Psalms

Psalm 56

KJV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For 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?

Overview

Psalm 56 answers fear and hostile pressure with repeated trust: God sees the wanderer, remembers every tear, judges violent plotting, and delivers so the worshiper may walk before God in the light of life.

Setting and context

Themes

Fear named honestly before God · Trust practiced in the presence of fear · Words twisted and hostile plotting · Every wandering and tear remembered · Praise of God’s word and renewed trust · Vows, deliverance, and walking in the light of life

Reflection

Reading notes

Key passages

Psalm 56:1: The psalmist asks for mercy while attackers press relentlessly, naming danger honestly before God rather than pretending it is absent. The psalmist asks for mercy while attackers press relentlessly, naming danger honestly before God rather than pretending it is absent. Psalm 56:3: When fear comes, the speaker deliberately chooses trust in God; faith is practiced in the presence of fear rather than after fear disappears. When fear comes, the speaker deliberately chooses trust in God; faith is practiced in the presence of fear rather than after fear disappears. Psalm 56:8: God is asked to count the psalmist’s wanderings and tears, a poetic confession that displacement and grief are fully seen and remembered. God is asked to count the psalmist’s wanderings and tears, a poetic confession that displacement and grief are fully seen and remembered. Psalm 56:11: Trust means the speaker need not let human threat have the final word, even though prudence and concrete safety can still be necessary. Trust means the speaker need not let human threat have the final word, even though prudence and concrete safety can still be necessary. Psalm 56:13: Deliverance from death and stumbling has a purpose: to walk before God in the light of life, making restored life an arena for faithful living. Deliverance from death and stumbling has a purpose: to walk before God in the light of life, making restored life an arena for faithful living.

Questions readers ask

What does Psalm 56 teach about fear? When fear comes, the speaker deliberately chooses trust in God; faith is practiced in the presence of fear rather than after fear disappears. What does it mean that God counts tears? God is asked to count the psalmist’s wanderings and tears, a poetic confession that displacement and grief are fully seen and remembered. What does walking in the light of life mean? Deliverance from death and stumbling has a purpose: to walk before God in the light of life, making restored life an arena for faithful living.