Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by. v.1

Read chapter 57
I love the picture of God like a mother or parent.  David was hiding in the cave from Saul when he wrote this and starts off asking for mercy.  Interestingly it wasn't David's fault or he hadn't done anything wrong, but it was Saul's jealousy that caused David to flee.   Yet this doesn't mean that he (or we) deserve mercy.  As mercy is getting favor when punishment is deserved.  David under the protection of God compares it as a mother bird protecting her young under her wing.  "When we cannot see the sunshine of God's face, it is blessed to cower down beneath the shadow of his wings. Until these calamities be overpast. Evil will pass away, and the eternal wings will abide over us till then. Blessed be God, our calamities are matters of time, but our safety is a matter of eternity. When we are under the divine shadow, the passing over of trouble cannot harm us; the hawk flies across the sky, but this is no evil to the chicks when they are safely nestling beneath the hen" (Charles Spurgeon).  Where do you seek refuge or in what do you hide when things are rough?  When we are in the midst of calamities let us hide the The Rock of Ages!