John Calvin Commentary Psalms 56

Be merciful unto me, O God! for man swallows me up. It would be difficult to determine whether he speaks here of foreign or domestic enemies. When brought to King Achish, he was like a sheep between two bands of wolves, an object of deadly hatred to the Philistines on the one hand, and exposed to equal persecutions from his own fellow-countrymen.

He uses the indefinite term man in this verse, though in the next he speaks of having many enemies, to express more forcibly the truth that the whole world was combined against him, that he experienced no humanity among men, and stood in the utmost need of divine help.

The term daily would suggest that he refers more immediately to Saul and his faction. But in general, he deplores the wretchedness of his fate in being beset by adversaries so numerous and so barbarous. Some translate שאף, shaaph, to regard, but it is more properly rendered to swallow up,—a strong expression, denoting the insatiable rage with which they assailed him.

I have adhered to the common translation of לחם (lacham), though it also signifies to eat up, which might be more consistent with the metaphor already used in the preceding part of the verse. It is found, however, in the sense to fight against, and I was unwilling to depart from the received rendering.

I will only observe in passing, that those who read in the second member of the verse, many fighting with me, as if he alluded to the assistance of angels, mistake the meaning of the passage, for it is evident that he uses the language of complaint throughout the verse.

In the day that I was afraid, etc. In Hebrew, the words are in the future tense, but they must be understood as past tense. He acknowledges his weakness, in that he felt fear, but denies having yielded to it. Dangers might distress him, but they could not induce him to surrender his hope.

He makes no claim to that lofty heroism which despises danger; and yet, while he admits that he felt fear, he declares his firm resolve to persist in a confident expectation of divine favor. The true proof of faith consists in this: that when we feel the promptings of natural fear, we can resist them and prevent them from gaining undue control.

Fear and hope may seem to be opposite and incompatible emotions; yet, observation proves that hope never gains full sway unless some measure of fear is also present. In a calm state of mind, there is no occasion for hope to be exercised. At such times, hope lies dormant, and its power is shown to its best advantage when we see it lifting the soul out of dejection, calming its turmoil, or soothing its worries.

This was how it manifested itself in David, who feared and yet trusted; he was aware of the greatness of his danger, and yet calmed his mind with the confident hope of divine deliverance.

In God I will praise his word. Here he grows more courageous in the exercise of hope, as generally happens with the people of God. They find it difficult at first to reach this exercise. It is only after a severe struggle that they rise to it, but once the effort is made, they emerge from their fears into the fullness of confidence and are prepared to grapple with the most formidable enemies.

To praise, is here synonymous with glorying or boasting. He was now in possession of a triumphant confidence and rejoiced in the certainty of hope. The ground of his joy is said to be the divine word; and this implies that however much he might seem to be forsaken and abandoned by God, he satisfied himself by reflecting on the truthfulness of his promises.

He would glory in God notwithstanding, and although there should be no outward appearance of help, or it should even be noticeably withdrawn, he would remain content with the simple security of his word. This declaration deserves our notice. How prone we are to fret and murmur when God has not immediately granted our requests!

Our discontent may not be openly expressed, but it is inwardly felt when we are left in this manner to depend upon his naked promises. It was no small attainment for David that he could thus proceed to praise the Lord in the midst of dangers, and with no other ground of support but the word of God.

The sentiment contained in the latter clause of the verse might seem at first glance to deserve little consideration. What is more obvious than that God is able to protect us from the hand of men, that his power to defend is immensely greater than their power to injure? This may be true, but we all know too well how much of that perverse unbelief there is in our hearts, which leads us to rate the ability of God below that of the creature.

It was no small proof, therefore, of the faith of David that he could despise the threats of his enemies. And it would be well if all the saints of God were impressed with such a sense of his superiority to their adversaries as would lead them to show a similar contempt of danger.

When assailed by these, they should never forget that the contest is in reality between their enemies and God, and that it would be blasphemous in this case to doubt the issue.

