Day 172, Psalms 52-59

Psalm 52
The Steadfast Love of God Endures

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A MASKIL OF DAVID, WHEN DOEG, THE EDOMITE, CAME AND TOLD SAUL, “DAVID HAS COME TO THE HOUSE OF AHIMELECH.”

*Fearless confidence in God when under attack by an arrogant and evil enemy. David stands in the presence of God and from the high tower of that refuge hurls his denunciation into the face of his attacker. Though not a wisdom psalm, it has much in common with Psalm 49. The extended depiction of David’s enemy forms a sharp contrast with the spirit of
Psalm 51.

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
-52:1

The righteous shall see and fear,
and shall laugh at him, saying,
“See the man who would not make
God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches
and sought refuge in his own destruction!”
-52:6-7

I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name,
for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.
-52:8-9

Psalm 53
There Is None Who Does Good

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO MAHALATH. A MASKIL OF DAVID.

*A testimony concerning the folly of evil men, a somewhat revised duplicate of Psalm 14. (The main difference between the two psalms is that here the word “God” is used instead of “the Lord.”) The original psalm may have been revised in the light of an event. Here it also serves as a further commentary on the kind of arrogant fool denounced in Psalm 52.

God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
-53:2

Psalm 54
The Lord Upholds My Life

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A MASKIL OF DAVID, WHEN THE ZIPHITES WENT AND TOLD SAUL, “IS NOT DAVID HIDING AMONG US?”

*A prayer for deliverance from enemies who want to have David killed. The prayer is short, yet it is one of the most typical prayers of the Psalter. Completely symmetrical, the prayer is framed by David’s cry for vindication and his statement of assurance that he will look in triumph on his foes. A confession of confidence centers the prayer.

O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
-54:1-2

Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
-54:4

With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name,
O Lord, for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
-54:6-7

Psalm 55
Cast Your Burden on the Lord

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A MASKIL OF DAVID.

*A prayer for God’s help when threatened by a powerful conspiracy in Jerusalem under the leadership of a former friend. The situation described is like that of Absalom’s conspiracy against the king: the city is in turmoil; danger is everywhere; there is uncertainty as to who can be trusted; rumors, false reports and slander are circulating freely.

Under such circumstances David longs for a quiet retreat to escape it all. That being out of the question, he casts his cares on the Lord, whom he knows he can trust. In its structure, the prayer is framed by a plea for help and a simple confession of faith: “I trust in you.”

Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
-55:1

But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
God will give ear and humble them,
he who is enthroned from of old,
because they do not change
and do not fear God.
-55:16-19

Psalm 56
In God I Trust

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO THE DOVE ON FAR-OFF TEREBINTHS. A MIKTAM OF DAVID, WHEN THE PHILISTINES SEIZED HIM IN GATH.

*A prayer for help when the psalmist is attacked by enemies and his very life is threatened. It is marked by consoling trust in the face of unsettling fear. Structurally, the prayer is framed by an urgent appeal to God and a word of confident assurance. An inner frame confesses a sure trust in God in a form that is almost a refrain. The prayer itself is developed in the intervening verses.

When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
-56:3-4

For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
-56:13

Psalm 57
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID, WHEN HE FLED FROM SAUL, IN THE CAVE.

*A prayer for deliverance when threatened by fierce enemies, (it has many links with Psalm 56). The psalm appears to reflect the imagery of the night of danger followed by the morning of salvation.

Be merciful to me, O God,
be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me.
God will send out his steadfast love
and his faithfulness!
-57:1-3

My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
-57:7-11

Psalm 58
God Who Judges the Earth

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID.

*A prayer for God, the supreme Judge, to set right the affairs of men, judging those rulers who corrupt justice, and championing the cause of the righteous. (The psalm was applied by the early church to Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin and parallels). Concern for the just use of judicial power is pervasive throughout the Old Testament.

This was the primary agency in the administrative structures of the ancient Near East for the protection of the innocent, usually the poor and powerless, against the assaults of unscrupulous men, usually the rich and powerful. Israelite society was troubled with the corruption of this judicial power from the days of Samuel to the end of the monarchy. Even in David’s time all was not well.

Structurally, the psalm is framed by a rhetorical address to the wicked judges in their absence and by a reassuring word to “the righteous.” The frame also emphasizes the fact that those who do not judge uprightly will be judged by God.

The righteous will rejoice
when he sees the vengeance.
Mankind will say, “surely there is a
reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges earth.”
-58:10-11

Psalm 59
Deliver Me from My Enemies

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID, WHEN SAUL SENT MEN TO WATCH HIS HOUSE IN ORDER TO KILL HIM.

*A prayer for deliverance when endangered by enemy attacks. If originally composed by David under the circumstances noted in the superscription, it must have been revised for use by one of David’s royal sons when Jerusalem was under siege by a hostile force made up of troops from many nations–as when Hezekiah was besieged by the Assyrians. (Some, however, ascribe it to Nehemiah.) The enemy weapon most prominent is the tongue, attacking with slander and curses.

In this psalm, too, the imagery of the night of danger, followed by the morning of deliverance is evoked. The first half of the psalm is predominantly prayer, the second half predominantly assurance of deliverance. The whole is framed by a cry for protection and a joyful confession that God is the psalmist’s “fortress.”

O my strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
-59:9-10

But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love
in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
-59:16-17