Psalms 57:1
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. 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.
David wrote these words in the cave of Adullam in the mountains of Judah while a fugitive hiding from Saul's pursuit. He wrote after his brothers and all his father's house had joined him in the cave, because they feared Saul's jealous madness against David's relatives and believed they would be safer with David as God's chosen future ruler of Israel even in a lonely cave. He wrote in a time of family sympathy and affection and joy in exile after the bitterness of distrust from his own brothers, when with voice and harp he sang of how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
The verse presents the soul trusting in God as a refuge under His protective care through calamity until it passes. That trust finds courage in God during trouble. That trust is grounded in the Saviour and sustains hope despite suffering. Its image is echoed in a hymn asking the Savior to shelter and support the helpless soul until the storm is past.