USB ~ Psalms 56

Trust in God

1 For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.† A *miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath. a

2 Have mercy on me, God, for I am treated harshly; attackers press me all the day.

3 My foes treat me harshly all the day; yes, many are my attackers. O Most High,

4 when I am afraid, in you I place my trust.

5 I praise the word of God; I trust in God, I do not fear. b What can mere flesh do to me? c

6 All the day they foil my plans; their every thought is of evil against me.

7 They hide together in ambush; they watch my every step; they lie in wait for my life. d

8 They are evil; watch them, God! Cast the nations down in your anger!

9 My wanderings you have noted; are my tears not stored in your flask,† recorded in your book? e

10 My foes turn back when I call on you. This I know: God is on my side.

11 I praise the word of God, I praise the word of the LORD.

12 In God I trust, I do not fear. What can man do to me?

III

13 I have made vows to you, God; with offerings I will fulfill them, f

14 For you have snatched me from death, kept my feet from stumbling, That I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Footnotes

†. Psalm 56 Beset physically (Ps 56:2-3) and psychologically (Ps 56:6-7), the psalmist maintains a firm confidence in God (Ps 56:5, 9-10). Nothing will prevent the psalmist from keeping the vow to give thanks for God’s gift of life (Ps 56:13). A refrain (Ps 56:5, 11-12) divides the Psalm in two equal parts.

†. 56:1 Yonath elem rehoqim: Hebrew words probably designating the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung.

†. 56:9 Are my tears not stored in your flask: a unique saying in the Old Testament. The context suggests that the tears are saved because they are precious; God puts a high value on each of the psalmist’s troubles.

56:1 1 Sm 21:10.
56:5 Ps 130:5.
56:5 Ps 118:6; Heb 13:6.
56:7 Ps 140:5-6.
56:9 Ps 10:14; 2 Kgs 20:5; Is 25:8; Rev 7:17.
56:13 Nm 30:3.