Psalms 56

Trust in God in the presence of danger is the keynote of this and the following Psalm, which are intimately connected together. The danger is imminent; fear is inevitable; but faith is victorious over fear. The spirit of the Psalm is concentrated in the twice-repeated refrain (Psalms 56:3-4; Psalms 10, 11). This Psalm and Psalms 34 are connected by their titles with the same period in David’s life. His first visit to Gath (1 Samuel 21:10 ff), when he went there as a solitary fugitive, must be the occasion referred to. Finding that his life was no longer safe in Judah, he resorted to the desperate expedient of taking refuge with the enemies of his country, hoping no doubt that the Philistines would not recognise in him the stripling who slew their champion. But their suspicions were aroused: David, in fear for his life, feigned madness, so that he might be supposed to be harmless. It is not expressly stated in 1 Samuel that the Philistines forcibly detained him, but the words “feigned himself mad in their hands,” together with the mention of his escape in ch. Psalms 22:1, seem to imply that he was practically a prisoner. The obscure words of the title, set to Yonath elem rechφkim, are paraphrased in the LXX, “For the people removed far from the sanctuary”; and in the Targum, “Concerning the congregation of Israel, which is compared to a silent dove at the time when they were far from their cities, and turned again and praised the Lord of the World.” These interpretations are interesting as shewing that the Psalm was at an early date regarded as a national Psalm, and placed in the mouth of the suffering people. Hence the Psalmist has been regarded by some critics as “the mouthpiece of oppressed and suffering Israel.” But it is a mistake to say that this is “the oldest interpretation of the Psalm.” For the title, whether it rests upon an authentic tradition or is only the conjecture of the editor of this book, proves that at a still earlier time the Psalm was regarded as the expression of personal experience. And this is the natural account of its origin; its use as the prayer of the nation in exile was a secondary application of it. While it is impossible to affirm with certainty that it was really composed by David in Gath, it breathes the spirit of trust in God in the face of danger by which David was animated, and may be taken as an illustration of his feelings in that hour of his extremity. The Psalm consists of two stanzas, each ending with a refrain, Psalms 56:1-11; and a concluding thanksgiving Psalms 56:12-13. In each of the principal stanzas prayers for help against enemies whose hostility is described are combined with the strongest expressions of trust in God. In the title, For the chief Musician; set to Yonath elem rechφkim. (A Psalm) of David; Michtam: when the Philistines took him in Gath: the words Yonath elem rechτkξm mean The silent dove of them that are afar off; or if ηlξm be read for ηlμm (a change of vowel-points only), The dove of the distant terebinths. These words, like ‘The hind of the morning’ in the title of Psalms 22, are doubtless the title of some song to the melody of which the Psalm was to be sung, so called either from its opening words or from its subject. The explanation which regards these words as a figurative description of the subject of the Psalm (concerning the silent dove &c.), the innocent sufferer David patiently enduring persecution in a foreign land, is now generally abandoned. On Michtam, which appears in the titles of the four following Psalms also, and of Psalms 16, see Introd. p. xx.

Psalms 56:1-4

1–4. However fiercely his enemies may assault him, he will trust in God, Who will surely be true to His promise.

Psalms 56:2

2. They that lie in wait for me would swallow me up [or, crush me] all the day long: For many are they that fight against me haughtily. For they that lie in wait for me see note on Psalms 54:5. The word rendered O thou most High in A.V. is not Elyôn, the word usually so rendered (e.g. Psalms 57:2), but mârôm. This word is applied to God, as in Micah 6:6, “the high God,” Psalms 92:8, “Thou, O Lord, art on high for evermore:” but it can hardly stand by itself as a vocative, and probably means ‘with a high hand,’ ‘haughtily.’ Cp. Psalms 73:8. ‘Be thou exalted’ in Psalms 57:5; Psalms 57:11 is derived from the same root. The Psalmist prays that God will prove His own supreme exaltation against these self-exalted braggarts. P.B.V. are in hand = are busying themselves.

Psalms 56:3

3. What time &c.] Lit., In the day that I am afraid. David’s sojourn in Gath is the only occasion on which he is recorded to have been afraid of man (1 Samuel 21:12; but cp. Psalms 18:4). I will trust in thee] R.V., I will put my trust in thee, as in A.V. Psalms 56:4. I is emphatic; they trust in their own might, but I will trust in Thee. The preposition, which is different from that in Psalms 56:4, gives a delicate shade of meaning, ‘I will trustfully betake myself to Thee.’ “Each day of peril should be to him a discipline of faith.” Kay.

Psalms 56:4

4. in God I will praise his word] In God’s strength, by the help of His grace, I shall be enabled to praise His words of promise (Psalms 130:5). Cp. Psalms 44:8. This rendering is preferable to the possible alternative, In God do I make my boast, even in his word. in God &c.] R.V., In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid; what can flesh do unto me? Flesh, synonymous with man in Psalms 56:11, denotes man on the material side of his nature, as a frail and perishable being, contrasted with God the Eternal and Almighty. Cp. Psalms 78:39; Genesis 6:3; Job 10:4; Isaiah 40:5-6; Jeremiah 17:5.

