A manual of the book of Psalms · Martin Luther
PSALM LVII.
For thy mercy _is_ great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, _let_ thy glory _be_ above all the earth. This Psalm is a prayer; in which David again complains concerning Saul, and those around him; on account of whose plots and snares, he was compelled to flee into a cave. It is nearly of the same purport as the Psalm preceding. _We_ ought to make use of this Psalm also against tyrants, and against sycophants, and certain powerful ones, about the palaces of kings and princes; who persecute us on account of the word and name of God, and persecute our doctrine also; interpreting every thing that we do in the worst sense; and traducing and hating all that fear God. And David here paints forth the cruelty of these characters; “Their teeth (says he) are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” Thanks be to God therefore, that he does not forsake his people, but makes their enemies fall into the pit which they themselves have made; so that they are utterly subverted and taken in their own craftiness!
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.