Deeper Commentary

Psa 56:1 For the Chief Musician. To the tune of Silent Dove in Distant Lands. A poem by David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath- As David was as it were in captivity to the Philistines, feeling like a Jewish dove in Gentile lands, so the exiles felt. Hence the usage of this Psalm by them. A case can be made that the whole of book 3 of the Psalter (Psalms 73-89) was written / edited in Babylon. The Psalms of Korah (83-87) seem to reflect the longing of the righteous remnant in Babylon for the temple services. And it is just possible that the entire Psalter was re-edited there in Babylon, under inspiration- for so many Psalms have elements of appropriacy to the exiles in Babylon and the restoration. The LXX titles of Psalm 56 [“Concerning the people that were removed from the Sanctuary”] and 71 [“Of the sons of Jonadab, and the first that were taken captive”] speak for themselves. Likewise the LXX attributes Psalms 146-148 to Haggai and Zechariah.

Many of the Psalms appear to be paired; Ps. 56 and Ps. 57 are an example. They are very similar. The title of Ps. 56 therefore provides a context for Ps. 57, which was "A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave" (Ps. 57:1). David's time when seized by the Philistines in Gath could refer to some unrecorded capture and detention of him in Gath- the home town of Goliath, whose sons  / relatives had also been slain by David's men, and David had slain "ten thousands" of Philistines. Or it could refer to the time when he was serving Achish king of Gath and had to feign himself mad in order to get released. Perhaps things were far tougher for David at that time than recorded in 1 Sam. 21:10-15. Whatever, David took comfort from his situation with Saul (the subject of Ps. 57) and reapplied it to his situation in Gath in Ps. 56. And this is how we too pass through life- experiences in one situation strengthen us for another.

Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long he attacks and oppresses me- The "attacks" upon David in Gath were surely verbal ones; but he felt them as real beatings and death threats. He was so sensitive to words that today we would likely place him somewhere on the autism spectrum.

Psa 56:2 My enemies want to swallow me up all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me- The word used of Saul wanting to swallow up David in Ps. 57:3. But now it is used of the Gentile enemies of David. This means that Saul was acting as a Gentile to David, and this is quite a common conception in the Psalms; that those Israelites who hated David are treated by him as outside the covenant and effectively Gentiles. It was their hatred which led them to break the covenant, just as hating our brother means we have broken the new covenant.

Psa 56:3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You- It seems that David in the crisis in Gath reminded himself of one of his life principles, and kept repeating it to himself- that in times of fear, he would trust in Yahweh. This is the essential stuff of spiritual life; to repeat little phrases like that to ourselves, in both ordinary life and times of crisis.

Psa 56:4 In God, I praise His word. In God do I put my trust. I will not be afraid- what can flesh do to me?- In the Hezekiah context, this would have been relevant to the reflection that Sennacherib had with him only an arm of flesh (2 Chron. 32:8). The "word" David praised and trusted was not the entire scriptures which he had then available. Rather does it refer to the specific prophetic word that he should be king after Saul, and / or that his kingdom would ultimately flourish. This likewise is "the word" he has in view in Ps. 119, rather than "the Bible" generally. In the Hezekiah context, it was Isaiah's prophetic word of deliverance from Assyria which was to be trusted; to trust God's word is to trust Him. For "the word was God". Our attitude to His word is our attitude to Him.

 

Psa 56:5 All day long they twist my words, all their thoughts are against me for evil- The twisting of words apparently applies to the Philistines (:1), but these are also David's thoughts whilst suffering at the hands of Saul and then Absalom's supporters. With us too, circumstances repeat in our lives; our attitudes and faith are developed and tested.

Psa 56:6 They conspire and lurk, watching my steps, they are eager to take my life- See on :5; these are also David's thoughts whilst suffering at the hands of Saul and then Absalom's supporters. His Psalms were rewritten by him and reapplied to different situations, and this is how God also uses His own word, rescheduling and reinterpreting as needed. This explains why in Matthew especially, many New Testament quotations of the Old are not in perfect context; rather is it a case of reapplication and reinterpretation. 

Psa 56:7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, God- David later reflects that God had indeed cast down the peoples under him (2 Sam. 22:48; Ps. 18:47); by saying this he considers that his prayer of Ps. 56:7 has been answered. Perhaps when he prayed it, he just wanted God's anger to be poured out immediately, the day of judgment to come there and then, when the scales will be adjusted and men and nations cast down or lifted up. But he reflects that in a sense that had happened in his life, in that the peoples were cast down beneath him.

Psa 56:8 You number my wanderings- David had at this point in his life come to be in Gath and in danger of death; and this was far from the first time in his life he had been in such danger. He saw all his life and every point in it as part of "my wanderings", and they had been "numbered" by God, just as the book of Numbers is God's numbering of Israel's wanderings. He knew God was not unmindful. But LXX "O God, I have declared my life to thee" has a beauty to it; relationship with God involves us telling Him our lives and situations, even though He knows them all.

You put my tears into Your bottle. Aren’t they in Your book?- Tear bottles were kept by mourners at funerals; they put their tears in a bottle which they then kept in memory of the deceased. But David says that his tears are in God’s bottle. The idea was that your tears went into your bottle. But David was so intimate with God that he perceived that his tears were in fact God’s; and vice versa. Perhaps he considered that he would die in Gath (see on :1), and God would mourn for him and record his death.

Psa 56:9 Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call. I know this, that God is for me- Seeing he was surrounded in Gath, this was quite some faith. But I suggested on :8 that he may have considered the possibility that he was meant to die in Gath. And so the "day" he would in the future "call" would then refer to the day of judgment. And even in defeat and death, God was still "for me". This is an abiding principle to live by.

Psa 56:10 In God, I will praise His word. In Yahweh, I will praise His word- The "word" David praised and trusted was not the entire scriptures which he had then available. Rather does it refer to the specific prophetic word that he should be king after Saul, and / or that his kingdom would ultimately flourish. This likewise is "the word" he has in view in Ps. 119, rather than "the Bible" generally. In the Hezekiah context, it was Isaiah's prophetic word of deliverance from Assyria which was to be trusted; to trust God's word is to trust Him. For "the word was God". Our attitude to His word is our attitude to Him.

Psa 56:11 I have put my trust in God; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?- It seems that David in the crisis in Gath reminded himself of one of his life principles, and kept repeating it to himself- that in times of fear, he would trust in Yahweh. This is the essential stuff of spiritual life; to repeat little phrases like that to ourselves, in both ordinary life and times of crisis.

Psa 56:12 Your vows are on me, God. I will give thank offerings to You- This promise to offer thank offerings presupposes that David would again one day be free to return to Zion or to the sanctuary; unless he offered in the wilderness.

Psa 56:13 For You have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living- This may have been added after the deliverance; or it could be that David, as he sometimes does, speaks of future things as being in the past. This is what faith is about- believing in things from God's viewpoint, that what is yet future is now, in essence, for those with Him.