Psalm 56

To the choirmaster: according to the The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. 

1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me;

2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.

The context for this psalm is the same as Psalm 34 (which has a lengthier superscription). David is in the city of his enemies as he attempts to run and hide from Saul. He pretends to be insane so as to avoid being killed, the Philistines assuming that their gods were punishing David for all the death he had brought upon the Philistine armies. This is a prayer that is written before the situation is resolved. Psalm 34 is a song of thanksgiving after deliverance, but this one seems to have been written before the outcome was assured. David uses the words trample and attack twice in these two verses, linking them and emphasizing his position. To be trampled is to be on the ground. This corresponds with the final word of verse 2, “many attack from on high” (proudly). He also references the passage of time twice as they attack him all day long. These are relentless, unending assaults on David, beating him when he is down, stomping on him from a position of power. David’s suffering is unjust, and the language reminds me of how the poor have been treated around the world and throughout history. David identifies with them in these verses, and of course the Son of David, the messiah does so as well. It’s estimated that over 200 million Christians live in places where daily oppression is the norm. They are second class citizens, their rights ignored when the majority in power want to have their way. Without judicial recourse, these brothers and sisters continue to survive by trusting in our gracious God. The least that we can do is pray for them. It’s also the most that we can do. Don’t forget them while enjoying the luxuries of freedom in this land. 

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

David moves from fear to faith in these two short verses. In this context he is literally afraid for his life, having been captured by the enemy. He acknowledges his present fear in verse 3, saying “In the day I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” The response to fear is faith, and this is a reasoned faith as the next phrase indicates. “In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust.” David’s faith is grounded in the revealed words of God. The law of Moses tells the story of God’s promise and faithful dealings with Israel. David is not merely putting his trust in wishful thinking, but on the weight of history. How did he get here? How did Israel become a nation? How did David defeat Goliath? These were not abstract propositions, but real life experiences for David that demanded an reasoned explanation. And the best explanation for the facts is the real active presence of an all-powerful, all-good God. These verses are reminiscent of the opening of Psalm 27 -- “The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” The LORD is David’s Glamdring, the elvish sword that glowed in the presence of orcs in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. David states the proposition rhetorically, “What can flesh do to me?” This is similar to Jesus’ statement in Luke 12:4-5, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” It’s not that we should not be afraid at all but that we should fear rightly. Reverence for God casts out all of the fear and lends itself to faith. Worship God first, assign proper weight to his glory and greatness and the fears and anxieties of your life will seem less than they once were. These two verses form a chorus that David will return to in verses 10-11. Was it a little musical piece that easily lodged in his brain for quick access? Was it one of those “self-talk” statements that he said to himself when fear crept it? It should be both of those for us as well. Anytime we are triggered by fear or anxiety, recall these words and return to faith in God and his word.   

5 All day long they injure my cause; [they twist my words] all their thoughts are against me for evil.

6 They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.

7 For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

David vividly describes the actions of his enemies. In the first two verses of the psalm they were trampling on him, kicking him while he was down. Now they are twisting his words, conspiring against him, stirring up conflict, stalking him for the perfect opportunity to strike him down. It’s difficult to see how David is talking about the Philistines here since they would have been openly attacking him. These are the kinds of attacks that may have been coming from fellow Israelites who were pro-Saul. The houses of David and Saul were at war for seven years, and although each group was led by a man, they were two different tribes vying for the prize of leadership over the nation. Saul wasn’t the only “bad guy” in David’s life in this season. Many of the tribe of Benjamin likely saw David and his tribe of Judah as a threat to their power. This was a civil war and the first rule of warfare is that there are no rules. David cannot trust anyone during this season, so it’s significant that in the previous verses he declared his trust in God and will again in verses 10-11. Men cannot be trusted. He saw the good will that he once had with Saul and his men erode rather quickly. David believes that his cause is just and that in the end, his enemies will not escape justice for their crimes. He counts them as pagans when he says, “in wrath cast down the peoples, O God.” Although they were of the family of Israel, David uses a word that typically is reserved for outsiders. He could be speaking again of the Philistines in whose capital city he is seeking refuge, or he could be casting a slur on his brother Israelites who are treacherously trying to kill him. Both are true. The language of lurking, watching and waiting with evil intent reminds us that we have such an enemy today, the Adversary who prowls like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. This enemy waits for our life, our very soul, patiently stalking until we are in a moment of vulnerability, then he attacks. This is our true enemy, although his mind and methods are enacted by real men and women who are trapped under his influence. Remember that this enemy has already been defeated, mortally wounded at the cross, and now his rage is that of a wounded animal, striking wantonly at everyone who is allied with his foe. Don’t be afraid. Put your trust in God whose word you praise. 

8 You have kept count of my tossings; [wanderings] put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?

9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that [because] God is for me.