Psalms 56:5-11

5–11. The second division of the Psalm is similar to the first: a description of present distress, and prayer for help, followed by an expression of perfect confidence in God’s protection.

Psalms 56:6

6. they hide themselves] I.e., lie in wait for me; or according to the Kthibh, set an ambush. Cp. Psalms 59:3; Psalms 10:8-9. they mark my steps] Like hunters tracking their game. “Go, I pray you,” said Saul to the men of Keilah, “and know and see his place where his haunt (lit. foot) is” (1 Samuel 23:22-23). when they wait &c.] R.V., even as (marg. inasmuch as) they have waited for my soul; have been watching their opportunity to take my life. Cp. Psalms 119:95.

Psalms 56:7

7. Shall they escape by iniquity?] Or, In spite of iniquity shall they escape? When their conduct is so inhuman, shall they escape the judgement? Less probable is the rendering of R.V. marg. (for the thought of which cp. Isaiah 28:15), They think to escape by iniquity. But the phrase is obscure, and the emendation pallçs for pallçt adopted by many critics deserves consideration: Weigh unto them (i.e. pay them, cp. Psalms 58:2) according to their iniquity. in thine anger &c.] In anger bring down peoples, O God: humble them by judgement. Cp. Psalms 55:23; Isaiah 63:6. This prayer, it is said, is unsuitable for an individual: it must be the voice of the congregation demanding the humiliation of its proud oppressors. But here, as in Psalms 7:6 ff., the appeal for a particular judgement is absorbed in the desire for a general judgement of the world.

Psalms 56:8

8. Thou tellest my wanderings] Thou countest the days and adventures of my fugitive life, while I am driven from my home as a wanderer and vagabond (Psalms 36:11, notes); not one of them escapes Thy notice (Job 31:4; Matthew 10:30). Tell, as in Psalms 22:17, Psalms 48:12, means count. put thou my tears] Or, my tears are put. into thy bottle] By a bold figure God is said to collect and treasure his tears, as though they were precious wine. Kay quotes St. Bernard’s saying, “Lacrimae poenitentium vinum angelorum.” The ‘bottle’ is the skin bottle of Oriental countries, holding a considerable quantity (Joshua 9:4; Joshua 9:13; 1 Samuel 16:20; Psalms 119:83). There is no reference to the use of so-called ‘lachrymatories.’ are they not in thy book?] Or, record. For God’s ‘book of remembrance’ see Malachi 3:16. Cp. Exodus 32:32; Psalms 69:28; Psalms 139:16. The abrupt question is characteristic of this Psalm. Cp. Psalms 56:4; Psalms 56:13.

Psalms 56:9

9. Then shall mine enemies turn back in the day when I call: This I know, that [or, for] God is on my side. For the emphatic then cp. Psalms 2:5. The certainty that God is on his side is the ground of his assurance that his enemies will be put to flight. Cp. Psalms 9:3; Psalms 118:6.

Psalms 56:10

10. his word] The omission of the pronoun, which is found in Psalms 56:4, is difficult. If the text is sound, word must be used absolutely for the divine word of promise. Cp. Proverbs 13:13; Proverbs 16:20. In the Lord will I praise his word] The line is repeated for emphasis with the substitution of the covenant name Jehovah for God. The two names sometimes occur together in the Elohistic Psalms (e. g. Psalms 55:16; Psalms 58:6); and a refrain is not always repeated in precisely the same form. But the repetition may simply be a ‘conflate reading,’ the second line being either the survival or the restoration of the original text, while the first line is due to the ‘Elohistic’ editor.

Psalms 56:11

11. In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid; What can man do unto me? (R.V.). ‘Man’ = ‘flesh’ of Psalms 56:4. Cp. Psalms 118:6, borrowed from this passage.

Psalms 56:12-13

12, 13. Concluding vows of thanksgiving.

Psalms 56:13

13. Borrowed with slight variations in Psalms 116:8. For thou hast delivered &c.] He takes his stand in the future and looks back upon deliverance granted. Cp. Psalms 54:7. wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling] Yea, my feet from stumbling: lit., ‘hast thou not delivered my feet from thrusting?’ i.e. not only saved me from death, but upheld me when the foe “thrust sore at me that I might fall” (Psalms 118:13; cp. Psalms 36:12). that I may walk before God] Not simply live in His Presence and under His protection, but serve Him acceptably. So the LXX, τοῦεὐαρεστῆσαιἐνώπιοντοῦθεοῦ; cp. Hebrews 11:5-6. Cp. Genesis 17:1; Genesis 24:40; Psalms 61:7 : and Genesis 5:22; Genesis 5:24; Genesis 6:9. in the light of the living] Or, of life. “The land of the living” (Psalms 27:13; Psalms 116:9) is the land of light contrasted with the darkness of the grave (Job 33:28; Job 33:30); it is illuminated by the Presence of God (Psalms 36:9), from Whom comes all that is worthy to be called happiness. What to the Psalmist was a present and temporal truth, receives for the Christian a spiritual and eternal meaning. Cp. John 8:12, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”