage, but these men are vastly more dangerous.
From here comes the well-known phrase in the Selichot: "He brought me into a pit of lions and made me inherit His wrath; I was forgotten in a dungeon and drowned in the sea of His fury; each day I sank wondrously low, though He was long-suffering with me; has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger shut off His mercies?" - "has God forgotten to be gracious" refers to God's graciousness, and "shut off in anger" means that He does not have mercy on us. This is the piyyut "For One Who Confesses His Sins," which most congregations do not recite, saying instead "As I remember upon my bed," and the two compositions appear side by side. And "He brought me into a pit of lions" is based on our pasuk: into a pit containing lions.
Rav Mazuz, in his book Emet Kneh, offers an original and sweet explanation of "eshkevah lohatim": divide the first word into two - "esh kava" (the fire died down). For such was the reality with Saul: even when he was somewhat appeased and felt compassion for David, there were always those around him who stirred him up again. Was the corner of the robe torn off? They would tell him it caught on a thorn, and David merely found it and spun stories claiming he could have killed you. And when David displayed the water jug and said: Behold, I came right up to Saul and took his jug - they would tell him that the jug had been forgotten at the well when they went to draw water for him, and David simply found it there. There were always those stirring up the fire, weaning him away from appeasement and compassion toward David. This is the meaning of "esh kava - lohatim": whenever the fire had gone out and died down a bit, Avner and the other men with Saul immediately came and stoked it ablaze once more against me.
Targum Yonatan, as well as the Meiri, explain "leva'im" as "lehavim" (blades or flames), through an interchange of letters, just like keves and kesev (lamb) or simlah and salmah (garment). According to this, the pasuk fits together wonderfully: my soul is amidst flames, I lie among burning coals - here is a flame, and this flame is also scorching.
Our Sages in the Jerusalem Talmud (Peah 1:1) expound: "My soul is in the midst of lions" - these are Avner and Amasa, who were lions in Torah; "I lie among flaming ones" - these are Doeg and Ahithophel, who were eager for slander. Rashi explains that the "flaming ones" are the Ziphites, who were burning with eagerness to speak slander. "Men whose teeth are spears and arrows" - the Jerusalem Talmud expounds: these are the men of Keilah, as it says, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand?... And the Lord said, They will deliver you"; "and their tongue a sharp sword" - these are the Ziphites, as it says, "When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Does not David hide with us?" Thus, all of his pursuers are alluded to here in a single pasuk.
Psalm 57 was uttered in the cave at the height of the pursuit, expressing two fears at once: lest David be killed, and lest he kill Hashem's anointed. Hence the repetition, "Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me" - spiritual salvation so that he would not stumble regarding Shaul, and physical salvation so that he would not fall into his hands. David turns to God the "Most High" (Elyon), Who is elevated above any flesh-and-blood king, Who is the First Cause of all causes and also "fulfills all for me" (gomer alai) - the ultimate cause that brings everything to fruition, to the point that even the ruling of an earthly Beit Din is finalized and confirmed by Him. The mockery of his enemies, who claimed that only a power from Heaven could save him, is transformed by David into a prayer: indeed, it is only salvation from Heaven that I seek, through Your lovingkindness and Your truth. And he depicts his pursuers as lions and fiery serpents, yet even worse than them - for their teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword, and there is nothing like the blow of the tongue.