John Calvin Commentary Psalms 57:4

"My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword." — Psalms 57:4 (ASV)

My soul is among lions. He again insists on the cruelty of his enemies as a plea to prevail with God for his swifter intervention. He compares them to lions, speaks of them as inflamed with fury or implacable hatred, and likens their teeth to spears and arrows. In what he says of their tongue, he alludes to the vicious slanders spread by the wicked, which inflict a deeper wound than any sword upon the innocent party who suffers from them. David, as is well known, encountered no heavier trial than the false and slanderous charges directed against him by his enemies. When we hear of the cruel persecution of different kinds that this saint was called upon to endure, we should consider it no hardship to be involved in the same conflict, but be satisfied as long as we may bring our complaints to the Lord, who can bridle the false tongue and restrain the hand of violence.

To him we find David appealing in the words that follow: Exalt yourself, O God! above the heavens: let your glory be above all the earth. To perceive the appropriateness of this prayer, we must reflect upon the height of audacity and pride to which the wicked proceed when unrestrained by the providence of God. We must also consider the formidable nature of that conspiracy directed against David by Saul and the nation in general. All of this demanded a signal manifestation of divine power on his behalf.

Nor is it a small comfort to consider that God, in appearing for the help of his people, at the same time advances his own glory. Against it, as well as against them, the opposition of the wicked is directed, and he will never allow his glory to be obscured, or his holy name to be polluted with their blasphemies.

The Psalmist reverts to the language of complaint. He had spoken of the cruel persecution to which he was subjected, and now laments the treachery and deceit practiced against him. His soul he describes as being bowed down, in allusion to the crouching of the body when someone is under the influence of fear, or to birds when terrified by the fowler and his nets, which dare not move a feather but lie flat on the ground.

Some read, He has bowed down my soul. But the other is the most obvious rendering, and the verb כפף, caphaph, is one that is frequently taken with a neuter meaning. Although the Hebrew word נפש, nephesh, rendered soul, is feminine, this is not the only place where we find it with a masculine adjunct.