Psalm 56
For the Chief Musician; set to Jonath elem rehokim. A Psalm of David. Michtam: when the Philistines took him in Gath.
1 Be merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: All the day long he fighting oppresseth me.
2 Mine enemies would swallow me up all the day long; For they are many that fight proudly against me.
3 What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in thee.
4 In God (I will praise his word), In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid; What can flesh do unto me?
(When our trust/faith was in God, we would not fear what man could do.)
5 All the day long they wrest my words: All their thoughts are against me for evil.
(The word wrest in this verse meant "to hurt, pain, grieve, displease, vex." The persecution we faced would include being attacked by the words we used.)
6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, They mark my steps, Even as they have waited for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God.
8 Thou numberest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle; Are they not in thy book?
9 Then shall mine enemies turn back in the day that I call: This I know, that God is for me.
(Notice, David stated that his first cause was to call on God and the effect was God turned back his enemies...and the effect of this was that David knew God was for him. Today, many people flip this relative to causality. People first believe God is for them and the effect is they can do whatever they want. People ought to arrive at the belief God is for them by having enough faith to first call on God. Do you have enough faith to know that God is for you?)
10 In God (I will praise his word), In Jehovah (I will praise his word),
11 In God have I put my trust, I will not be afraid; What can man do unto me?
(David repeated himself. He really wanted to get across the point that his trust was in God and that caused him to not fear man.)
12 Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render thank-offerings unto thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: Hast thou not delivered my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?
(This psalm covered the events from 1 Samuel 21 when Achish, king of Gath, allowed David to live among them because David acted insane. The next psalm covered events from the subsequent chapters in 1 Samuel 22-24...)
Psalm 57
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tash-heth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; For my soul taketh refuge in thee: Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge, Until these calamities be overpast.
2 I will cry unto God Most High, Unto God that performeth all things for me.
(David cried to God when he was afflicted.)
3 He will send from heaven, and save me, When he that would swallow me up reproacheth; Selah God will send forth his lovingkindness and his truth.
4 My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
(David knew the power of words and compared the words of his enemies to spears, arrows, and swords.)
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let thy glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down: They have digged a pit before me; They are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. Selah
7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises.
(A heart being fixed meant it was "stable, firm, established." Even though David was being chased after by Saul, his heart was established in God. He was a man after God’s own Heart. David was always encouraged when God perceived on him. When God pointed out David's faults, David's response was to make progress as an effect of confession and repentance.)
8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake right early.
9 I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the peoples: I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
10 For thy lovingkindness is great unto the heavens, And thy truth unto the skies.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let thy glory be above all the earth.
(David would praise God before the nations because God was greater than all things. This psalm along with the next two were known as the Trilogy of Al-taschith: the "destroy not" psalms. David intentionally chose not to retaliate against Saul for the injustices Saul had done...)
Psalm 58
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David Michtam.
1 Do ye indeed in silence speak righteousness? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2 Nay, in heart ye work wickedness; Ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
(The wicked did not speak righteousness or judge rightly. Wickedness came from the heart and was proven by actions. Just as faith was in our hearts and was proven by actions. David realized he may have been unjust if he judged Saul.)
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,
5 Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely.
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah.
(David began requesting God to bring judgment against the wicked…)
7 Let them melt away as water that runneth apace: When he aimeth his arrows, let them be as though they were cut off.
8 Let them be as a snail which melteth and passeth away, Like the untimely birth of a woman, that hath not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, He will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
11 So that men shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.
(The righteous would be joyful when they saw judgment. Judgment was proof of God's Righteousness and Justice.)
Psalm 59
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.
1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: Set me on high from them that rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from the bloodthirsty men.
(David continued to ask God to handle Saul.)
3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul; The mighty gather themselves together against me: Not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.
4 They run and prepare themselves without my fault: Awake thou to help me, and behold.
(Saul and his men were gathered against him even though David had not done anything against Saul. David was without fault.)
5 Even thou, O Jehovah God of hosts, the God of Israel, Arise to visit all the nations: Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah
6 They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go round about the city.
7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth; Swords are in their lips: For who, say they, doth hear?
(Saul attacked him with his words.)
8 But thou, O Jehovah, wilt laugh at them; Thou wilt have all the nations in derision.
9 Because of his strength I will give heed unto thee; For God is my high tower.
(When we had faith in God, He would be our defense.)
10 My God with his lovingkindness will meet me: God will let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget: Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for cursing and lying which they speak.
(David asked God to not slay Saul but to take Saul out of authority. David wanted people to remember the consequences Saul faced. Again, David spoke of the sin of Saul being with his words.)
13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, so that they shall be no more: And let them know that God ruleth in Jacob, Unto the ends of the earth. Selah
14 And at evening let them return, let them howl like a dog, And go round about the city.
15 They shall wander up and down for food, And tarry all night if they be not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of thy strength; Yea, I will sing aloud of thy lovingkindness in the morning: For thou hast been my high tower, And a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing praises: For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.
(David would use his words to praise God. The next psalm covered the events of 2 Samuel 8:3-13. David had had two successful military campaigns and now looked to rid Israel of foreigners...)
Psalm 60
For the Chief Musician; set to Shushan Eduth. Michtam of David, to teach; and when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt twelve thousand.
1 O God thou hast cast us off, thou hast broken us down; Thou hast been angry; oh restore us again.
2 Thou hast made the land to tremble; thou hast rent it: Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
3 Thou hast showed thy people hard things: Thou hast made us to drink the wine of staggering.
(The psalmist was asking for restoration after experiencing judgment from God.)
4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
5 That thy beloved may be delivered, Save with thy right hand, and answer us.
6 God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the defence of my head; Judah is my sceptre.
(Judah was the leader of the twelve tribes. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons. Joseph was Jacob/Israel’s most treasured son.)
8 Moab is my washpot; Upon Edom will I cast my shoe: Philistia, shout thou because of me.
(Moab was from Lot. Edom was from Esau.)
9 Who will bring me into the strong city? Who hath led me unto Edom?
10 Hast not thou, O God, cast us off? And thou goest not forth, O God, with our hosts.
11 Give us help against the adversary; For vain is the help of man.
(The psalmist recognized that help from man was vain. He wanted help from God. Notice, the word "help" occurred twice in verse 11, however, in Hebrew it was two different words:
-The first help was Strong's #5833 ezrah which was help "from a superior."
-The second help was Strong's #8668 tesuwquh - which was help "from a lower source."
In Genesis 2:18, God provided Eve as a "help meet" for Adam:
-The word meet meant "perfect."
-The word help was Strong's #5828 ezer which was the root of ezrah meaning "help from a superior.")
12 Through God we shall do valiantly; For he it is that will tread down our adversaries.
(This post covered five psalms from David that referenced his dealings with Saul and taking control of Israel.)
Day 167
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