They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.
David pours out complaint and prayer together, his mind caught between distress and confidence in God's mercy. Whether he wrote this during his desperate flight to Gath or after deliverance, the psalm shows him clinging to faith even when fear drove him to feign madness, a weakness of the flesh that did not extinguish the exercise of prayer.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 56:1-13
Firebrands burn fiercer when pushed together, and these cowards gather only because they dare not face one man alone. They hide in ambush like thieves, stabbing good men in the dark with schemes the devil himself has taught them. Nothing less than your death and ruin will satisfy their malice, yet you show wisdom by laying the whole case before the Lord.
AI summary
David threw himself into God's hands even though fear and folly had thrown him into the Philistines'. He was like a silent dove, driven from his nest, mourning and melancholy yet patient, murmuring neither against God nor against those who troubled him, a pattern for all the afflicted.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 56:1-7