"To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life."
Psalm 56
The second stanza, 5-9, repeats the pattern, but it is not empty repetition. You often get more from God, the second time round! 'There is delight, and there is strengthening for the temper of faith, in repeating the contemplation of the earthly facts which make it necessary and the super-sensuous facts which make it blessed' (Maclaren). And one of the sweetest and most blessed experiences of strengthening and encouragement is found in 8. In the intimacy of fellowship mentioned in 4, the Psalmist becomes convinced of the loving and tender care of God: 'Thou tellest my wanderings...'. What a wonderful assurance. Here was David, hunted and on the run, a fugitive from the wrath of the mad king, desolate and afflicted, and this is what comes home to him. It was all known to God, and His watchful eye was upon him all the time. As the old hymn puts it,
Jesus knows all about our troubles,
He will guide till the day is done.
And what an act and attitude of faith there is in the words 'Put my tears into Thy bottle'. This appears to mean that we are to give our tears and sorrows back to God, for Him to sanctify and use in refreshment, to be given back one day to those who shed them, converted into spiritual grace by Him Who once turned the water into wine! In 9, the faith that struggled with fear in the first stanza (1-3) is now consolidated into confidence that God is on his side (9b). But there may be more here: 'God for us' is the heart of the biblical gospel (cf Romans 8:31ff). This is where our fears must ultimately cast anchor for it is the best and only final ground of peace and assurance. For if souls are delivered from death (13a) feet will be kept from falling (13b). The final two verses express the confidence we have seen so often in the Psalms, confidence of divine deliverance before it is accomplished, rejoicing in it as if it were. This is the ultimate reward of faith.