Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
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
Be merciful unto me, O God. In my deep distress my soul turns to thee, my God. Man has no mercy on me, therefore double thy mercy to me. If thy justice has let loose my enemies, let thy mercy shorten their chain. It is sweet to see how the tender dove like spirit of the psalmist flies to the most tender attribute for succour in the hour of peril.
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