John Gill Commentary Psalms 56

Be merciful unto me, O God. For David could expect no mercy at the hands of men, among whom he was, whose tender mercies were cruel; he being at Gath, the city of Goliath, whom he had slain, and whose sword he has now with him; and among his brethren and friends, who he might justly fear would revenge his death upon him.

Therefore he betakes himself to God, and pleads not any merit or righteousness of his own, but implores the grace and mercy of God; and he might expect to find grace and mercy in this his time of need, since there is mercy with the Lord; he is plenteous in it, distributes it freely, delights in so doing, and does it constantly; his mercy endures for ever, it is from everlasting to everlasting on them that fear him;

for man would swallow me up; the Targum renders it "isbi", a wicked man: it may be understood of some one man, some great man, as Achish king of Gath; or rather Saul king of Israel, who breathed and panted after his ruin and destruction, as the word ^F16, signifies; who sought to eat up his flesh, to take away his life, and utterly ruin him: or collectively of many, since it appears, by the following verse, that he had many enemies who were desirous to swallow him up.

This he mentions as an aggravation of his distress, and as a reason why he hoped the Lord would be merciful to him; and that he, being God, would not suffer than to prevail; see (2 Chronicles 14:12);

he fighting daily oppresseth me; this shows that Saul is more especially intended, who was continually with his army pursuing him, and sometimes surrounded him and his men, and reduced him to great distress. This may be applied to the old man, the corruptions of nature, and the lusts of the flesh, which are continually warring against the soul, oppress it, bring it into captivity, and threaten to swallow it up.

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: (ynpav) "anhelus persequitur me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "anhelat in me", Cocceius; "contra me", Gejerus.

Mine enemies would daily swallow [me] up
For not one man only, but many, were his enemies; who observed and watched him, and were eagerly desirous of his ruin. The believer has many enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, seeking to devour and destroy him, though they cannot;

for [they are] many that fight against me, O thou most High ;
he appeals to God, who dwells on high, and sees all things, for the truth of this, that he had many enemies both at Gath and in Israel; as well as applies to him for help, he being higher than they. Some render the words, "for [they] are many that fight against me from on high" ^F17 , or "highly" {r}, proudly and haughtily. Aben Ezra gives a very different sense,``I have many angels on high that fight for me.'' But (Mwrm), "marom", is an epithet of God, as in (Psalms 92:8) (Micah 6:6); and so it is interpreted by Jarchi and Kimchi; and also by the Targum, which renders it, O God most High; and adds, ``whose throne is on high;'' which is approved by Gussetius ^F19 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F17: (Mwrm) "a sublimi", Junius & Tremellius; "ex alto", Cocceius; so Arab vers. and Michaelis.
• F19: Ebr. Comment. p. 783.

What time I am afraid
It was a time of fear with him now; he was afraid of Achish king of Gath, (1 Samuel 21:12) ; so believers have their times of fear;

about their interest in the love, and grace, and covenant of God; about their sins and corruptions, and the prevalence of them, fearing they shall perish by them; and about their enemies, who are many, lively, and strong;

I will trust in thee ;
trust and confidence in the Lord is the best antidote against fears; who is unchangeable in his love, in whom is everlasting strength, and who is faithful and true to every word of promise; and therefore there is great reason to trust in him, and not be afraid.

In God I will praise his word
Or praise him for his words for the whole Scripture that was then in being; for those testimonies which were David's counsellors in times of difficulty and distress; and particularly for some word of promise made unto him, he was persuaded would be fulfilled, and in which he gloried and made his boast of, and on which his faith and hope were built; and this he did, and determined to do, in the strength of the Lord, and by the assistance of his grace;

in God I have put my trust ;
either in times past, and was not ashamed or confounded; or now, as he determined he would in (Psalms 56:3);

I will not fear what flesh can do unto me :
or continue to fear any or all of my enemies; though I have been afraid of them, I will shake off these fears, trusting in the Lord, and depending on his word. Or, "what can flesh do unto me?" ^F20 which is as grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field. Poor, frail, mortal man! what can he do against me, if God be for me? And therefore why should I fear? Men may contrive schemes, form weapons, and attempt many things against the saints, but can execute nothing, except permitted by the Lord; and the utmost they can do, when suffered, is to kill the body.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: So Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Every day they wrest my words
Form, fashion, and shape them at their pleasure; construe them, and put what sense upon them they think fit. The word ^F21 is used of the formation of the human body, in (Job 10:8) ; They put his words upon the rack, and made them speak what he never intended; as some men wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction, (2 Peter 3:16) ; and as the Jews wrested the words of Christ, (John 2:19) (Matthew 26:60Matthew 26:61) .

The word has also the sense of causing vexation and grief, (Isaiah 63:10) ; and so it may be rendered here, "my words cause grief" ^F23 ; to his enemies; because he had said, in the preceding verses, that he would trust in the Lord, and praise his word, and not be afraid of men; just as the Sadducees were grieved at the apostles preaching, through Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, (Acts 4:1Acts 4:2) .

Or they caused grief to himself; for because of these his enemies reproached him, cursed him, and distressed him. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin render it, "they cursed my words"; or despised them, as the Ethiopic and Arabic versions:

all their thoughts [are] against me for evil ;
their counsels, schemes, and contrivances, were all formed to do him all the hurt and mischief they could.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: (wbuey) "fingunt mea verba", Cocceius, Gusset. p. 628. "They painfully form and frame my words", Ainsworth.
• F23: "Dolore afficient", Montanus, Gejerus, Vatablus.