Psalm 56 Bible Study

Introduction

This psalm was written by David.

The superscript reads: “For the choir director. According to Jonath Elem Rehokim. A Mikhtam of David. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.”

There is not much known about the designation Jonath Elem Rehokim. It translates literally to The silent dove of those who are far off, The dove of the distant terebinths or The dove of remote silence. This is likely just a tune that everyone would know.

When the Philistines seized him in Gath. This story is found in 1 Samuel 21:10-12

1 Samuel 21:10–12 LSB

Then David arose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has struck his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” And David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.

So David was afraid of the powerful Phillistine king . . . but if we go back a few chapters we can see that there was more going on in David’s heart at this time.

Saul had been rejected by God as king, and so Saul had been trying to kill David out of jealousy and to protect his throne (18:7-11).

As you all probably know, Jonathan—Saul’s son and heir to the throne—became a close friend of David. 1 Sam 18:1-4

1 Samuel 18:1–4 LSB

Now it happened when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan cut a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even his sword and his bow and his belt.

In chapter 20, David and Jonathan made a plan to protect David.

David would go into the countryside to hide, and Jonathan would determine whether Saul truly was bent on killing David or not. The plan was that Jonathan would shoot an arrow into the country to practice, and send a young boy to retrieve it. If Jonathan yelled to the boy that the “arrows are on this side of you,” then it would be safe for David to come back. But if Jonathan said “the arrows are beyond you,” then he must flee for his life.

Well, when it became clear that Saul really did want to kill David (partly because he tried to kill Jonathan when he found out David wasn’t around), Jonathan took his bow and arrows out to the field David was hiding in.

So when Jonathan communicated that to David using the arrows, he had the boy take his bow and arrows back to the city and went to say goodbye to David his close friend.

This goodbye scene is found in 1 Sam 20:41

1 Samuel 20:41 LSB

When the young man was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David wept more.

David was heartbroken by this whole ordeal. As a young man, he was certainly fearful and confused about Saul’s hostility toward him, he was heartbroken that he had to leave his dear friend behind,

And now when we come to 21:10-12, we see another reason for David to fear. The king of Gath has heard of David and his might.

One commentator pointed out that the fact that David fled to the land of the Philistines shows how David saw his standing with his people (Kidner, 220).

Why would he go to Gath—the hometown of Goliath?

Wasn’t thinking clearly?

Wanted to gain some sense of control/victory?

Thought he woudn’t be followed?

What’s interesting is that in 1 Sam 21:8-9 David asked for the sword of Goliath that he used to cut off Goliath’s head—something that would have surely reminded us (the readers) of David’s boldness for God.

Yet in the next section we see David acting insane instead of trusting God with the situation.

1 Samuel 21:10–15 LSB

Then David arose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has struck his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” And David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. So he disguised his sanity in their sight and acted insanely in their hands and scribbled on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? “Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman before me? Shall this one come into my house?”

This was a shameful, cowardly way to handle the situation—not at all like he acted before Goliath. It was a cowardly way to attempt to ensure the king would spare him.

yet . . . Psalm 56 is a psalm of David’s confident trust in God.

How does that follow?

(Calvin, 347 - this psalm shows that David did act in faith by humiliating himself in the sight of men. Although Calvin says later that a lack of trust in the Lord equals to blasphemy, 351).

(Could it be that, though David faltered, this psalm is one of resolve to not doubt the Lord’s promises and power again?)

(Others see this psalm happening before he feined madness. Although this leads to the problem of David not following his own advice)

Whatever lesson we could learn from David’s behavior before the King of Gath, one thing is clear . . . David does not attribute his deliverence to his craftiness. The only one who deserves glory for keeping David safe is God.

If you think about it, none of what David did should have kept him safe. Why would the acting like a madman keep the king from executing him?

So this Psalm reveals David’s confidence in God. David will trust God—he commits to doing so now and in the future.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t always react the right way when pressures hit me and I am tempted to fear. Often, I do something dumb in an attempt to control my situation. At the very least, I worry in my heart and keep myself from sleep. I don’t alway react in faith, trust in God.

So it’s encouraging when I read someone in the Bible who has failed like me, but who can show me how to repent and put my focus on God where it belongs.

In this psalm, we see a combination of fear, sadness, confidence, trust, and thanksgiving.

The ESV Study Bible notes that “Many take this psalm to be an individual lament, but it could also be a psalm of thanksgiving.”

But I think it can be both simultaneously. As we read through this psalm, we are going to see how fear relates to faith . . . how sadness can coexist with a confident hope in God’s deliverence . . . how lament and exist alongside thanksgiving.

This psalm is going to help us see how our theology becomes practical in hard times. How the most important thing about you is what you believe about God . . . because what you believe about God will influence how you act at all times . . . particularly in times of distress and suffering.

