Psalm 56 (Bible Study)
Several, different writers make up the Psalms. Seventy-five of them are by David, there is also Solomon, Asaph & others - Moses (wrote the earliest Psalm 90 - approx. 1410 BC). Most recent was Psalm 126 ~450BC, after the exile. All of the Psalms are ancient but very contemporary with familiar themes. Vaughn Roberts Keswick Convention 2024
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For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam.[1] When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?5 All day long they twist my words;
all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not let them escape; in your anger, God, bring the nations down.8 Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll[2] are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?12 I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life.Psalm 56:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 56:8 Or put my tears in your wineskin
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Daniel 4
Introduction
We continue to study Psalms that teach us about meditation and prayer. Psalms 1& 2 taught us that meditation is, in a sense, the “gateway” or foundation for deeper prayer. One of the reasons our prayer lives can be superficial is that we do not meditate as a gateway to prayer. As we look at Psalms 56 and, later at Psalm 103 we will think about the author’s situation and wonder can we identify with it and therefore lead us into prayer.
1. Read 1 Samuel 21:10-15. What situation is the psalmist facing?
Do you recognise this feeling induced by fear?
From the Psalm itself, we see that the author is being persecuted. Not only do people slander and attack his reputation and character (v 2, 5), they are conspiring to kill him (v 6).
The heading of the psalm gives us the context: “When the Philistines had seized [David] in Gath.” This refers to 1 Samuel 21:10-15. David was running from Saul. He could not trust anyone in Israel, fearful that an informer would tell Saul of his whereabouts. In desperation, he went to the land of Saul’s enemies - Gath (Goliath’s hometown!) hoping that the Philistine king there might take him in, as he was an enemy of the king of Israel. However, the king of Gath turned hostile to him. The people remembered who David was (the songs and the sword) 1 Samuel 21.
It was not a wise move. Fear made his thinking fuzzy, he was not thinking clearly. He was surrounded by enemies.
Do you recognise this feeling? God isn't turning up so you work things out for yourself and things get worse. God seems far away. If some of the issues are self-inflicted you fear that you can’t pray for help because you have got into a mess.
When you are in this place it affects your prayer life Bible readings clarity about the situation we are in God seems far away. You still have faith but that first love with the Lord, that meaning and guidance you get from his scriptures is not happening.
Out of this crisis came Psalm 56 as well as Psalm 34. David never allowed guilt & shame to prevent him from coming back to God. David prays 56:1 ‘be merciful to me for my enemies trample on me all day long.’ David knew God's mercy and forgiveness.
Psalm 56 ‘Faith is not a vague sense that God will work it out. It comes from prayerful immersion in the Scripture, the Word of God.’ Tim Keller
2. What does David do in response to his fears and these dangers (v 4, 10)? How can we do likewise?
David’s response to fear is “I will trust in you” (v. 3). That is striking. Trust and faith are seen as acts of the will, not emotional or psychological conditions.
According to Derek Kidner, “Faith is seen here as a deliberate act, in defiance of one’s emotional state. . . . This striking verse [v4] . . . adds to the delineation of faith . . . by showing where faith rests, i.e. in God, and where it finds its content, i.e. in his word.” 1
How do we put our trust in God? Twice David connects his trusting-in-the-face-of fear with a particular discipline: “in God, whose word I praise .” (v4, v10).
What does it mean to “praise God’s word”? It is about meditating on it. You cannot praise something without looking at it, reflecting on its benefits, and adoring it. It also pondering God’s promises, truths and assurances, especially during times of fear and trouble.
3. Compare Psalm 56:3-4, 9-11 with Romans 8:31-39, Paul’s vesrion of, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” What does David mean by, ‘I will not be afraid’ when clearly he fled from Saul in fear?
What does David mean by, ‘I will not be afraid?’ David knows that God's character is to be merciful. David is not saying I will never be afraid - he is giving himself a talking–to: Remember that chorus, ‘He is all I need, he is all I need, he supplies my need.’
Psalm 56:9 ‘This I know God is for me.’ Notice David was strengthened from his prayer times.
Can you relate this to your prayer times? David drew strength from praise and worship (v10).
How are your times of praise and worship? He drew strength from the word. How are you doing reading God’s word? We need to spend time in God’s word.
Psalm 56:4 What can mere mortals do to me? David is trusting God and praising his word.
Paul, ties his assurance – “Who cares who is against us if God is for us?” - directly to the death of Christ (Rom. 8:32). His reasoning is, “If (a) God gave us his Son, then (b) we know he is for us, and therefore (c) we fear no one else.
How will we get strength to deal with real, devastating blows, defeats and trauma?
There are plenty of times when God has not come through with physical and political victory. How can we be sure that “God is for us” regardless of our circumstances?
For our meditation, we have a vivid display of God’s love that exceeds the fiery pillar and cloud that led Israel through the Red Sea.
Jesus Christ was God’s ultimate break-in to history. We have a far better way to assure ourselves that God will never abandon us or leave us. Jesus accomplished salvation through a defeat of terrible suffering! Jesus’ death for us on the cross is the greatest assurance possible that God is for us. His death on the cross is a model for the way God often works out his purposes in history.
David did not have such a vivid example of victory through defeat as we do. When we meditate on the cross, we have all we need to face anything in life and in this world.
Ps 56:4 ‘In God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to us?” David seems to know intuitively what we understand explicitly because of Jesus’ victory on the cross. David speaks of his deliverance [v12] in the past tense. This is the measure of his confidence in God.
Ps 56:13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
4. David: Warrior, Goliath Slayer who fought off lions and bears in his shepherding days is now admitting to and emphasising tears. Discuss.
God not only records tears, he also holds them. What does this vivid imagery tell us about God’s character and attentiveness?
There is no shame in tears. The most surprising statement is that not only does God keep a record, he holds our tears. I have come to realise that this is very significant. Ps 56:8 ‘You keep track of my misery. Put my tears in your…..container! Are they not recorded in your scroll?’ NET
David was under attack, he had made some poor decisions. But he got back to God. That was his rescue. God not only knew of his tears, he held them & I believe the Lord wept with him.
The divine command says ‘weep with those who weep’ (Rom 12:15) – this Word of God oozes compassion and pastoral care. That’s what our Lord does. God added his tears to David's there is a container of tears! Not one tear is wasted or ignored. Even your silent weeping, hidden sorrow, the Lord knows these situations. God is that close.
Next time you weep - hear this- he has been weeping as well with you, holding you catching your tears in his cupped-up hands - that is the picture he gives us.
5. The Outcome: According to Ps 56:12–13, what does David promise to do in response to God delivering his soul from death?
Ps 56:12 I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
Conclusion:
In Psalm 56, the psalmist responds to threats and fears by meditation.
Meditation consists of asking the right questions. To meditate is to ask myself questions about the truth, such as: “What difference does this make? Am I taking this seriously? Have I forgotten it? Am I living in the light of this?” Meditation is a willingness to “inquire” — to put forth very honest and even questions of doubt. Questions are posed to God and to the truths of the biblical text until answers begin to present themselves [Kidner].
It also means being willing to ask very uncomfortable, even radical questions, such as those in verse 4 What can mere mortals do to me?
1 Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72 (IVP 1973), p. 203. 2 Derek Kidner, p. 278.