The great object these enemies have in view is to shake our faith in the promised help of the Lord. We are chargeable with limiting his power unless we realize him standing at our right hand, able with one movement of his finger, or one breath of his mouth, to dissipate their hosts and confound their infatuated machinations.

Shall we place him on a level with mortal man and measure his probable success by the numbers that are set against him? “But how,” it may be asked, “are we to account for this sudden change in David’s confidence? A moment before, he was expressing his dread of destruction, and now he bids defiance to the collected strength of his enemies.” I reply that there is nothing in his words that insinuates he was absolutely raised above the influence of fear and every sense of the dangers by which he was encompassed.

They imply no more than that he triumphed over his apprehensions through that confident hope of salvation with which he was armed. Men he terms in this verse flesh, to impress more deeply upon his mind the madness of their folly in attempting a contest so infinitely above their strength.

Every day my words vex me. The first part of this verse has been rendered in various ways. Some understand my words to be the nominative in the sentence, and I agree with this opinion. Others suppose a reference to David’s enemies and translate, they slander my words, or, they cause me grief because of my words. Again, יעצבו, yeatsebu, has been understood in the neuter sense and translated, my words are troublesome. But עצב, atsab, commonly means to afflict with grief, and in Pihel is always taken transitively; nor does there seem to be any reason here to depart from the general rule of the language.

And the passage flows more naturally when rendered, my words affect me with grief, or vex me, than by supposing that he refers to his enemies. According to this translation, the verse contains a double complaint: on the one hand, he was himself unsuccessful in everything he attempted, his plans having continually resulted in vexatious failure; while, on the other hand, his enemies were devising every means for his destruction.

It may appear at first sight rather inconsistent to suppose that he should have immediately before disclaimed being under the influence of fear, and now acknowledge that he was not only distressed, but to some extent the cause of his own discomfort. I have already observed, however, that he is not to be considered as having been absolutely divested of anxiety and fear, although enabled to look down with contempt upon his enemies from the eminence of faith.

Here he speaks of the circumstances that tested him, which his faith certainly overcame, but at the same time could not completely remove. He confesses his own lack of wisdom and foresight, shown in the failed outcome of every plan he devised. It aggravated the evil that his enemies were employing their united plans to plot his ruin.

He adds that they gathered themselves together, and this made his case even more calamitous, matched as he was, a single individual, against this numerous host. In mentioning that they hide themselves, he refers to the subtle schemes they devised to surprise and destroy him.

The verb יצפינו, yitsponu, by grammatical rule ought to have the letter ו, vau, in the middle. The general opinion derived from this is that the י yod, serves, as it were, as the mark of Hiphil. This denotes that David’s enemies resolved to use an ambush, intending to surround him.

He tells us that they pressed upon him in every direction and, as it were, trod upon his heels, so that he had no respite. And he points to their implacable hatred as the cause of their eager pursuit of him; for, he informs us, nothing would satisfy them but his death.

After their mischief they think to escape. Some read the beginning of this verse as a question: Shall they escape in their iniquity? However, there is no need to resort to this remote interpretation. It is much better to understand the words in the sense they naturally suggest when first read: that the wicked think to escape in their iniquity, but God will cast them down.

He alludes to the fact that the ungodly, when allowed to proceed without interruption in their evil ways, indulge the idea that they have a license to perpetrate the worst wickedness with impunity. In our own times, we see many such profane characters who display unmeasured audacity, confident that God’s hand can never reach them. They not only expect to go unpunished but also base their hopes of success on their evil deeds, encouraging themselves to further wickedness by cherishing the belief that they will contrive a way to escape every adversity.

No sooner has David stated this vain confident persuasion of the wicked than he refutes it by appealing to God’s judgment, declaring his conviction that, however proudly they might exalt themselves, the hour of vengeance will come when God will cast down the peoples. He uses the plural number to fortify himself against fear when he reflected on the array of his enemies. Let us remember, when our enemies are many, that it is one of God’s prerogatives to cast down the people—not merely one nation of foes, but the world.