Simply, this psalm will show you how to trust God when you’re afraid and suffering.

Three sections:

Trust in God’s ever-present grace (1-4)

Trust in God who sees and knows (5-11)

Give thanks to God for His deliverence (12-13)

One: Trust in God’s Ever-Present Grace (1-4)

Read vv 1-2

As we read these first 2 verses, we think about David’s fleeing from one danger into another.

The pressure he’s facing is constant.

He says three times that the pressure he’s facing is “All day long (1, 2, 5). He can’t catch a break. He can’t find rest. It seems constantly someone is trampling him and fighting against him.

We’ve all been there, right? Maybe we don’t face threat from two different Kings who want to kill us, but we’ve all been in situations in which it seems like everything is against us, and nothing is going right.

We all know what it’s like to have constant pressure around us and just want to find relief.

And so David begins this psalm with a request for God to be gracious to him, merciful to him.

And from this we can see that . . . even though the threats and pressures were all around him, all the time . . . so is God’s grace and mercy.

He says “when I am afraid, I will trust in you.”

Based on his description of the situation, he is in constant fear because he is in constant danger. But he has an ever-present help in trouble (Psa 46:1).

David knew hat he needed God’s grace. He knew that there was no other way he could find comfort from his enemies.

Notice in verse 2 that they are many who fight proudly against him. They fight, literally, “from the hights,” or “loftily”

This makes me think of a major theme of the book of Samuel . . . God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. David certainly knew that to be true.

That theme—God opposing the proud but giving grace to the humble—surely was true of David and Saul. Saul acted in pride trying to retain his throne, but David in this psalm puts humble confidence in the Lord.

He says (V 3-4).

Notice how David says “I will” - he is making a purposeful decision to put his trust in the Lord instead of give into the fear of his situation.

In fact, as I mentioned before, there is no reason to think that fear and trust can’t mingle together.

What is the connection between fear and faith?

Fear ought to drive us to God.

John Calvin says,

“It seems, indeed, as if fear and hope were feelings too contrary the one to the other to dwell in the same heart; but experience shows that hope there in fact really reigns where some portion of the heart is possessed by fear. For when the mind is calm and tranquil, hope is not exercised, yea rather is, as it were, hushed to sleep; but then and not till then, does she put forth all her strength, when the mind has been cast down by cares and she lifts it up, when it has been saddened and disturbed and she calms it, when it has been smitten with fear and she sustains and props it.” (Found in Lang, 344).

I think what he’s saying is that when there is no reason to fear, there is typically also no reason to hope or trust (at least that’s how it feels).

When everything is going well, it’s easy to forget that we are dependant on God, isn’t it?

But when we are faced with the reality of our own limitations and need for God, then it becomes more natural for us to run to him, right?

Spurgeon said,

“It is a blessed fear that drives us to trust. Unregenerate fear drives from God; graceous fear drives to Him. If I fear man, I have only to trust God, and I have the best antidote.” (Treasury of David, 253).

And I think this concept of trusting God when afraid can be applied to fearing man even when they are not trying to physically harm us. It’s easy to fear others when they have the ability to give us something we want:

approval

praise

honor

position

status

opportunity

safety

Robert Murray M’Cheyne drew this conclusion when he said,

“Gim idol, bloody mouthed; many souls has he devoured and trampled down to hell! His eyes are full of hatred to Christ’s disciples. Scoffs and jeers lurk in his eyes. The laugh of the scorner growls in his throat. Cast down this idol. This keeps some of you from secret prayer, from worshiping God in your family, from going to lay your case before ministers, from openly confessing Christ. You that have felt God’s love and Spirit, dash this idol to pieces.”

What are some practical ways we can cultivate trust in the Lord rather than giving into fear?

Be disciplined in our minds

Pray often

Study the attributes/character of God

Study His Word

That concept, of trusting God instead of giving into emotion (fear, anger, sadness, etc), is sort of a foreign concept today isn’t it?

Society tends to tell us that what we feel is who we are, and that giving full vent to our spirit (Prov 29:11) is the right thing to do.

But here David is giving us an example of what it looks like to humbly bring his fearful, frantic heart under control by purposefully putting his trust in God.

He says, “when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you”

As I said before, you can hear the purposefullness . . . the committment to trusting God when afraid.

Then it seems as though he rehearses to himself who he’s talking to in verse 4 . . . “in God, whose word I praise, In God, I have put my trust; What can man do to me?”

The word David used for man is בָּשָׂר “flesh”

In verse 11 David says the same thing with the exact same wording, with the only difference being that he uses the word אָדָם “man”

Why would he use two different words?

I think he’s trying to communicate the fulness of the foolishness it is to be afraid of people instead of trusting God.

