Psalms 56

KJV · Chapter 56/150

1Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.

2Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.

3What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

4In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

5Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.

6They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.

7Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.

8Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

9When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

10In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word.

11In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

12Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.

13For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David, surrounded by enemies who twist his words, declares that he will trust in God and not fear what flesh (mere human beings) can do to him, asking God to record his tears in His book.

Explanation

The title links this psalm to the moment when David was captured by the Philistines in Gath (1 Samuel 21:10-15), a moment of extreme vulnerability on enemy soil. The image of God putting the psalmist's tears 'into thy bottle' (a leather container used to hold liquids) and writing them 'in thy book' expresses the moving idea that no human sorrow goes unnoticed by God — every tear is recorded and remembered. The repeated phrase 'I will not fear what flesh can do unto me' expresses a confidence that puts human power in its proper proportion before the power of God.

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