Each Day Is a Day of Prayer (vv. 1-5). As in 56:1, he began with a cry for mercy, for David depended on the grace of God to see him through his trials. His worship and prayer turned the cave into a Holy of Holies where he could hide under the wings of the cherubim on the mercy seat of the ark (Ex. 25:17-20; and note the verb “overshadowing”). This image is found frequently in Scripture and must not be confused with the wings of the bird as in 91:4; Deuteronomy 32:11; Matthew 23:37; and Luke 13:34. (See 17:8; 36:7-8; 61:4; Ruth 2:12.) David wanted the wings of a dove to fly away (55:6), when what he needed was the wings of the cherubim in “the secret place of the Most High” where he could safely hide (Heb. 10:19-25). David had taken refuge in the Lord many times in the past, and he knew that the Lord was faithful. The word calamities means “a destructive storm that could engulf me.”

Saul and his men were like panting animals pursuing their prey (vv. 3-4; see 7:2; 10:9; 17:12; Dan. 6; 1 Peter 5:8), but God would protect David with His love and faithfulness. If David lay down in the cave to sleep, perhaps Saul’s men would find him. But David’s God is “God Most High” (7:17; 57:2; 78:56) and “possessor of heaven and earth” (Gen. 14:19), and He would fulfill His great purposes for David (138:8). David included a song of praise in his evening prayer (v. 5) and lay down and went to sleep. David didn’t pray only at bedtime, as too many people do, but all day long; however, he closed the day with a special time of worship and commitment.