Psalms 56

Psalms 56:1

Psalm 56: God Is For Me! It was a bitter pill for David to have to seek refuge from his own countrymen among the Philistines in Gath (1Sa_21:10-15; 1Sa_27:4; 1Sa_29:2-11), but the fierce hostility of King Saul drove him to itor so he felt. Psalms 56 describes some of the alternating waves of fear and faith which swept over him at that time. 56:1, 2 He begins with a prayer for God’s gracious help in view of the constant harassment of his pursuers. Notice the three kinds of terror which were coming upon him all day from hostile men: . . . he oppresses me (v. 1) My enemies . . . hound me (v. 2) . . . they twist my words (v. 5) His foes were arrogantly attacking him, constantly plotting evil against him, federating for greater strength, lurking to pounce upon him, continually spying on him (vv. 2, 5, 6). It seemed like a clear case of overkill. 56:3 But faith breaks through the gloom with the confident declaration, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” This “cheerful courage of a fugitive,” as Delitzsch calls it, is based on the character of God and on the faithfulness of His promises. He is more powerful than all our foes combined, and He has promised to protect us from harm. Nothing can penetrate the protective hedge which He sets up around us except by His permissive will. This is why we can trust in God without a fear. 56:4-6 To the bold challenge “What can mere man do to me?” reason might answer, “Plenty. Man can persecute, injure, maim, shoot, and kill.” But the fact is that the child of God is immortal until his work is done. Also we should understand David’s fearlessness in the light of our Savior’s words: And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Mat_10:28). 56:7 After rehearsing the studied attempts of his enemies to wipe him out, David calls on God to requite them for their treachery by casting them down in His anger. 56:8 Here is an exquisite description of the tender, personalized care of our Lord. He keeps a count of our wanderings or restless tossings during the night, of our fevered turnings from one side to another. He cares so much about the details of our tears of sorrow that He can be asked to keep our tears in His bottle. This may be an allusion to an ancient custom of mourners, namely, preserving their falling tears in a small bottle, which was placed in the tomb of deceased friends, as a memorial of the survivors’ affection. In any event, God does keep a record of our tears in His book, just as Jesus later taught us that He numbers the very hairs of our heads. 56:9 With David we can be confident that God will turn back our enemies in answer to our prayers. We know this because God is for us. And if God is for us, who can successfully be against us (Rom_8:31)? There is, ultimately, only one question which matters in life; everything else is secondary to this’Is God for us?’ David, at last, was sure of God; and the man who is sure of God is beyond fear (11) (Daily Notes of the Scripture Union). 56:10, 11 The refrain of verse 4 is repeated in verses 10 and 11 but this time using two different names of God: In God [Elohim] (I will praise His word), in the LORD [YHWH, Jehovah] (I will praise His word), in God [Elohim] I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?The psalmist praises the promise of the Almighty One and of the covenant-keeping One, in utter assurance of His protecting care, and in cool contempt of frail man’s ability to harm him. 56:12, 13 The present assurance of future deliverance puts David under constraint to fulfill the vows he made to the Lord, and to pay his debt of gratitude to Him. Though still in enemy territory, he is enjoying the blessing of full salvation. His life has been saved, and his feet kept from stumbling so that he might continue to walk in the presence of God in the light of life.