Basar is generic for flesh, used for both man and beast. It seems to have the idea of transience more than adam.

Adam is obviously used for man or mankind, and it’s related to the word for ground or dirt out of which man was made.

Both of these together paint a picture that says, “why would you fear man instead of trust God” . . . It doesn’t make sense.

And if you broaden the application a little . . . why would you be afraid of anything instead of trusting God?

God who gave David victory over Goliath . . . who parted the sea and brought His people out of Egypt . . . who brought Abraham out of Ur and protected him and his descendants after him . . . who created the universe with his word . . .

In light of all that, it seems pretty rediculous for David to act the way he did before the king of Gath, doesn’t it. This kind of trust leads instead to boldness before Goliath.

John Calvin: “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, it should never escape their recollection, that the contest is in reality between their enemies and God, and that it would be blashphemous in this case to doubt the issue.” (Calvin, 351).

What dishonor we show to God when, in our heart, we choose not to trust Him and instead choose to handle the situation our own way.

And a side note: We need to be careful when the outcome of our unbelief is a positive one. Success isn’t necessarily an indication of faithfulness—sometimes God blesses our efforts even when we act in unbelief. But the question ought to be . . . was God pleased with my actions?

Was God pleased when David acted insane and drooled in his beard? No . . . David tried to handle the situation in his own strange way instead of trusting God. But . . . God did not allow the king to kill David.

It wasn’t because of David that God spared David, but because God already chose David to be His king over His people.

In short, God spared David because of God . . . not David.

So what does that mean for us? When we are going through seasons of fear and constant pressure . . . what is our main goal? It’s not to control the situation . . . but to do our best to please God in the midst of the pressures. To trust Him with the outcomes, no matter what they might be.

Samuel Rutherford said in one of his letters, “Let us be faithful, and care for our own part, which is to do and suffer for Him, and lay Christ’s part on Himself, and leave it there. Duties are ours, events are the Lord’s.”

Back to verse 4

Why does he not fear? Because he trusts in God. And he rehearses his trust for God with reference to God’s Word.

What was David talking about when he referred to God’s Word?

We know that he had the word from Samuel when he was annointed king,

God promised through the prophet Samuel that David would be king (1 Sam 16:12-13)

1 Samuel 16:12–13 LSB

So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Yahweh said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

Aslo, as a Jewish boy, he would have known God’s revealed Word up until then. He would have known about God’s promises to Abraham, and His mighty acts recorded in Scripture.

It is God, through His Word, that David clung to when afraid.

Do we run to Scripture when we are afraid?

One pastor once said “We don’t leave our Bible behind in trials.”

It ought to be where we turn to in troubles. It is good and right to pray to God asking for help like David does in this psalm—but we ought to also run to the Bible because it is through God’s Word that we know God.

It is from God’s Word that David knew of God’s ever-present grace to get his through difficult times and rescue him from his enemies.

And it’s from God’s Word that he knows God is the one who sees and knows.

Two: Trust in the God Who Sees and Knows (5-11)

In verses 5-6 we see that David’s problems weren’t fixed just because he trusted in God.

That’s how it is for us as well, isn’t it?

We call out to God for deliverence, and commit to trusting Him through the problem . . . yet when we open our eyes the problem is still there.

That’s true for David. He notes that all day long his enemies are twisting his words . . . all of their thoughts are against him for evil.

That word for thoughts has the idea of intentions, plants, inventions - they are scheming and planning against him for evil.

This is seen in the fact that they attack, lurk, watch his steps (heels), waiting to take his life.

Because of all of that, David prays for the Lord to bring them down. Literally to cause them to go down, probably in reference to their lofty pride mentioned in verse 3.

And it is in light of their wickedness that David asks God to bring them down in His anger . . . He appeals to God’s character here.

I like the HCSB - “Will they escape in spite of such sin?”

David knows that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.

So in response to their prideful, vengeful attacks . . . David again chooses to humble himself before God and seek His strength.

Verse 8 is a beautiful transition—He moves from asking God to work through His wrath to praising God for His intimate knowledge of David’s fear and suffering.

Read v. 8.

God keeps a record of David’s “wanderings” - this word is only used here in the O.T. and it’s exact meaning is uncertain. It’s base meaning might have to do with the “changeable circumstances of life” which is why most translations render it “wanderings” or “misery.”

It’s the opposite of the stability in life that we all enjoy.

God records every event.

David asks God to keep every tear he cried in a bottle . . . not to let a single one go unnoticed. He was confident that God had a notation of each tear in his book.

The simple point is this: God sees and knows everything David went through . . . and in the same way He sees and knows everything we go through as well. Nothing happens that escapes God’s notice. He keeps every tear we cry . . . He knows every pain we feel . . . and He records every injustice against us.

