Psalms 57:3
in Psalms 57He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He will send from heaven, and save me, When he that would swallow me up reproacheth; [Selah God will send forth his lovingkindness 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.
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This verse in Psalms 57
Commentary
3 notes on this verseHe shall send from heaven. If there be no fit instruments on earth, heaven shall yield up its legions of angels for the succour of the saints. We may in times of great straits expect mercies of a remarkable kind; like the Israelites in the wilderness, we shall have our bread hot from heaven, new every morning; and for the overthrow of our enemies God shall open his celestial batteries, and put them to utter confusion. Wherever the battle is more fierce than ordinary, there shall come succours from headquarters, for the Commander in chief sees all.
This site's exposition
He reaches down from heaven and saves me
on Psalms 57:3-5
God reaches down from heaven and sends out His loving devotion and truth, the way light and truth are sent out at Psalm 43:3. Verse 4 names the weapon: teeth that are spears and arrows, tongues that are sharp swords. Verse 5 lifts the prayer over the danger, and verse 11 repeats it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
(3.) What he will ascribe his salvation to: God shall send forth his mercy and truth. God is good in himself and faithful to every word that he has spoken, and so he makes it appear when he works deliverance for his people. We need no more to make us happy than to have the benefit of the mercy and truth of God, Ps. xxv.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Be gracious to me, etc., be gracious to me that I should neither kill nor be killed.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִשְׁלַ֤ח | yishlach | he will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| מִשָּׁמַ֨יִם׀ | mishamayim | from heaven | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְֽיוֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי | veyoshieni | and he will save me | H3467 → | 206 times |
| חֵרֵ֣ף | cheref | he will reproach | H2778 → | 41 times |
| שֹׁאֲפִ֣י | shoafi | [one who] crushes me | H7602 → | 14 times |
| סֶ֑לָה | selah | Selah | H5542 → | 74 times |
| יִשְׁלַ֥ח | yishlach | he will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| חַסְדּ֥וֹ | chasdo | covenant loyalty his | H2617 → | 247 times |
| וַאֲמִתּֽוֹ׃ | vaamito | and faithfulness his | H571 → | 127 times |
יִשְׁלַ֤חhe will send
yishlachH7971 →845 times
מִשָּׁמַ֨יִם׀from heaven
mishamayimH8064 →421 times
וְֽיוֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִיand he will save me
veyoshieniH3467 →206 times
חֵרֵ֣ףhe will reproach
cherefH2778 →41 times
שֹׁאֲפִ֣י[one who] crushes me
shoafiH7602 →14 times
סֶ֑לָהSelah
selahH5542 →74 times
יִשְׁלַ֥חhe will send
yishlachH7971 →845 times
אֱ֝לֹהִ֗יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
חַסְדּ֥וֹcovenant loyalty his
chasdoH2617 →247 times
וַאֲמִתּֽוֹ׃and faithfulness his
vaamitoH571 →127 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 43:3Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, and to the place where You dwell.
it leads to
- Psalms 36:9
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Psalms 97:11
Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart.
- John 1:4
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
- Psalms 143:10
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
- Psalms 36:9
Through
Acts 12:11Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
it leads to
- Daniel 6:22
My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O…
- Daniel 6:22
Through
Psalms 40:11O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me; Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.
it leads to
- Psalms 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
- Psalms 43:3
Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, and to the place where You dwell.
- Psalms 23:6
About Psalms
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.