56 To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam1 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.
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?
5 All day long they injure my cause;2
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!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;3
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, that4 God is for me.
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?
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.
Section Overview
Psalm 56 illustrates the limitations of a too-rigid classification for the Psalms. We may see it as an individual lament (as most seem to do), but we can also see it as a song of (anticipated) thanksgiving. In the latter case, the description of troubles and prayer is taken up into gratitude that God has heard and will act (as he has done in the past).
The title links the psalm with David’s experience of danger at the hands of the Philistines, when he fled from Saul for refuge in Gath (1 Sam. 21:10–15)—as with Psalm 34. It was Saul’s persecution as much as it was the Philistines’ suspicion and oppression that put David at risk. This particular psalm seems to focus primarily on the Philistine threat, in light of the mention of “peoples” (56:7). More generally, the song is for a case in which troubles arise from people who aim to hurt the pious singer (as is common with lament psalms).
The title designates this as a “miktam” (cf. Psalms 16; 57–59), a term of unknown meaning.
The first seven verses begin and end with a prayer for God’s help (“be gracious . . . cast down”). In between these we find a vivid portrayal of enemies who “trample” and “attack” (twice each in 56:1, 2), who plot and “watch my steps” (vv. 5–6) and do so “all day long” (vv. 1, 5). We may therefore treat verses 1–7 as one stanza; however, the enemies’ activities receive slightly different descriptions in verses 1–2 and 5–6. Further, verses 3–4 move to an expression of faith (which finds an echo in vv. 10–11), perhaps matched by the rhetorical question of verse 7 (“For their crime will they escape?” implies an emphatic no in reply). Hence we can break verses 1–7 into two stanzas, with each describing the deadly threat of the enemies and then bringing the song to an expression of dependence on God. Then verses 8–11 explains that trust is the proper response because of God’s faithful love, which he has promised and has displayed in the past; verses 10–11 restate verse 4 (with variations). The final stanza (vv. 12–13) looks forward to the deliverance.
Section Outline
I. Man Tramples on Me (56:1–4)
II. They Have Waited for My Life (56:5–7)
III. God Is for Me (56:8–11)
IV. You Have Delivered My Soul from Death (56:12–13)
Response
With this psalm the faithful in Israel, especially those who find themselves under threat from hostile Gentiles, could present their fears before God. The song turns the singers to God in trust—and thus away from personal vengeance. It also reinforces the bond that God’s people have with one another by pointing them to the celebration of peace offerings together as the consummate expression of gratitude.
As with laments in general, the proper use of this psalm would require keen pastoral judgment on the part of the Levitical worship leader. Not every case of imagined persecution would have been motivated by hatred, after all—it may in fact be imaginary, or due to the Israelite’s own misdeeds or some other cause. The psalm calls for further pastoral care and sympathetic instruction, since not all answers to these laments appear as quickly as the faithful might like.
Christians may expect to face analogous circumstances, with a similar need for pastoral care (cf. 1 Pet. 2:11–12, 19–20; 3:13–17).Psalm 56
Psalm 57