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_; Psalms 1... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be merciful_ Be gracious: see note on Psalms 51:1, and cp. Psalms 57:1. _for man would swallow me up_ Like a wild beast rushing upon its prey. But all the Ancient Versions render _trample upon_or _crush_, which may be right. Cp. Psalms 57:3. The word for _man_denotes _mortal man_as contrasted with... [ Continue Reading ]
However fiercely his enemies may assault him, he will trust in God, Who will surely be true to His promise.... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
_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... [ Continue Reading ]
From the heights of faith he returns to the urgent reality of present distress. Cp. Psalms 42:6. _Every day_ R.V., all the day long. _they wrest my words_ Distorting and perverting them. Calumniators endeavoured to poison Saul's mind against David, 1 Samuel 24:9, cp. Psalms 7:3 ff. But the meaning... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
_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 Samu... [ Continue Reading ]
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, an... [ Continue Reading ]
_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 m... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
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 o... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy vows_&c. Vows made to Thee. The Psalmist acknowledges his obligations. Cp. Psalms 66:13; Acts 21:23. _praises_ R.V., thank offerings, in addition to the votive offerings.... [ Continue Reading ]
Concluding vows of thanksgiving.... [ Continue Reading ]
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 thrustin... [ Continue Reading ]