These are some of the sweetest words in the entire psalm, maybe even in the entire Psalter. David writes these words out of deep distress, a literal life and death situation. Even with his fate uncertain he expresses such confidence, using three metaphors of God’s remembering him. First, God has kept count of his wanderings. David has been all over the country running from Saul and while Saul hasn’t been able to find him, David has never been lost from God. Psalm 139 echoes this language of David’s inability to escape from God’s knowing eye. The word translated wanderings is only used here in the entire OT, so the meaning isn’t certain but it seems to be related to a wandering exile, a nomad, a bedouin. The second metaphor is of God putting David’s tears in his bottle or wine skin (the word is used for both). The point of this is to remind us that God knows every tear that has ever fallen from our eyes. Whether he catches them in a bottle or a wineskin is not the point. The point is that he has missed a single one. They are precious to him -- like wine or water to a weary traveler. They have not gone unnoticed and God is never unaware of the things that cause us to weep. There must be an ocean of tears in God’s bottle as he has captured all of the sadness that has ever been expressed in liquid form. Think back over the years and the tears that you have cried. You still remember many of them. God does too. The third metaphor is of a book, related to the same word for numbered earlier in the verse. God has not only kept our tears in a bottle, but he has recorded them in his book, written down the occasion for each, and carefully read and reread them. It strikes me as unbelievable that a person like God, infinite in knowledge and power, would care to express concern for the relatively trivial details of my life. And yet this is the God that is revealed to us in the pages of scripture. These three metaphors remind David of this central truth: “God is for me”. This doesn’t mean that he is actively backing every project I decide to do. Rather it means that he is passionate about our good. He is jealous for us, eagerly desiring our best, and what’s best for us is Him. In David’s case this means that he has confidence that when he calls, God will cause his enemies to turn back. In our case it means exactly the same thing. When we call upon Him, God who wants our best, will see that our Adversary falls back and returns to his lair. The enemy does not want to engage in a losing battle. 

10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,

11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

This chorus is very similar in theme to verses 3-4 as if David were reminding himself again of this central truth: God and his word can be trusted, there is no need to fear. It’s surprisingly rare to have a refrain like this in a psalm. It’s surprising particularly in relation to the amount of repetition in modern music where repeated choruses are the expected norm. In a time and culture where entire psalms were learned by rote memory, having a repeating chorus wasn’t necessarily helpful. Here it does serve to reinforce the theme as well as bring David back from the threat he faces from his enemies and remind him once again of God’s trustworthiness. The wording is a bit different from the previous statement of these verses. First, the statement, “whose word I praise” is repeated, reinforcing the fact that what David knows about God is ultimately from revelation. God is not a figment of his imagination, created uniquely for David. No David, has submitted his understanding of God to the revealed word. It’s fashionable to have one’s own ideas about God in our modern age, and everyone’s ideas about God are considered equally valid in our tolerant, pluralistic world. Yet if everyone’s ideas about God are a little different, they can’t be true. There is one true God, and not 7 billion and counting. The way we all arrive at believing in the same God is to submit our ideas about God to His revealed word. This is hinted in this text by the switch from the use of the name Elohim (the general word for God) to YHWH (the revealed name of God). God has made himself known in a personal way as YHWH, to Moses and the people of Israel as recorded in His book. David puts his trust in this God, the one that is verifiable, not the one that he has contrived in his head to suit his prior convictions. David praises YHWH’s word and trusts in God himself with the result that he is not longer anxious about his life. He states rhetorically, “What can man do to me?” This is a slight change from the previous version of this statement where he used the word flesh while here he uses the poetic Adam, which is related to the Hebrew word for dirt. In comparison to the greatness of God, man is flesh and dirt, not something particularly frightening. This little chorus represents a dramatic shift in thinking for David as he moves from contemplating his harassing enemies to resting in the truth of what he knows about his God. And so he says it three times in the thirteen short verses of this psalm - I trust in God, and I praise His word (which is the basis of that trust).

12 I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.

13 For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

As David has reflected on the faithfulness of God and his word, he naturally moves to consider his own faithfulness and his own responsibility to God. He is compelled to complete his vows (the word “complete” is the Hebrew word, shalom), and he promises to give thank offerings to God, expressing gratitude for the good that he has experienced. This may have a cultic element to it, that is, religious acts performed in the context of public worship. But there is a broader aspect to completing vows that simply implies obedience to the covenant in daily life. A wicked person can disingenuously perform religious vows and it means nothing because the rest of their life is not aligned with the covenant. For the sincere believer, the ritual aspects of worship are just a part of what it means to fulfill one's vows. The bigger part is daily obedience. The wedding ceremony is important to the marriage and couples continue to draw strength from the performance of their vows years after the event. But the more important vows are the ones that a couple performs every day -- service, obedience, love, kindness. This is what David is pledging, his devotion to God expressed in everyday acts of goodness. He then lists some of those good things for which he is thankful: deliverance from death, prevention of stumbling, walking before God in the light of life. This language is very similar to Psalm 116:8-9. “For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears,my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” These blessings are the blessings of life itself. If you can pray, you can be thankful because it means that you are not dead. David is grateful that he is alive and has been rescued from the brink of death on multiple occasions. He is not denying that he will die at some point, but for now he is grateful to have breath in his lungs, and as he is being pursued, he is gratefully that he hasn’t stumbled and fallen before his enemies. He is grateful for the privilege of walking before the LORD in the light of life, in the enlightenment that comes from living a Torah observant life. We too can find a capacity for gratitude if we will stop and become aware of all that we have and how much of it has come to us by grace. And having done so, we find more room in our hearts to extend grace to others.