He knows it all perfectly.

Why is it so important to remind ourselves that God knows everything we go through perfectly?

It is important for trusting God.

It reminds me of the book by Jerry Bridges called Trusting God . . . in that book Bridges argues that you can only really trust God if you believe three things to be true about Him. (Page 17)

That He is completely sovereign

That He is infinite in wisdom

That He is perfect in love

Here, David affirms that He is infinite in wisdom. And what a comfort that He is, isn’t it?

It’s common in the military for guys to avoid opening up to others about their struggles unless they’ve experienced something similar . . . “you don’t know what I’ve been through”

And that might be true, but one thing I know is that God knows, and He is in complete control of it, and He has good purposes in it.

And for David . . . because of God’s promises to him, he is confident that his enemies will not succeed.

Verse 9 says that he knows this . . . “that God is for me.”

How could he not believe God is for him when God keeps such a careful account of his suffering?

How else did he know God was for him?

David could be thinking of Samuel’s annointing of him,

or of his heritage as one of God’s chosen people.

Whatever the case, this is profound truth.

And the fact that God is for us means that He not merely gives us divine sympathy . . . but that He gives us actual assistance, so that He will be glorified.

What does this mean for us? We aren’t part of Israel or annointed to be king, how can we be certain that God is for us?

**Have 2 or 3 people read the following

Romans 8:28–30 LSB

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.

Romans 8:31–39 LSB

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or turmoil, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE COUNTED AS SHEEP FOR the SLAUGHTER.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Some believe that v 31 is an allusion to psalm 56

What things in this passage show us that God is for us as believers?

V. 28 - He calls us (while we were still sinners - 5:8)

- for those He called, He causes all things to work together for good.

V. 29 - Just like He foreknew us, He also predestined us to be molded into the image of Christ.

-the fact that He is the firstborn among many brothers implies that we are now in the family.

V. 30 - He called those He predestined (He didn’t leave our salvation up to us).

-He justified the ones He called - a legal declaration of righteousness in which the righteousness of Christ is added to you, and your sin is added to Him (2 Cor 5:21).

-And because all of that is certain, we can be certain that He will one day glorify us.

V. 32 - God did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over—proof that He will graceously give us all things.

V. 33 - No one can bring a charge against us because God justifies.

V. 34 - Christ intercedes for us even now.

V. 37 - We overwhelmingly conquer through Christ.

V. 35-36, 38-39 - nothing will separate us from His love.

And there are so many more things I could mention from this whole chapter.

How does your life change knowing that God is for you?

Another place this psalm appears in the NT is

Hebrews 13:5–6 LSB

Make sure that your way of life is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”

and that is taken from verses 10-11, a refrain that he repeats from verse 3 . . .

“In God, whose Word I praise, in Yahweh, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid, what can man do to me?

He repeats the refrain from verse 3, but this time he adds a line to mention God’s covenant name . . . emphasizing His faithfulness, His immutability, the fact that He doesn’t depend on anyone who anything to be.

This God . . . this is the one who is for me.

He is a God of absolute sovereignty and power, who depends on nothing and is before everything . . . and a God who counts and keeps every tear you cry.

This is the God I will trust. What can man do to me?

We can lean on God’s promises to us in Christ . . . He is where we find our hope.

So how are we to respond?

Three: Give Thanks to God for His Deliverence (12-13)

Read 12-13

From the words David uses in these final verses, it is clear that he saw his deliverence as a miraculous act from God.

V 12 says that his thank offerings belong to God.

How could acting insane have saved him? The answer: it couldn’t. He should have died.

But God saved him from death.

And it is because of this miraculous salvation that David is obligated to render thank offerings to God. He vows to offer thank offerings to God

Psalm 50:14–15 LSB

“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of distress; I shall rescue you, and you will glorify Me.”

Sacrifices out of thankfulness to God are what please Him

Of course, we don’t offer sacrifices today, so how are we to act on this verse?

The author of Hebrews helps us with that:

Hebrews 13:15–16 LSB

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

1 Peter 2:5-9 says that we are all priests, and we all offer up sacrifices to God.

And we see in Romans 12:1 that those sacrifices of the believer involve every aspect of life.

Romans 12:1 LSB

Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Everything we do ought to be done out of thankfulness to God and for His glory.

V 13

God delivered David from death, gave him a firm footing, so that he could walk with God in life.

Just like David was rescued from death in Gath, we have all been reconciled to God and rescued from His wrath.

We ought to live our lives now in that thankfulness.

Be thankful that you can trust God. You can trust Him because He is ever-present, because He is all-powerful, because He knows you and cares for you.

It’s when troubles come that your theology becomes practical.

You can trust God.