John Calvin Commentary Psalms 56:13

"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?" — Psalms 56:13 (ASV)

For thou hast delivered my soul from death. This confirms the truth of the remark I have already made: that he considered his life as received from God's hands, since his destruction would have been inevitable if not for the miraculous preservation he had experienced. To remove all doubt on that subject, he speaks of having been preserved not simply from the treachery, malice, or violence of his enemies, but from death itself.

And the other form of expression he uses conveys the same meaning when he adds that God had kept him back with his hand when he was on the verge of rushing headlong into destruction. Some translate מדחי, middechi, as "from falling"; but the word here denotes a violent impulse.

Contemplating the greatness of his danger, he considers his escape as nothing less than miraculous. It is our duty, when rescued from any peril, to remember its circumstances and everything that made it particularly formidable. While we are exposed to it, we are prone to err through excessive fear; but when it is over, we too easily forget both our fears and the Divine goodness shown in our deliverance.

To walk in the light of the living means nothing other than enjoying the vital light of the sun. The words, before God, which are inserted in the verse, point to the difference between the righteous, who make God the great aim of their life, and the wicked, who wander from the right path and turn their back on God.